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PROBIOTICS

Probiotics – Help Maintain a Healthy Balance of Gut Microflora

Microbes of all sorts naturally colonize and reside in the human gastrointestinal tract.

This complex ecosystem, when in balance, performs beneficial activities for our health such as helping with digestion, synthesizing enzymes and producing vitamins.

In fact, the estimated 100 trillion microbes who have made your intestines their home is called the gut biome. These microbes have genetic material, as well as release products (postbiotics), which can affect our health.

They can modulate our immune responses (recognizing foreign substances), gut barrier function, inflammation and synthesis of neurotransmitters. They may also produce signalling chemicals that regulate our appetites and satiety!

Probiotics are live bacteria which, when taken usually as a dietary supplement, colonize in the intestines and provide health benefits to the host – us!

The Imbalance in the GI Microbiota Balance Plays Large Role in Disease

There’s a “battle” for “dominance” between microorganisms in our bodies. Scientists have reported that Westernized cultures with Westernized diets and pervasive use of antibiotics have experienced a loss of diversity in the internal gut ecosystem. Less diversity usually means less resilience of the gut.

There’s also been a proliferation or overpopulation of certain strains of microorganisms.

This imbalance is also called gut dysbiosis. More and more, scientists are becoming aware that dysbiosis may not only create uncomfortable symptoms, like GI distress, but it may also play a role in autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, metabolic syndrome and neuropsychiatric conditions.

One type of gut imbalance is SIBO, or small bowel bacterial overgrowth. SIBO is a condition in which abnormally large numbers of bacteria grow in the small intestine.

The small intestine usually contains a low number of bacteria (and it’s where we absorb most of our nutrients), as compared to the large intestine which contains large numbers. SIBO creates a condition in which the microbes are competing with us for the nutrients we would normally absorb.

In addition to losing out on nutrients, a person with SIBO may experience damage to the cells lining their intestinal walls due to the breakdown of nutrients by the unwanted bacteria in the small intestine.

Good Microbes, Bad Microbes…It’s Complicated!

Except for a few pathogens, most microbes are either harmless or have a mutually positive “relationship” with us.

When our gut ecology is in balance and our immune systems are functioning well, we can generally handle “bad” or “unfriendly” invaders. But when we get out of balance, we often can’t.

And when we get out of balance some microbes take advantage of the opportunity to multiply more and tip the balance further, and are then referred to as “bad.”

I think it’s more complicated than that; most microbes have positive and negative aspects to them. It’s about Balance.

Some of the beneficial bacteria, probiotic strains like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are getting crowded out by the opportunistic resident fungus Candida albicans (yeast).

This crowding out of the beneficial bacteria, or at least disruption of the healthy balance of our gut biome, is becoming more and more common.

When some microbes crowd out other bacteria it can lead to an overgrowth situation.

What is Leaky Gut?

The “Leaky Gut” syndrome occurs when intestinal surfaces are damaged, chronically inflamed, causing the cells to separate and the intestinal lining to become more permeable than normal.

Lack of integrity of the gut lining enables things to enter the bloodstream that don’t belong there, such as Candida, bacteria, parasites, toxins, undigested protein, fat, and waste. (Healthy gut lining repels these and the body eliminates them.)

Did you know that the body relies on certain strains of gut microbes to tend to the mucosal lining of the gut? If you don’t have healthy and diverse populations of gut microflora that include these strains, opportunistic microbes can overgrow and damage the gut lining.

The shift in balance of the “good” vs. “bad” bacteria in your gut can happen over time and may be from a combination of factors such as chronic use of antibiotics and a high sugar, low fiber diet, among other things.

Yeast Overgrowth

If you don’t have the right balance of microflora in your gut (ratio of “good” to “bad” microbes) you can experience yeast overgrowth, which can impact your health and cause uncomfortable symptoms.

Chronic use of antibiotics and a high sugar diet may override the body’s ability to re-balance the gut microbiome.

Symptoms of Candida overgrowth in the gut include indigestion, gas, distention, mucus in the bowel.

If the integrity of the gut lining is “leaky,” Candida can get into the bloodstream.

Once Candida is in the bloodstream, it can travel to other areas of the body and colonize there, especially areas with moist mucous membranes, such as the anus, rectum, vagina, genitourinary tract, lungs and sinuses.

