“Dysbiosis:” simply put, is when there is an imbalance between the types of bacteria and yeast living in you. And it ALSO is used to mean, harmful (disease-causing) bacteria, yeast and parasites are living in you (usually your gut).
Most of us have this to some degree and don’t even know it.
But you probably know with certainty that you have chronic indigestion, bloating, gas, alternating constipation and diarrhea, yeast infections / jock-like itches… and what about other common symptoms of dysbiosis like chronic fatigue, skin rashes, bad breath, thyroid problems, bladder infections, immune problems and even cancer, especially of the colon and breast.
Only recently have doctors wizened up to the fact that our microbiome (as the living internal gut is called) and not our organs, do key things that we need to survive. Check out the surprising jobs of your gut microbiome, below…
But “not knowing” hardly justifies some routine medical decisions that have left us with dysbiosis. Decisions like over-prescribing antibiotics that kill off the good with the bad; especially when they don’t work on viruses! Most flu, ear infections, stomach bugs and even sore throats are caused by viruses—yet most people who see their doctor walk out with a prescription for antibiotics before any test results are returned if tests are even done. What they don’t walk out with is directions on how to restore the balance to the bacteria and yeast in their gut that:
- would likely have prevented the cold in the first place; and
- has now been decimated by antibiotics (and other things… read on).
If you’ve tried to get rid of toxic chemicals but haven’t fixed your gut, read this:
By the way—this is just an aside—but that flu vaccine is one of the last remaining vaccines that is made with mercury. Even today, most flu vaccines contain 25 micrograms of mercury (as thimerosal) per dose. Candida albicans—of “yeast infection” fame… actually scavenges and detoxifies mercury out of you. Yes, C. albicans lives in all of us—and normally has a happy purpose of managing metal toxicity—intentionally load up on mercury, or zinc, or… and the yeast will happily divide, and divide (we call this a “yeast bloom”)… you feel brain fog, fatigue, rage, flu-like symptoms, skin rashes, thrush, vaginal itching… BIG pain. So we get the wrong idea that yeast are bad when it is actually
- specific genes in C. albicans prevent iron depletion in the bloodstream and protect from iron toxicity in the gut
- Candida forms spores (reproduces) when there are metals in its environment
- Candida grows when you eat sugars, carbohydrates and starches—their food of choice
Metals + high sugars/starches provide fuel for yeast overgrowth. You feel rotten and experience intense sugar and carbohydrate cravings that won’t quit…
But it gets worse… the starchy foods transform the lining of your gut into a mucousy and thickly coated home for those other sugar and starch loving buggers: parasites.
You depend on your bacteria AND your yeast to do many, many, many vital functions. It is when they grow out of balance that you experience health problems.
Cleanse your colon and restore balance first; here’s why Rejuveo:
The right balance of bacteria eats your food and then gives you pre-digested nutrients
They help digest and absorb our foods and in turn generate special nutrients (such as vitamin B-12 and N-butyrate both necessary for energy). Certain types of bacteria break down proteins, others break down fats, and yet others digest starches. They make all the enzymes they need to do this. Lose your bacterial balance (dysbiosis) and you become malnourished.
The flip side is also true: kidney stones may well be linked to the wrong balance of bacteria—an imbalance that favors oxalate-digesting strains. They’re not “bad bacteria” and are just doing their job for you; you just have too many of them—dysbiosis.
Your microbiome IS your weight control best friend
An imbalance (fostered by eating too many starchy, sugary foods) promotes absorption of certain sugars in the gut that in turn directly tells the liver to produce fats (high triglycerides) no matter how many or few calories you eat. In other words, even on low calorie diets an overgrowth of starch-loving bacteria will even more efficiently extract sugars from your food and do so in a way that fosters storing these calories as fat.
And in an imbalance double whammy, the right bacteria would have helped suppress the ability of fat cells to store fat; but since they are gone… the path is wide open and those adipocytes (fat cells) happily sponge up all that extra blood triglyceride, and grow fatter… and fatter… Reverse this: Restore gut bacterial balance and your microbiome will produce an enzyme that inhibits fat storage.
Hormones out of whack? Gut bacteria, not your organs, balance your hormones
Another function of probiotics is the metabolism of hormones:
Estrogens appear to be broken down and even recycled by intestinal microbiota. Too little estrogen for your gender and age increases your risk for osteoporosis; too much increases your risk for cancer. We don’t know the whole story but we do know that people who’ve lost microbiome balance don’t regulate estrogen well. A recent study also found that women who take antibiotics frequently are at a higher risk for breast cancer, most likely because the antibiotics kill the good bacteria that metabolize estrogen in the colon.
