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At a microscopic level, we have within us colonies of minute organisms rushing about to keep us healthy and functioning. Called microbiota, these bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses count in the trillions and, as a whole, make up the human microbiome.
Microbiota are found throughout the body but mainly in the gut, and specifically in the small and large intestines. The gut, comprising the stomach, intestines, and colon, is responsible for breaking down the food we eat and absorbing nutrients from it for a healthy body.
What do all these microbes and the gut have to do with dysbiosis?
It's in the gut, amid trillions of microorganisms that dysbiosis emerges.
The gut houses beneficial and potentially harmful microbes. In a healthy person, these two groups live together in peace and cooperation. There is a symbiotic relationship where the human body and the microbes benefit from each other.
When this symbiotic relationship gets disturbed and out of balance, dysbiosis surfaces. There arethree types of dysbiosis, which usually occur simultaneously.
This imbalance can be in the flora itself as in their functional composition or metabolic activities. Or, it may be in their relative distribution.
Interesting fact: No two microbiomes are the same; each of us has a completely unique microbiome!
You’d think that you would notice or feel signs of dysbiosis mainly in the digestive tract, but it's not so. It’s because the microbiome is not limited to the digestive tract and so, other parts of the body can also be affected.
Imbalance in gut microbiota composition is known to be associated with variouschronic conditions, including gastrointestinal inflammatory and metabolic conditions, as well as cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses.
These include:
These include:
Many external factors can disrupt the gut microbiome, causing dysbiosis, which is detrimental to our health. The most well-known is antibiotics, but there are others also that we should be aware of.
Using antibiotics disrupts the complex ecosystems of the gut microbiome. While antibiotics destroy the bug for which they are prescribed; they also destroy beneficial gut bacteria. The destruction of large numbers of microorganisms in the large intestine also means a decline in their diversity. These factors lead to a weakened immune system and increased vulnerability to infections.
A review published online in 2022 cites numerous studies that have found links between antibiotic use and conditions likediabetes and obesity, in which the missing connection could be the impact of dysbiosis.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics lead to a disruption of the gut microbiota. When the gut microbiota becomes out of balance, it canlead to dysbiosis.
The composition of intestinal microbiota can also be disrupted by medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids. These drugs are known toalter microbiota composition.
A study conducted in the Netherlands found19 drugs associated with changes in the gut microbiota.
The main source of food for the beneficial bacteria in our gut is prebiotics.
See Also: 21 Easy Ways to Get More Fiber through Diet
Prebiotics are insoluble fibers that act as food for the beneficial bacteria in the gut. The indigestible fibers are fermented by the gut bacteria in the large intestine, allowing the bacteria to proliferate, resulting in a healthy gut.
A low-fiber diet has the opposite effect.
A high-sugar diet can cause dysbiosis by promoting the growth of harmful bacterial species to the detriment of beneficial strains, a new study in mice has found. The researchers found sugar intake indirectly leads toa loss of critical immune cells.
See Also: The Shocking Truth about Processed Sugar!
A high intake of sugar alters the ratio between two major groups of bacteria: proteobacteria and Bacteroides. Proteobacteria thrive on simple carbohydrates, so in the presence of sweet food, they grow fast at the expense of Bacteroides which specialize in breaking down complex carbohydrates.
The resulting imbalance can be an example of dysbiosis.
The consumption of non-nutritive artificial sweeteners has increased in recent decades, primarily for weight control. However, the use of these synthetic sugar substitutes has been found to change the composition and function of the intestinal microbiota, leading to the development ofglucose intolerance.
Research has shown thatsaccharin sucralose, and stevia cause the populations of gut microbiota to change.
Stress and depression often go hand in hand with inflammation, which can trigger the growth of harmful bacteria. These harmful species may supplant beneficial species, leading to dysbiosis and leaky gut. A leaky gut is too permeable to bacteria.
See Also: What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
One study of university students found that as their stress increased during the semester, certainhealth-promoting bacteria decreased.
And it certainly doesn't help that when we are stressed we tend to make poor food choices, which can also affect the health of our gut microbiome.
Gut microbiota is affected by fluctuations in hormones, such as thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormones. For instance, puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and other factors can affect sex hormone levels, which can lead to changes in the composition of the gut microbiota.
Traveling is exciting, but you can get very sick, getting exposed to different microbes in local food and water. That's where those bouts of diarrhea and food poisoning come from. Research has found that traveling to foreign destinations alters the gut microbiome.
A study published in Nature showed that the gut microbiomes of international travelers are resistant to dysbiosis. However, the study also found that the gut bacteria of the travelers changed and made the gut more susceptible to antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.
Evenmoving to a new country can profoundly affect the bacteria in the digestive system.
If you are concerned that your gut is not as healthy as it could be, don't be too concerned – researchers have found the human gut microbiome is resilient and can recover by itself over time.
