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GUT INSULTS
In Part 2 we looked at the Microbiome in more detail.
In Part 3 we continue to delve deeper by looking at some of the INSULTS on the GUT and LUNGS and how they can affect our health...
Throughout our lives, our microbiome continues to be a vulnerable entity, and as we are exposed to stress, toxins, chemicals, certain diets, and exercise - our microbiome fluctuates, for better or worse.
ANTIBIOTICS
This is the most commonly thought of insult to the gut. The over-dispensing of antibiotics (“anti-life”) to destroy bacterial infections or suspected bacterial-related infections (usually viral ie: not responsive to antibiotics), has led to the life-threatening world-wide problem of antibiotic / antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These ailments (unless life threatening) are usually treatable with supportive changes in diet, botanicals / herbals, probiotics, vitamins, minerals and lifestyle (smoking, stress, sleep etc.). For more info on Anti-microbial resistance, visit the World Naturopathic Federation AMR website
STRESS
Stress needs it's own subheading here because it is so rife, and because of its far reaching health influences...
Stress can change the balance of bacteria that naturally live in the gut, according to research published recently in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. "These bacteria affect immune function, and may help explain why stress dysregulates the immune response," says lead researcher Michael Bailey. [1] Ongoing restriction of digestive blood flow, enzymes and biochemical reactions - brought on by long-term stress - takes its toll on the gut by reducing microbial diversity and lowering numbers of friendly flora, thereby creating conditions that encourage undesirable strains to thrive.[2]
“LEAKY GUT” - Intestinal permeability
This is a relatively common condition, but is not well recognized within allopathic medicine. The lining of the small intestine becomes damaged or inflamed, resulting in intestinal tight-junction disruption and malfunction, and ‘leaking’ / permeating of undesirable particles into the lymphatic and circulatory systems. Enterocytes lining the small intestine are normally “glued” together by tight junctions. These tight junctions have a very precise job – they maintain the delicate balance between allowing vital nutrients to enter your lymph and bloodstream, while remaining “tight” enough to prevent xenobiotics (a general term applied to substances that are foreign to the body and usually synthetic in origin) from passing out of your digestive system into the portal circulation and potentially to the rest of your body.[3] Here they can trigger a cascade of inflammatory and immunological problems, even leading to the potential of autoimmune disease in some vulnerable patients.
The full mechanism is described in great detail in this 2009 Scientific American article (image below: THE INSIDE STORY)
ALLERGY & INTOLERANCE
Food allergens and irritants: It makes logical sense that these would affect the gut, as these are ingested and have to pass through the entire gastro-intestinal tract (GIT), and could potentially have the ability to irritate the gut endothelium. Gluten & gliadin seem to be a major culprits - although there is some debate as to whether it is the gluten or gliadin itself, or the genetic modification of the wheat/gluten grains, or the glyphosphate sprays they use on these GM grains. Full-blown gluten/gliadin allergy is known as Coeliac disease, but Non-Coeliac gluten sensitivity is a growing issue for many patients.
Lungs: Historically, the lungs were seen as a sterile environment, but in the last decade or so, a revolutionary change in the understanding of how the lungs and microbiota interact and exist, has taken place. This stems from new knowledge that the lung is not sterile at all, but in fact, is host to an abundance of diverse interacting microbiota. This is particularly relevant in the study and treatment of chronic lung disease and COPD.
The incidence of allergic airway diseases has also risen dramatically in recent decades - allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis being the most common. Only recently, with the development of culture-independent techniques, has a distinct community of microbes in the lungs been identified. Interestingly, the epithelium of the gut is structurally very similar to the lung endothelium, and inflammation tends to happen in both areas in people with allergic airway diseases. People with allergic asthma for example, tend to have increased levels of Proteobacteria and reduced levels of Bacteroides species.
There are also mouse studies indicating that Vit D status (circulating levels of 25(OH)D in the blood stream) have a significant impact on the lung microbiome, and may reduce the presence of pathobionts in the lungs. However, further studies in humans are required.
While not many studies have assessed lung permeability, it seems plausible that the mechanisms that lead to "leaky gut" may also cause “leaky lungs.” Just like in the gut, microbial communities are very likely to have a major impact on the integrity of the lung tissue.[4]
RESOURCES:
[1] Bailey.(2011). Exposure to a social stressor alters the structure of the intestinal microbiota: Implications for stressor-induced immunomodulation? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity; 25 (3): 397.
[2] Bailey, M. T., Dowd, S. E., Parry, N. M., Galley, J. D., Schauer, D. B., & Lyte, M. (2010). Stressor Exposure Disrupts Commensal Microbial Populations in the Intestines and Leads to Increased Colonization by Citrobacter rodentium. Infection and Immunity, 78(4), 1509-1519.
[3] Ulluwishewa D, Anderson R.C., Warren C. McNabb W.C., Moughan P.J., Wells J.M., Roy N.C. (2011) Regulation of Tight Junction Permeability by Intestinal Bacteria and Dietary Components, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 141, Issue 5, 1 May, Pages 769–776.
[4] Kresser, C. (2016).Got Allergies? Your Microbes Could Be Responsible. [online] https://chriskresser.com/got-allergies-your-microbes-could-be-responsible/
