S.O.S: Unraveling Gut Dysbiosis
Is your gut sending you mixed signals?
S.O.S.! Is your body confused and sending mixed signals?
If you are dealing with fatigue, brain fog, gas, bloating and constipation, your search for relief and answers is over.
The key starts with your gut ecosystem. Let’s explore if dysbiosis (leaky gut) could be the root cause of your health concerns. By addressing it, you’ll feel better, think better and start your golden glow.
The Gut Microbiome: Your Inner Garden
Imagine your gut as a beautiful garden, bustling with trillions of diverse microorganisms working together when you’re healthy and breaking down when you’re unhealthy. This complex community is known as the gut microbiome. It plays a vital role in:
Digestion: Breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, and chemically maximizes supplement compounds.
Immune Regulation: Trains your immune system to work for you and distinguish between friend and foe.
Mental Health: Produces neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, affecting your mood and cognition.
Metabolism: Affects weight gain or loss, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels.
The Importance of Microbiome Diversity
A healthy gut microbiome is a diverse and strong one. It is your garden’s foundation and fortress that can keep invaders out of your garden, where food can grow and thrive or wilt and die. Imagine your gut microbiome is the soil in your inner garden. Healthy soil can grow your beautiful flowers and yummy food.
If your body’s gut microbiome has balance and nutrient diversity, it ensures resilience, nutrient absorption, and optimal function. An unbalanced gut microbiome can lead to multiple health issues the way unhealthy soil and conditions lead to a garden with struggling flowers and sickened produce. Your unbalanced gut becomes vulnerable to unwelcome invaders like parasites, viruses, bacteria and nutrient deficiencies the way a garden is susceptible to being eaten by worms and insects.
For optimum health, balance is key for the organisms dwelling in your "gut garden.” Fostering diversity in the number and variety of microorganisms can lead to a glorious garden.
Some examples of major gut bacteria include:
Bacteroidetes: Several types of “good” bacteria that plays a key role in breaking down complex carbohydrates.
Firmicutes: Many species involved in energy extraction from food. However, an imbalance in these populations have been linked to weight gain and metabolic disorders.
Actinobacteria: These include Bifidobacterium, which is often considered a beneficial bacteria and is commonly found in probiotic supplements.
Proteobacteria: While some Proteobacteria are beneficial, others can be pathogenic. An overgrowth of certain Proteobacteria has been linked to inflammation.
Akkermansia muciniphila: A specific bacterium known for its role in maintaining the integrity of the gut lining, as well as weight management.
Gut Dysbiosis: When the Garden Goes Wild
Gut dysbiosis occurs when there's an imbalance in the gut microbiome like when your garden can be overrun with weeds. When the delicate dance between beneficial and harmful microorganisms is knocked off balance it can lead to a cascade of health problems. A leaky gut, inflammation, brain fog, issues with digestion, and other issues result.
Some contributing factors include:
Overuse of antibiotics
Chronic stress
Low stomach acid
Poor diet (high in sugar, and processed foods)
Environmental toxins
Intestinal parasites
Chronic illnesses
Certain medications (PPIs, NSAIDs)
Poor sleep
Common Types of Gut Imbalances:
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO):
The small intestine should have sparse amounts of bacteria, but when there’s an overgrowth, SIBO occurs. SIBO can occur from diet, adhesions due to abdominal surgery, and high alcohol intake. SIBO often stems from a disruption of the body’s migrating motor complex (MMC) which occurs in between meals. Bacteria in the small intestine move down into the large intestine, where most bacteria reside. When this process isn’t working well, bacteria remain stuck in the small intestine where they don’t belong. The result: various digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating, and acid reflux. Mental health issues, like anxiety and brain fog, can occur, too. This can also damage the lining of the small intestine, leading to nutrient malabsorption and other complications.
Candida Overgrowth:
Candida is a type of yeast, specifically Candida albicans, that naturally resides in the human gut, skin, the mouth, skin and a woman’s vagina. In a healthy gut, Candida exists in a balanced state, kept in check by beneficial bacteria. When the gut environment becomes compromised, Candida can proliferate and lead to overgrowth. Some contributing factors can be a high-sugar diet, antibiotic use, weakened immunity, environmental toxins, and mold exposure.
This overgrowth can manifest in various ways:
Systemic Symptoms:
Chronic fatigue and low energy.
Brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and memory issues.
Recurring yeast infections (vaginal, oral thrush).
Joint pain.
Digestive Symptoms:
Bloating, gas, and abdominal discomfort.
Changes in bowel habits (diarrhea or constipation).
Intense sugar cravings.
Skin Symptoms:
Eczema, psoriasis, and other skin rashes.
Fungal nail infections.
Itching
Candida overgrowth can also lead to "leaky gut," where the gut lining becomes permeable, allowing undigested food particles and toxins to enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and immune responses.
Beyond SIBO and Candida, other significant gut imbalances can disrupt health:
Lack of Diversity:
A diverse gut microbiome is a resilient one. Modern diets, overuse of antibiotics, and environmental factors can diminish this diversity.
Less diversity compromises essential gut functions , such as immune regulation, nutrient absorption and healthy digestion.
This can increase susceptibility to various health problems, including autoimmune diseases, allergies, and inflammatory conditions.
Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO):
Similar to SIBO, SIFO involves an excessive amount of fungi, primarily yeast, in the small intestine.
While Candida is the most common culprit, other fungal species can also contribute to SIFO.
Symptoms can overlap with SIBO and Candida overgrowth, including bloating, gas, abdominal pain, and changes in bowel habits.
SIFO can be harder to diagnose than SIBO, and is often overlooked.
People with weakened immune systems, chronic illnesses, or those taking certain medications (like proton pump inhibitors) may be more susceptible to SIFO.
Symptoms can include nausea, acid reflux, and general digestive discomfort.
Now that gut imbalances have been addressed as well as things that can cause these imbalances, some symptoms are below:
Symptoms of Gut Dysbiosis:
The symptoms of gut dysbiosis can be diverse and seemingly unrelated, including:
Digestive issues: Bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn
Fatigue and low energy
Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
Skin problems: Eczema, acne, psoriasis
Mood disorders: Anxiety, and depression
Autoimmune diseases
Food sensitivities
Recurring infections
We’ve defined the what and why behind gut dysbiosis, but what about how to heal?
In my next article, I will dive deep into practical strategies for restoring your gut's balance. From a detailed guide on navigating sugar withdrawal to a comprehensive list of gut-friendly foods and those to avoid, I will equip you with the tools to reclaim your golden glow. And because this journey can be complex, I will also explore how personalized support can make all the difference.
Are you ready to transform your gut and your life?
Together, we can create a personalized gut recovery plan to help you achieve your Golden Glow. Book your 15 minute free consultation here:
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BONUS FREE GUIDE:
Do you wake up each day to find new “fun” symptoms your body has developed overnight? Are these symptoms so nonspecific that your doctor brushes them off or chalks them up to stress? If this sounds all too familiar, you’re not alone. You’ve likely tried everything—changing your diet, exercising more, even giving trendy detoxes a shot—but nothing seems to stick.
What if the answer lies in something you can't see?
Parasites, often an overlooked root cause of various health problems, are particularly common in individuals with mold exposure. They can contribute to a wide range of symptoms, some of which may mimic other conditions. If you're experiencing persistent, unexplained symptoms, it's worth exploring the possibility of a parasitic infection.
Want to learn more about parasites and how they might be affecting your health? Get my FREE Unmasking Parasite Freebie here!