However, there are a few things we can do to help this process along.
You will be interested to discover that contrary to common logic, and much of current advice, it is not necessarily advisable to take probiotics when your gut has been compromised.
At least, this is the finding and advice of Researchers at UCLA. They have found that taking probiotics canslow down the recovery of the gut. They found that taking probiotics after a course of antibiotics presents the gut with limited numbers of bacteria in the probiotic products. These can then colonize the gut, slowing down the balanced return of the diverse and complex colonies of microbes unique to the person's microbiome.
A better approach is to give your gut and its colonies of microbes a variety of prebiotic food to feed on, such as fresh vegetables, leafy greens, legumes, nuts, fruit, and fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, pickles, and sauerkraut.
See Also: 10 Probiotic Foods That You Should be Eating for Your Gut!
Studies have shown that fermented foods canmodify the gut microbiome. Fermented foods are also easy to digest and rich in vitamins and antioxidants.
On the other hand, several studies promote the use of probiotics to treat dysbiosis. Harvard scientists point out that although published research is conflicting, there are special circumstances where a probiotic may be helpful, such as when the balance within the intestine has been compromised.
If you are healthy, you can expect your gut to recover by itself, and you won't need probiotics.
Exercise, along with a healthy diet supports our overall health as well as gut health. An active lifestyleimproves microbiome diversity, supports the integrity of the gut lining, and improves overall gut function.
In particular, exercise can increaseAkkermansia muciniphila – a beneficial strain of bacteria in the mucus layer of the gut. Theprobiotic effects of this bacteria promote metabolism, regulate immune function, and protect gut health.
A moderate exercise program of three hours per week seems to produce the best results. Sit-ups, crunches, yoga, walking, pelvic floor exercises, and biking are good exercises for gut health. Exercise regularly but don’t overdo it because training too hard can also affect the composition and function of your microbiota, leading to dysbiosis.
Proper oral hygiene doesn't only protect teeth and gums; it also protects the gut. To maintain a healthy gut and gums, brush and floss your teeth every day, ensuring the removal of plaque and food particles. Don't forget to scrape your tongue clean as well, as the surface of the tongue also collects plaque and food particles that can affect gut health.
We all know that alcohol is bad for our health, particularly the liver. But we seldom consider the effect it might have on our gastrointestinal tract, where it can disrupt the gut bacteria balance. Research shows that alcohol can causedamage to the gastrointestinal tract, particularly the small and large intestines. It was found that chronic alcohol intake can cause bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, leading to dysbiosis.
Yes. In fact, the simplest way to ensure gut health and treat dysbiosis is to follow a diet consisting of a wide variety of fiber-rich foods. Considering plants are the only source of dietary fiber, a plant-rich diet is what's called for.
Related Link: Certified Plant-Rich Meal Plans!
Plants can provide different kinds of fibers, which is ideal because different bacteria in the gut need different plant fibers.
Remember it like this:A diverse diet = a diverse gut microbiome.
There are two kinds of dietary fiber: soluble and insoluble. Both are necessary for gut health because they perform different functions. In terms of dysbiosis though,soluble fiber is of more significance.
Insoluble dietary fibers, such as cellulose, mainly help to bulk up stools. These are either not metabolized by gut bacteria or if they are, it’s to a limited extent. Soluble fibers, on the other hand, are readily metabolized by gut bacteria, so their presence in the gut directly affects the wealth and diversity of the gut microbiota.
Sources of soluble fiber include oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley, and psyllium. Sources of insoluble fiber include whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans, and vegetables, such as cauliflower, and green beans.
As mentioned earlier, excessive intake of added sugar can contribute to an imbalance within the microbiome, so avoid foods with added sugar, such as cakes, candies, sodas, fruit juices, pastries, etc.
Also, avoid highly processed foods, such as packaged food, ice cream, white bread, processed meats, sausages, chips, and fried food, such as French fries, chicken wings, fingers, fish sticks, etc.
Unrefined rice, also called brown rice, retains its bran, so it's a high-fiber food, which is great for preventing dysbiosis.
Intermittent fasting can alter the composition of the human gut microbiome by giving the gut bacteria time to rest and proliferate but more research is necessary to understand the process and real benefits.
Fruits high in prebiotics, such as blueberries, kiwi fruit, bananas, apples, cranberries, grapes, pineapple, and avocados are excellent for dysbiosis.
Yes, it is. Yogurt is a kind of fermented food which is beneficial for gut microbiota.
Dysbiosis is a condition that emerges when there's an imbalance of the microorganisms that make up the gut microbiome. A balance of more healthy and less pathogenic microorganisms is essential for the gut microbiome to digest and metabolize the food we eat and regulate our immune system.
You can ensure that your gut is healthy with balanced colonies of microorganisms by following a balanced, high-fiber diet and avoiding processed food and antibiotics as far as possible.
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