Dysbiosis - The Cause, Symptoms & Getting Help

The Modern World and the Human Ecosystem

Many people know no difference, living in todays the fast paced modern society, stress and anxiety is the norm and increasing year on year, many people not getting enough sleep, the demands of work, study and family life taking it’s toll, eating quick foods on the go or packaged oven ready processed high fat, high salt and sugar content foods designed to feed the taste buds and the wrong types of food and drink for the body. In addition to a lack of exercise coupled with a disconnection from our environment many people are feeling lost and dejected.

It is no wonder our society is becoming more and more run down, ill and disease ridden which then involves visits to the doctor with a pill for any ill becoming the norm nowadays.  In addition, we must contend on a daily basis with the increase in pollution issues on the road, in the workplace, around the house, in and on our foods with the common use of various additives and chemicals including insecticides, food colouring and sweeteners etc. All these factors are having a detrimental impact on the mind, body, and our health in general.  Have you ever wondered why the doctors and hospital are bursting with an endless supply of customers, think about it for a moment?

You may not have heard of the human microbiome; we all have our very own human microbiome; it is what makes us human.  In fact, we are made up of an estimated 100 trillion microbes that live on and in us working 24/7 to keep us healthy and alive. It is our very own ecosystem that lives on and in us and much of it lives in our gut and it is called the gut microbiome.  The Gut microbiome weighs more than most people’s head and its housed within the long tube called digestive system or the alimentary tract which stretches from the mouth to the anus and everything we eat, or drink passes through this. The problem is that the lifestyle mentioned above can upset our ecosystem or gut microbiome, so it becomes unbalanced and health issues can start to occur.

The gut microbiome main functions include regulation and development of the immune and nervous systems, promotion and regulation of the fat storage, fermentation and digestion of all foods which includes the manufacture of some vitamins and their transportation along with minerals and nutrients to where needed in the body.  The gut microbiome affects all aspects of our health including heart and other organs, digestion, the brain, the skin, hormone production, weight storage and nutrient absorption.  The gut microbiome plays a vital role in all aspects of our health and wellbeing both good and bad.  When its balanced and in state of equilibrium all is well however when it becomes out of balance and disjoined not working in unison a situation called dysbiosis evolves.

What is Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis occurs when microbes in our gut which includes our stomach and intestine tracts become unbalanced.  Our body is full of colonies of microbiota of various and different species that work in unison, all playing their roles and performing tasks keeping our human ecosystem balanced, their functions and roles keep us alive, healthy and in wellbeing.  The good microbiota keeping the bad in their place or eliminating pathogens that get into our body (a pathogen is any bacteria or virus or microbe that’s sole purpose is disease or cause harm to us).  Dysbiosis occurs when the items mentioned in the first paragraph start to send our ecosystem or microbiome out of whack and when this occurs, we start in the early stages to experience mild symptoms which if left can evolve into more serious disease.  This may trigger unwell feelings and a cycle of visits to the doctors and/or hospital for tests to find the what is causing the illness. Medications such antibiotics or some other medication are prescribed which in turn may exasperate illness by some side of effects of medication, disease may get worse or changes direction, mutates into another illness and so the cycle continues for the sufferer.  I understand this because I have personal experience of this happening to me.

What are the tell-tale signs that your microbiome is out of whack?

Here are a few tell-tale signs that your microbiome is out of whack:

1. Digestive Issues

One of the first tell take signs that your ecosystem is out of sync is the following:

You may feel bloated or suffering with gas either burping and/or trumping excessively

Maybe suffering regularly from heartburn or acid reflux or indigestion.

Bouts of diarrhoea and/or constipation may become prevalent or the onset IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) commences leading to more serious issues such as Irritable Bowel Disease including Crohn’s and or Ulcerative Colitis.

These issues are commonly the first tell-tale signs.  Many people will take off the shelf medications or visit the doctor where medications can help at surface level to assist however, in may circumstances they do not treat the root cause of the problem – an out of balance gut microbiome.

2. Mental Health Issues

One of the gut microbiomes functions is the regulation and moderation of our nervous system and research and studies have proved gut is in direct link with the brain, in fact the majority of hormones such as Serotonin, Dopamine, Gaba as well and other are produced in the gut and transported to the brain so if the gut becomes unbalanced then disturbances in hormone production can impact on the brains neurotransmitters possibly causing mental health issues such as:

Brain fog or fussy thinking

Anxiety

Stress

OCD/ADHD

Depression

These can have a serious impact on a person’s life affecting the ability to function adequately in work, in relationships, meeting new friends or opportunities, the affect can be very unpleasant and debilitating for the sufferer.  Again, frequent visits to the doctor occur and medication is prescribed which helps at the surface level assisting the brain chemically, however often with the result of some serious side effects and never getting to the root cause of the problem. This can be devastating for the sufferer’s life.

