Dysbiosis… How You’re Hurting Yourself without Knowing and What to Do about It
There are 100 trillion microbes living inside of you that affect your mood, immunity, inflammation response, and likelihood of disease. These microbes act together as the forgotten organ, and weigh about five pounds when grouped together. Our health directly relies on the ability to create a healthy balance of bacteria, and is key to our survival. Yet, so many of us are affected with something called dysbiosis, which is an imbalance in this key ecosystem of the body. This is caused by changes to the types of bacteria within us, and the amount of them that we have. Dysbiosis can basically be thought of as loss of balance in your gut that makes you unhealthy and inflamed.
So why are our microbes all messed up?
The Standard American Diet is Just Another Way to Say SAD
The sad Standard American Diet is low in dietary fiber and high in processed food, refined sugar, industrial fat, omega-6, and oxidized cholesterol (such as powered eggs and milk). Eating certain types of dietary fiber foods (like beans, split peas, Brussels sprouts, and avocados) can serve as what is called a prebiotic, meaning they feed the bacteria (the “probiotics”) within you, which then create a postbiotic effect (think of this as a gift to you from your microbes).
When we eat like a typical westerner, we miss out on prebiotic fiber, which means we miss out on the postbiotic gifts, which often come in the form of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs not only correct dysbiosis, but they also fix intestinal permeability, optimize the immune system, lower body weight, reduce total cholesterol, lower systolic blood pressure, protect us against glucose intolerance, and have been linked with protecting against congestive heart failure. That’s a whole lot of gifting from your microbes to you and your health! Remember: just as prebiotic food can benefit your microbes, consuming a diet high in processed foods can cause dysbiosis, which leads to overall poor health.
The Standard American Diet is also high in fat, which causes an unhealthy balance in the microbiota, impairs your intestinal barrier function, and can lead to the release of bacterial endotoxin. What does that mean? Basically, endotoxins are toxins that are inside of a bacterial cell that are released when they die, and are linked to autoimmune diseases, coronary artery disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and alzheimers. Our western diet frequently includes industrial fats, such as trans fats, grain and seed oils, and vegetable fats from processing. Of all of these, trans fats are the worst and serve as the biggest food processing disaster in US history. While European food companies hired chemists to take the trans fats out of their food when it became known that it was linked with disease… in the U.S., we hired lawyers and public relations people to defend and encourage keeping trans fats in food!
What to do?
We have to stop eating refined foods, like refined sugar (high fructose corn syrup), white flour, refined/hydrogenated vegetable and seed oils, additives, and artificial coloring. We have no human studies for literally ten thousand additives and chemicals found in our food, and for the ones we do, we have no long term studies!
Acid-Suppressing Drugs
Drugs like proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) block acid so effectively that it turns the stomach from an unlivable place for pathogenic bacteria to an environment that they can thrive. When we change the pH balance in our intestines, we create undesirable bacteria overgrowth, and decrease our ability to absorb important nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, and magnesium. So remember that stomach acid may be uncomfortable from time to time, but it is also one of our main defenses against harmful bacteria entering through our mouths and then partying in our stomachs.
What to do?
Instead of grabbing for Antacid, consider your diet and lifestyle choices. In situations where you may need a little help, you can try a herbal remedy from Earthley.
Fiber Forgetfulness
Fiber ought to be the cornerstone of our diets, but it is unfortunately frequently equated to grandma’s Metamucil or even worse, simply forgotten altogether. Even though fiber is directly responsible for lowering our blood sugar, lowering our feelings of hunger, lowering cholesterol and contributing to lovely bowel movements, 95% of American adults and children do not consume the recommended amount of fiber.
This is a major shortcoming and here’s why. In one study, just two weeks on a low fiber diet caused an altered gut state in participants where the microbiota began to eat away at intestinal lining, causing the breakdown of protective barrier and increasing the likelihood of disease. This is a major concern because just beyond the walls of your intestines sits more than 70% of your immune system, so more than just your digestive system gets impacted on a low fiber diet.
