Diets to heal gut dysbiosis

What is gut dysbiosis and who is at risk?

You have a wide variety of different microbes that colonize parts of your body, from your gut to your skin and other areas. There are microbes for the most part are symbiotic in that they help with different functions in the body.

Microbes perform tasks like keeping mucous membranes healthy, helping with the breakdown of nutrients, and even helping to support the immune system's health.

Your microbiome is like a fingerprint. It is unique to you, and there is no other person with a microbiome precisely like yours. We are only now starting to understand through research the extent of the role of these microbes for our health and wellbeing.

When the balance is lost and a shift in the ecosystem, we run into issues. Signs and symptoms start to develop, and we see dysbiosis, a lack of some of the essential bugs, and an overgrowth of the not-so-good bugs.

As a naturopath, I most commonly see this occurring in the digestive tract, with persistent gut issues.

What causes gut dysbiosis?

It’s not unusual for my clients to come in and let me know that since that trip to Bali where they got an acute bout of gastro or since the course of antibiotics for some unrelated issue, their gut was never the same. What we know about the microbiome is that several factors the can easily influence it. Things like:

• Pharmaceutical Medications
  anti-biotics, PPI’s Protein pump inhibitors often prescribed in reflux, pain killers.
  
  

• Changes in Diet
  more sugar, carbohydrates, protein, any shift really will see your microbiome change. When the diet doesn’t suit your particular makeup, issues can arise.
  
  

• Stress and Anxiety
  by depressing the immune system considers an imbalance develops.

• Alcohol
  more than two drinks will affect your microbiome and shift things.

• Infections
  parasites, viruses all impact the balance.

• Consumption of chemicals
  pesticides used on food, preservatives, additives, etc

Signs and symptoms of an unhealthy gut?

The symptoms are different for every individual and can occur in the upper gut- or in the lower gut:

• Diarrhoea

• Constipation

• Rash skin redness

• Rectal itching

• Bloating

• Cramping- Pain

• Nausea lack of appetite

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Brain Fog

• Head aches

• Lethargy

How is gut dysbiosis diagnosed and treated?

Depending on your personal history and symptom picture, your health care practitioner may decide to run one of the following pathology exams:

Hydrogen Breath Test

One generally done when SIBO small intestine bacterial overgrowth is suspected, you're given preparation and then asked for breath into a modified balloon, where your expired air is then assessed.

Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis

Several different levels can be conducted looking at various markers and bugs. This is generally one of the first tests performed by your GP when assessing your gut.

Microbiome Mapping

This is one I commonly order, it’s conducted through a functional pathology lab, and your stool is assessed for a whole host of bugs, good and bad, as well as several markers looking at gut wall integrity and inflammation. It’s a great snapshot of your current state of gut health.

Genova Comprehensive Profile Or Microba’s Test

To date, these are some of the most comprehensive test available to health care practitioners. You can think of it as the Rolls Royce of poo tests!

To find out more about the application of these tests in IBS and some of the information they can help to reveal head across to this post.

It covers the most bugs across the board, looks at parasites, viruses, and fungi, as well as your good bacteria. It provides information on markers for inflammation, digestions, and absorption.

It even gives you some details of subtypes of specific bugs.

Suppose you’ve been dealing with chronic digestive issues. In that case, the clarity and information gained from conducting these tests can mean the difference between a clear path forward to improvement and looking for a needle in a haystack.

Food sensitivity Testing

This is something I run in my Sydney natural health clinic. Checking the main 40 foods that lead to issues with digestion however there is more extensive testing…

Essential to note that here we’re not looking at a true allergy necessarily, which is considered an IgE response but rather a potential IgA or IgG immune response, which is different.

To find out more about food sensitivity testing check out this article.

With all of that discussion on testing, it is possible to get great results with your gut without spending loads of money on testing. A very good case history and we can implement changes that can improve your gut health.

Can a naturopath help with gut health?

As a naturopath, I see patients with multiple chronic health conditions at the same time. It’s fair to say that if your gut isn’t functioning optimally then the rest of your body will struggle.

My approach is customised and multifaceted, if we don’t take a comprehensive approach we can’t expect to see long term improvements with digestion.

Diet to heal gut dysbiosis (Foods to eat Foods to avoid)

It’s the one question that I get asked all the time…

“What should I eat to help my gut?”

Many clients come to see me who’ve tried this dietary protocol and that only to find that it had no impact at all or worse exacerbated their symptoms. Without having some of the tests mentioned above you can do an elimination diet which can be insightful.

If you have issues with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) then a low FODMAPS diet may be useful. However this is not a long term diet as it’s restrictive and I’ve consulted many clients who’ve stayed on it for extended periods only to then develop nutrient deficiencies.

If you have long standing food allergies or sensitivities then specifically a diet that eliminates the assaulting foods either temporarily or permanently may be most beneficial.

If your struggle is with a parasitic infection like Dientamoeba Fragilis, or Blastocystis. Then you may be best following a specific protocol that works on decreasing the parasites using nutraceuticals while using foods to improve healing and reduce inflammation of the gut.

Believe it or not this list goes on add to it the possibility of Histamine issues, involvement of a dysregulated nervous system that’s in a state or chronic low grade stress, which we know has a direct impact on digestion. To find out if this is a potential factor for you check out this article.

So if you’re struggling please consider the following…

1. What’s causing the imbalance? physical factors? genetic factors? and psychological factors? All of the above?

2. Have you addressed the issue from all angles? diet, lifestyle, nutraceuticals etc

Once an individualised approach is implemented and you see improvements in your overall symptom picture then working towards a whole food diet. That is balanced and avoids anything overly processed, this is generally the goal for most of my beautiful clients.

To find out more about how I can support you with your dysbiosis feel free to book in for a complimentary 15 minute phone call below. Looking forward to chatting to you soon.