“All disease begins in the gut.”
-Hippocrates
Fun fact- you are made of bugs! That’s right, your body contains more bacterial, viral, fungal, and other non-human cells than actual human cells themselves.
Kinda crazy (and creepy) to think about, but it’s true! Thanks to the importance of the friends you didn’t know you had, the term “microbiome” has gained increasing popularity in modern medicine. “Microbiome” describes the makeup of non-human cells in various parts of the body. For example, there is the vaginal microbiome, ocular microbiome, and the gut microbiome, collectively called the “holobiome”. Since the majority of the holobiome research has focused on the gut, so will I for the purpose of this article.
Even though Hippocrates said over 2,000 years ago that “all disease begins in the gut”, the Western Medical model is only beginning to recognize the role of the gut microbiome (much less the holobiome) in maintaining health as well as the development of chronic disease.
Let me be clear- not all disease begins in the gut. Diseases like Huntington’s and Tay Sachs are genetic, and there are, of course, diseases caused by exposure to pathogens such as the flu or Lyme disease. What Hippocrates really meant was all chronic, inflammatory disease begins in or is strongly impacted by the gut. For more information on the relationship between inflammation and chronic disease development, read my article “Think Pro-Immunity, NOT Anti-Inflammation.”
So why are these bugs, particularly those in the gut, so critical to health, and how are they responsible for disease development and progression?
The lining of your gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus is made up of a single layer of cells tightly joined together, called the gut epithelium. This epithelium is covered with a delicate balance of various microorganisms to ensure its proper function. In fact, in the gut alone there over 1 trillion microorganisms- that’s 5 pounds of belly bugs!
The organisms lining the epithelium have several critical metabolic, protective, and structural functions. They aid in the production of vitamins, amino acids, and short chain fatty acids, all necessary for basic cellular function. They also ensure healthy growth and vascularization (blood flow) of intestinal cells. When it comes to infection from foreign pathogens, the good bugs produce antimicrobial secretions and prevent colonization of the bad bugs.
If the importance of your gut buddies hasn’t yet registered, think about this – a healthy gut flora is necessary for the development and activation of the entire immune system. In fact, the lymphoid tissue in the gut is the largest immune organ of the human organism, responsible for producing 70-80% of immune cells.
When the gut microbiome becomes imbalanced – too many bad guys and not enough good ones – this is referred to as dysbiosis. Dysbiosis can be caused by many things, including a poor diet, inactivity, medications, stress, and smoking, just to name a few. Therefore it’s not surprising that gut dysbiosis has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, obesity, colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, autism/spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disease, and allergic diseases, just to name a few.
The gut microbiome is also integral to healthy brain and hormone functioning. Leading researchers are fascinated by the “microbiota-gut-brain axis”, a fancy term for the relationship between your gut microbiome and your brain. We now know that this complex, neurohormonal (brain-hormone) communication network is absolutely necessary for maintaining metabolic homeostasis- in other words, your brain-bug connection is required to function as a healthy human being!
Regardless of the science yet to come, one thing is certain – a healthy life requires a healthy gut and a healthy gut requires healthy bugs. So how does one maintain a healthy gut microbiome? Reduce stress, eat the right foods, move regularly, and do your best to live a non-toxic lifestyle – all the behaviors changes discussed on DrDWellnessAddict.com. In addition, probiotics and prebiotics should be considered. Stay tuned for future posting on this topic, including tips for selecting the right gut buddy product.
References
- Introduction to the Human Gut Microbiota. Biochem J 2017;474(11): 1823-36.
- Role of the Gut Microbiota in Nutrition and Health. BMJ. 2018; 361: k2179.
- Cross-talk: The Microbiota and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Front Neurosci. 2017; 11:490.
- Immune Gate of Psychopathology- The Role of Gut Derived Immune Activation in Major Psychiatric Disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2018; 9:205.
- The Gut-Brain Axis, the Human Gut Microbiota and Their Integration in the Development of Obesity. Front Physiol. 2018;9:900.
- Gut/Brain Axis and the Microbiota. J Clin Invest. 2015;125(3):926-38