Thyroid hormones are complicated, but most of what is released by the thyroid needs to be activated. Your liver is the first stop for thyroid hormone activation—the second, and necessary next stop, are the bacteria in your gut. Once again, having the right microbiome balance means an activated T3 hormone—an imbalance and nothing happens. Your many feedback loops tell your pituitary that nothing is happening, your TSH skyrockets, your doctor may put you on thyroid hormones. Wouldn’t you rather drink kefir?
Bacteria ARE your immune system
When a baby is born, its gut is sterile. However, soon after birth, the baby’s colon is colonized by a variety of good bacteria. These bacteria adhere to the cells of the colon and play a major role in the development of the baby’s immune system. In fact, the gut contains the largest portion of your immune system—but specific bacteria, not you, make one of the most important immune proteins, or “globulins,” called IgA. This IgA globulin—again, it’s made by bacteria and not you—protects the lining of your entire GI tract from your nose to the anus.
Good bacteria fight the bad bacteria
Pathogenic (disease-causing) E. coli, Candida yeast and other critters don’t stand a chance when you have the right healthy populations of bacteria living in your gut.
Your bacteria and yeast are waging a constant battle for survival. A healthy diet keeps them balanced because different bacteria eat different foods. In fact, some foods cannot be used by the pathogens and naturally kills them—we use this to our advantage on the Rejuveo cleanse.
And having the right balance of healthy gut bacteria kills off any parasites and unwanted critters that happen to make it through your stomach acid. Your natural anti-microbials keep your immune system functioning properly, prevent food allergies, help repair the gut lining, and suppress bad bacteria.
Your anticancer friends
Normally, excess estrogens are inactivated in your liver and then sent to your small intestine for elimination. But depending on the bacteria you have, these estrogens can be chemically changed into either a strong cancer promoter or a powerful cancer inhibitor. What determines which of these products are produced are the type of bacteria and several nutrients in the colon. (if a product called 2-hydroxyestrone is produced, cancer is inhibited. If 16-alpha hydroxyestrone is produced, cancer is promoted)
Breast cancer in women is strongly correlated to these metabolic products from the gut. So are head and neck cancers, endometrial cancers, prostate cancers, and cervical cancers. And women who have taken antibiotics frequently have a much higher risk of developing breast cancer AND a population of bacteria that raises levels of cancer promoter 16-alpha hydroxyestrone.
The Mouth: Decay, Gingivitis, Bad Breath
The mouth, like the colon, requires a normal flora of good bacteria to protect against harmful gum infections and infections of the root canal. One study showed that drinking or chewing living probiotics produced a significant reduction in the number harmful bacteria associated with tooth decay and gum disease (mutans streptococci) compared with controls who experienced no benefit. Another study showed taking Lactobacillus products corrected gingivitis and plaque formation.
Those mouthwashes and fluoride treatments may actually be killing off the beneficial bacteria that normally protect the teeth and gums from disease-causing organisms. Dysbiosis.
But why fix the gut first?
We’re suppose to have a balance of five general families of bacteria in our small intestine alone. Each one, like a finely tuned machine, does its job well and lets the rest do theirs well—a great team. I figure, if they are suppose to do that, then I can kick back and let them.
But there’s another reason—the sandbags will only hold the flood waters for a while. If you ask your liver or any other organ to work for you but don’t give it the nutrients it needs, that alone will cause it to fatigue. And if you ask it to do something like remove the body’s toxic waste when it doesn’t have enough tools to eliminate its own, you’re in for a big crash.
Luckily, it is all worked out for you. Join my Rejuveo cleanse. It works!
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References
Flores R, Shi J,Fuhrman B, et al. Fecal microbial determinants of fecal and systemic estrogens and estrogen metabolites: a cross-sectional study. J Transl Med. 2012; 10: 253. Published online Dec 21, 2012. doi: 10.1186/1479-5876-10-253
Markle JG, Frank D, Mortin-Toth S Sex Differences in the Gut Microbiome Drive Hormone-Dependent Regulation of Autoimmunity Science 1 March 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6123 pp. 1084-1088 DOI: 10.1126/science.1233521
Sidhu H, Allison MJ, Chow JM, et al. Rapid reversal of hyperoxaluria in a rat model after probiotic administration of Oxalobacter formigenes. J. Urol. 2001;166:1487–1491.
Bäckhed, F. et al. The gut microbiota as an environmental factor that regulates fat storage. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 2004:101, 15718–15723.