What to do?
We should strive for 25 to 38 grams per day of fiber. This is so important to health that it has been suggested we could save $12.7 billion (with a B!) annually if all American adults simply increased their dietary fiber intake by 9 grams per day.
Several whole grains are phenomenal sources of fiber, including hulled barley, bulgur, oats, brown rice, yellow corn, rye, and wild rice. Additional food sources for prebiotic fiber include jerusalem artichokes, onion, quinoa, amaranth, chicory root, and leeks. These prebiotic foods have been shown to reduce the risk of obesity and becoming overweight, as well as help to support our immune function.
You can also start small by incorporating a high quality bran flake cereal into your diet as a breakfast option paired with nut milk and an apple. Just like humans, plants have a microbiome too, and apples tend to have a higher level of microbes known to help us, called Lactobacilli. Other ideas include a cup of lentil soup or colorful salad with your lunch; or a serving of broccoli with your dinner. Similar to fiber is resistant starch, which includes potatoes, cassava, green bananas, and cashews.
Meat Obsession
The sad, sad Standard American Diet is a diet that not only creates dysbiosis and disease, but is also horribly inefficient. In A Diet for a Small Planet, Frances Moore explains that it takes 16 pounds of grains and soybeans to produce just 1 pound of beef in the United States, a truly atrocious converter of grain to meat.
For the individual, consuming meat protein results in changes to the microbiome that impact our health; for example, diets high in animal protein have been linked to the growth of certain type of microbes that wreak havoc on us, such as bilophila wadsworthia, alistripes, and bacteroides. These bacteria produce toxins in our body, can cause food sensitivities, and when you blacken or char them, they even have the potential to become carcinogenic (cancer causing).
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story, either. When certain bacteria within us are fed meat, they produce something called TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) which is linked to cardiovascular disease. TMAO not only increases heart disease, but also increases our chances for stroke, type 2 diabetes, and atrial fibrillation, among many other health concerns.
What to do?
Opt for Plant-Based Eating whenever possible. Those who eat plants not only have a lower likelihood of having certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, but they also benefit from polyphenols found in plants, as well as various vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant compounds. Additionally, plant protein increases the growth of anti-inflammatory bacteria species such as bifidobacterium and lactobacillus.
Further, when you put grains and legumes together, you get a complete protein that nourishes the body. There are 22 essential amino acids that the body needs, and the 8 that we are incapable of making on our own can be consumed through proper plant-based eating strategies. You can pair black beans and brown rice, hummus and whole wheat bread, farro and lentils, or even Lima beans and healthy cornbread. The possibilities are endless; all you need to do is eat in a one to one ratio.
The Bottom Line…
Each dietary and lifestyle choice you make either helps your gut microbiome, or puts it in harm's way. Consider eating a more plant-based diet, avoiding acid-suppressing drugs, and increasing your fiber intake today.
Heal Your Gut, Heal Your Life!
With Love,
Katherine
Is your gut causing you issues? Do you need help losing weight, or maintaining weight loss? Book an appointment with me to see if the Ahimsa Signature Plan can help you, or check out one of the plant based Ahimsa diet plans.
Sources:
Bulsiewicz, Will. Fiber Fueled. Avery, 2020.
Carding, Simon. “Dysbiosis of the Gut Microbiota in Disease.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health , 2 Feb. 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315779/.
Chutkan, Robynne. Gutbliss: A 10-Day Plan to Ban Bloat, Flush Toxins, and Dump Your Digestive Baggage. Avery, A Member of Penguin Group (USA), 2014.
Schmier JK;Miller PE;Levine JA;Perez V;Maki KC;Rains TM;Devareddy L;Sanders LM;Alexander DD; “Cost Savings of Reduced Constipation Rates Attributed to Increased Dietary Fiber Intakes: A Decision-Analytic Model.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Apr. 2017, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24739472/.
Quagliani, Diane. National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health , 7 July 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6124841/.