Dysbiosis: Heal your microbiome to improve your metabolism. [Updated]
Oh the agony of weight gain, low energy, irritability and food intolerance. If you feel these symptoms accompanied by brain fog and bloating, you’re not alone. So many of us suffer from a weary metabolism. Stress makes it even worse. The likely cause is dysbiosis- an imbalance of the microbiome.
Want to feel like your gut is a part of you and not a separate entity?
Ready to be your ideal weight? The gut microbiome is the place to start.
What is the microbiome?
The microbiome is how we refer to the trillions of bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi that live in our gut, on our skin, and in every square millimeter of our body. Our immune function depends intimately on the diversity and health of the microbiome colony. There are trillions of bacteria in the human body, and certainly more microbial cells than human cells. When any one kind of microbe over-reproduces itself we can develop dysbiosis. Fixing the microbiome recovers healthy metabolism and energy. View more interesting facts about the microbiome.
A healthy microbiome prevents diseases.
Metabolic disruption, weight gain, and bloating are all signs we must take seriously. New science is telling us a healthy microbiome prevents diseases, including:
Irritable bowel syndrome
Depression and anxiety
Parkinsons
Cardiovascular disease
Prostatitis and Chronic Pelvic pain (Arora, 2017)
Obesity
Hormonal dysregulation. (Baker, 2017)
What is dysbiosis?
Dysbiosis is caused by damage to the microbiome. Our gut is our garden soil where we grow our nutrients to keep a healthy metabolism, nourished skin, and a well-fed brain. Dysbiosis is the condition where the soil is full of sluggy stinky goo. With dysbiotic soil nothing can grow properly and weeds take over. Thankfully, naturopathic medicine has answers for recovering our healthy gut soil.
As a doctor, I see dysbiosis as absolutely the most common cause of weight gain, fatigue, food intolerance and bloating. It’s often more complicated than just changing what we eat. We need to weed out the slugs and overgrowth before food changes can help.
Common causes of dysbiosis.
Food poisoning
Antibiotic use
Medications
Standard American Diet: rich in refined and processed foods.
Parasites: even those found in some city water supply.
Trauma experience disrupting the nervous system.
Medications can aggravate dysbiosis.
Often folks come to me after they’ve had surgeries- gastric bypass, gallbladder removal, hysterectomy… Prior to these surgeries, many had been experiencing symptoms caused by dysbiosis and had been prescribed suppressive medications to control their symptoms. We now know that many medications can actually aggravate dysbiosis, such as, antacids, steroids, immuno-suppresants, antibiotics, statins, proton pump inhibitors, and mental health meds. Science can explain the side effects of many medications based on their destructive impact on the gut microbes that leads to dysbiosis.
Foods that make you bloat.
The same healthy foods that help maintain a healthy microbiome can also cause you to bloat and gain weight if you have dysbiosis.
Fiber-rich foods
Garlic
Onions
Beans
Vegetables
These food intolerances may not always be consistent.
Additives are metabolism and microbiome killers.
“Sugar free” sweeteners
Aspartame, acesulfame-K, saccharin, sucralose, neotame, advantame.
Even sugar extracts that read like food should be avoided: sucrose, glucose, fructose
High fructose corn syrup
Herbicides and pesticides
Steps to improve your metabolism.
Work with your naturopathic doctor on your microbiome recovery plan.
Get testing for dysbiosis (microbiome damage).
Weed out the bad apples of the microbiome.
Figure out which microbes need support in thriving better.
Try the microbiome diet- high in fiber and vegetable variety.
Exercise frequently- a beneficial impact on the microbiome.
Testing for Dysbiosis.
We often use stool testing or breath testing to check in on the microbiome. This is a good start. Medical technology is advancing in microbiome testing. I believe we’ll have even better tests in the years to come.
Tests to best understand microbiome issues.
Comprehensive microbiology stool testing
Organic acids urine testing
Breath tests measuring gases created by the microbiome
Nutrient profiles to measure deficiencies caused by dysbiosis.
Let’s work on your microbiome. Schedule today.
Once you’ve recovered your microbiome, a healthy lifestyle will maintain a flourishing microbiome for an improved weight, metabolism, and mental health. Follow my healthy lifestyle blog to learn more self care tips for maintaining a healthy microbiome.
Citations and resources:
Arora HC, Eng C, Shoskes DA. Gut microbiome and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Ann Transl Med. 2017;5(2):30. doi:10.21037/atm.2016.12.32
Baker JM, Al-Nakkash L, Herbst-Kralovetz MM. Estrogen-gut microbiome axis: Physiological and clinical implications. Maturitas. 2017;103:45-53. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2017.06.025
Grigor'eva IN, Romanova TI. Gallstone Disease and Microbiome. Microorganisms. 2020;8(6):835. Published 2020 Jun 2. doi:10.3390/microorganisms8060835
Pietrucci D, Teofani A, Unida V, et al. Can Gut Microbiota Be a Good Predictor for Parkinson's Disease? A Machine Learning Approach. Brain Sci. 2020;10(4):242. Published 2020 Apr 19. doi:10.3390/brainsci10040242
Qin J, Li R, Raes J, et al. A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature. 2010;464(7285):59-65. doi:10.1038/nature08821
Stinson LF, Payne MS, Keelan JA. A Critical Review of the Bacterial Baptism Hypothesis and the Impact of Cesarean Delivery on the Infant Microbiome. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018;5:135. Published 2018 May 4. doi:10.3389/fmed.2018.00135
Yano JM, Yu K, Donaldson GP, et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis [published correction appears in Cell. 2015 Sep 24;163:258]. Cell. 2015;161(2):264-276. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.047
Zhu B, Wang X, Li L. Human gut microbiome: the second genome of human body. Protein Cell. 2010;1(8):718-725. doi:10.1007/s13238-010-0093-z