3. Skin Conditions

When our Microbiome becomes out of balance, the skin can be affected because the correct nutrients are not feeding the skin or because the body needs to expel toxins and does so through the skin causing various skin complaints such as:

Acne

Eczema

Psoriasis

Rosacea

As mentioned above, the sufferer uses off the shelf medications or visits the doctor for medication which may help with the issues but often its only suppresses the root cause of the problem, an out of balance microbiome and reappears elsewhere.

4. Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

A vital function of our gut microbiome is the development and regulation of the immune system together with the healthy production of some vitamins through synthesis, the extraction of vital minerals and micronutrients from our foods to be transported to where required around the body.  If your microbiome becomes of unbalanced an affect can be that not enough vitamins and minerals are produced for vital bodily functions and the immune system may become compromised.  The following issues can become evident:

Fatigue, tiredness, or energy fluctuations

Brittle nails or hair quality diminishes, dandruff or itchy scalp

Prolonged or recurrent or severe common colds, bronchial, respiratory or sinus infections

Regular headaches

Muscle cramps, pains in joins or unexplained pains around the body

Rheumatoid arthritis

Bleeding gums, mouth ulcers or bad breath

These are just a few symptoms, a weakened immune system can be profoundly serious issue, research shows that around 70% of human immunity is produced from the gut so an out of balance gut microbiome can have serious consequences to overall health.

5. Weight Issues

A vital function of our gut microbiome is the regulation of our fat stores around the body, it keeps the fat stores in check ensuring we put on and lose weight naturally, however an out of balance gut microbiome can have serious issues with weight leading to and becoming over weight or worse obese which can progress to very serious diseases. Certain bad bacteria can flourish knocking out the good bacteria leading to development and potential progression to serious disease such as:

Sugar and certain carbohydrate addictions

Candida infections

Serious weight gain and obesity

Diabetes

Various cancer types

Brain disease

Heart disease

Liver disease

The above is not exhaustive, other complaints or issues can be included. You may already be suffering some of these in a mild form and again they can be treated by medication at the surface level so it’s very important you visit your doctor straight away in order to get a diagnosis.  Treatment can alleviate the specific disease however additional complications can arise.  If symptoms are left, they can get worse and lead to more serious life-threatening issues or even death, so it is particularly important help is sought in order to manage the illness but the sufferer should be mindful of deeper microbial issues at the root cause.

I write this article to educate you, to get you thinking about your own lifestyle right now and if you recognise any of the symptoms mention or you are suffering its important you seek help straight away from a doctor or you can reach out to me too.  You may already have visited the doctor or hospital or are already taking prescribed medications to assist you.  This is great however often side effects can occur from the medication and or the original problem is exasperated and not cured so you start to live with the problem suffering in silence or moaning to family and friends and/or frequent visits to the doctor and hospital.  Your quality of life may diminish, and you lose self-esteem and enthusiasm for life.  You may be sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, if this is the case then an alternative way may be the way for you to look at something simple along with continuation with meds, your lifestyle, what you eat and drink, how you are living and how to change this.

Lifestyle Adjustments or Complete Lifestyle Change

The good news is that our microbiome can be reset or rebalanced.  The bad news is that this is very much dependant on how poor your gut health is, how long you have been in dysbiosis or suffering with a disease as a result.  Everybody is different, we all have own unique life and lifestyle that we have been living.  The point is that no matter how far down the scale you are, you can start to make the necessary changes to get your balance, health, and wellbeing back however you must be realistic, this may take time to achieve. 

Normally, a total review where you are right now is required. This can be difficult to achieve alone because we become blind or in denial with our lifestyle, we habitually pursue daily without often no thought.  This is common because it is how we have been educated from birth (sometimes before birth) from our family, then school, the TV, from books, our friends, or spouses etc.  The problem is our existing lifestyle is clearly not serving us correctly hence the reason for the dysbiosis in the first place and the resultant diseases we find ourselves living with.

Once a thorough review is complete, identification of the necessary changes is required. This may be as simple as a few minor lifestyle tweaks through to a radical lifestyle change, which is very much dependent upon the findings of the initial full review.

Implementation of identified changes will require action, often a lot of action. Being realistic it is not easy to change life habits that you habitually perform for 5, 10 or 30 years or more.  These habits may no longer serve you; your health and such learnt behaviour can be difficult to change. However and its not as daunting as it may seem with some help from someone who know what they are doing?

Maybe you have been trying to change already entering fad diets on and off, here and there, maybe with exercise routines and only to fail after short or medium space of time.  This can be disheartening because the enthusiasm is there at the beginning however often the diet fails to provide what the body needs and so the body reacts, the mind wains and you fall off the wagon.  I know this because I have done it numerous times and it can be very disheartening. 

It is a fact that studies show fad dieting (there are many different types available) medium to long term do not work for various reasons which I will not go into here.  So, an action plan is required, a road map for lifestyle change and success or a set of written goals with a definite purpose with a start date and specific goal dates which will be reviewed regularly along the way.  This maybe daily, weekly or monthly or a mixture, it’s all dependant on the results of the review, the necessary changes identified and the person wanting change.