  • Women may experience Candida overgrowth in the vagina with vaginal discomfort or itching.
  • Similarly, people with Candida overgrowth in the rectum may experience rectal itching or discomfort. Diaper rash in children or the incontinent elderly, urinary tract infections and burning upon urination, and oral thrush are other examples of Candida overgrowth. Sinuses may also become inflamed.
  • People with Candida overgrowth may develop sensitivities to foods (most common are dairy products and foods with dietary yeasts and molds), and to chemicals, including cleaning supplies.
  • Some of the symptoms may be from the Candida itself; others may be from toxins released by the Candida.
  • Persistent overgrowth of Candida may damage the intestinal walls, weakening the body’s ability to properly absorb nutrients.
  • The shift in balance of the “good” vs. “bad” bacteria in your gut and other body systems happens over time and usually from a combination of factors.

To learn more… read What Causes Yeast Overgrowth? including the 4 Step Clinical Process for Yeast Overgrowth

Taking a Probiotic to Rebalance Your “Good” Bacteria

MegaSporeBiotic contains Bacillus strains and has been clinically researched to help maintain a healthy gut barrier function and reduce leaky gut and inflammation. It reconditions the gut by promoting microbial diversity including other key health promoting bacteria and increasing the production of anti-inflammatory short chain fatty acids such as butyrate.

There is ongoing research with MegaSporeBiotic at leading universities. Exciting results include significant reduction of triglycerides with MegaSporeBiotic supplementation.

Getting Probiotics to Where They Are Needed

The probiotic has the challenge of getting past your stomach acids and arriving in the small and large intestines, alive and active, in order to benefit the host, you!

That’s why the delivery system of the probiotic is key. For example, some probiotic supplements are made with a special encapsulating process (coating system) that protects the probiotic bacteria from stomach acids as well as other environmental factors (while it’s in the bottle) such as heat, moisture or oxygen.

MegaSporeBiotic is a spore probiotic naturally resistant to stomach acid, air, heat, and moisture.

How Much Probiotic Do You Need?

Probiotics are measured in CFUs or Colony Forming Units.

CFUs measure the number of viable microbes or live bacteria in a probiotic.

Sometimes a person with symptoms will start off with a probiotic with more CFUs and then taper down to a maintenance dose with fewer CFUs.

Some probiotic supplements have CFUs in the millions, others 1 billion, 5 billion, etc.

The ideal number of CFUs has not been determined.

Probiotics Play Many Roles

  • Produce their own enzymes that help process our food.
  • Manufacture essential vitamins such as B vitamins and vitamin K.
  • Keep our immune system healthy — stimulating some components of our immune system and protecting the body from unfriendly organisms.
  • Help prevent the overgrowth of yeast and harmful bacteria and their harmful by-products.
  • Play a role in the manufacture of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
  • Communicate with our brain and can affect our mood and memory through the gut-brain axis.
  • Help maintain the health and integrity of the mucosal gut lining.
  • Produce by-products (postbiotics); some species produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate, anti-inflammatory and provides nourishment for cells lining the colon.
  • Perform beneficial activities for our health, like supporting healthy digestion through fermentation of the byproducts of the food we eat.
  • Help assimilate nutrients during digestion.
  • Can ease gas and bloating.
  • Support regularity of normal bowel movements – easing diarrhea or constipation.

Many scientists believe that the probiotic microorganisms live symbiotically in us and function as an auxiliary DNA. Their DNA may influence the expression of our genes!

Probiotics and The Gut-Brain Axis

There has been exciting new research about the Gut-Brain Axis. In addition to our brain, we have an enteric nervous system (ENS).  The ENS is composed of millions of neurons and neurohormones produced in our gut that communicate with our brain.

The ENS sends chemicals and electrical message signals to the brain that directly affect feelings (sadness, stress, anxiety, fear), memory, learning and decision making.

While the ENS may be called a “second brain,” the communication between the gut bacteria and the brain is actually one part of a single nervous system.

If dysbiosis is present and the gut is unhealthy, it can adversely affect the nervous system. Probiotics, so important to the integrity of our gut, are also intricately connected to the Gut-Brain Axis.