At the very least a minimum of 30 days to 90 days is usually necessary because it takes time, persistence, and discipline to move into new habits and move away and eradicate old (the ones causing the problem) habits.  There is usually bumps in the road that sometime may take us off track however if persistence is maintained new habit is become the normal and old ill serving habits will disappear never to return once educated and healing and wellness returns.

Getting Help

By now hopefully you will have got the message there is no doubt at all that change is required in order to get the gut microbiome back into balance and it all starts with what we are eating and drinking and of course our mind set.  In addition, an in-depth honest look at the existing lifestyle is required, as mentioned above.

The number one starting point is to speak to your doctor and get help from a fully qualified and fully accredited Nutritionist who will educate you, get you started and work with you.  A gut microbiome rebalance is not an overnight job as mentioned above so getting help from someone who knows what they are doing will help speed up the process substantially.

At Good Living Nutrition we have designed a unique programme called the ASPIRE Programme. Through consultation and coaching we work with our clients to identify the problem(s), the existing lifestyle issues, work with you to ascertain the root cause(s) and educate the client about challenges.  The client is educated and working together written goals are formulated including a road map that will take the client towards success with an action plan.

There are a few life hacks that can be installed to get the client moving towards success much quicker, although this is dependent upon the severity of the dysbiosis ascertained.

Several ways are available to the nutritionist to assist and one of these is the 21-day Microbiome purify kit and programme.  Both my wife and I personally undertake this problem twice per year to assist in keeping our gut microbiome in tip top condition because we understand how important the gut is to our health and wellbeing, why would you not want to feel great most of the time, I believe its our God given right however we are each personably responsible to ourselves.  As the late great Jim Rohn said, “look after your body it’s the only place you have to live” and Hippocrates was onto something too when thousands of years ago he quoted “all disease begins in the gut”, wow if only he had the technology society has today because he was right on the button.

To give you some background, the Purify programme combines healthy eating combined with high quality plant based nutritional supplements designed remove toxins and bad microbes, lay down the fertilizer with the right nutrients to support your microbiome and gut health with the introduction back into the gut bacteria growth. As part of the programme you start with an initial consultation to ascertain the problem(s), the client is educated and is are given clear guidelines of what foods and drinks to eat and which foods to avoid, along with guidance incorporating the unique supplements into your daily diet

 The Purify Programme includes:

 Support and education via zoom and in writing.  The client starts by completing forms and questionnaire on existing health and wellbeing, the root cause(s), the challenge, written goals, and a road map is established.

 Appropriate healthy meal plan and recipes are provided to client.

 One Purify Kit includes 1 Biome Shake, 1 ProArgi-9+, 1 Body Prime, 1 Biome DT, and 2 Biome Actives. Combined, these five innovative formulas are at the core of the Purify program.

 A shaker with storage tubs is provided

 The Purify Kit includes a supply of clinically formulated nutrition for the microbiome. Probiotics, vegetable proteins, and many other powerful ingredients combine to promote detoxification, cleansing, and balance. Use these carefully engineered supplements and adhere to the dietary guidelines will assist you to get you started on your journey towards the lifestyle you desire.

 Here is a brief description of the products in the programme:

 BODY PRIME

Body Prime contains a unique blend of pure clean magnesium, apple pectin, and prune powder. Body Prime helps the body benefit from a nutritional regiment, supporting cleansing and bowel motility and priming the gut for an effective purification program. Additionally, it helps the body maintain a healthy electrolyte balance and reduce fatigue, while contributing to the function of muscle, including your heart.

 PROARGI-9+

ProArgi-9+ is a powerful proprietary formula that features l-arginine, l-citrulline, and five essential vitamins for enhanced overall performance. Each serving of ProArgi-9+ contains 5,000 mg of 100% pure granular-grade, free-form l-arginine, an ingredient validated as a therapeutic agent by thousands of clinical studies. The complete ProArgi-9+ formula combines l-arginine with l-citrulline and a carefully selected array of vitamins. In the body, l-arginine contributes to several vital functions, especially with its conversion to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide provides many physical benefits, including the support of healthy circulatory and cardiovascular function. The Physician’s Desk Reference refers to ProArgi-9+ as the world’s highest quality l-arginine supplement. Those looking to support an active lifestyle turn to ProArgi-9+.

 BIOME DT

Biome DT supports cleansing with fibre, while also balancing gut pH to support beneficial bacteria. Biome DT contains Zinc, which contributes to the protection of cell constituents from oxidative stress and contributes to the normal function of the immune system. Biome DT contributes to normal DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and macronutrient metabolism. The benefits of this product even extend to the maintenance of skin, nails, hair, and bones.

 BIOME SHAKE

Biome Shake is a purifying meal replacement shake high in vegetable protein with a blend of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and beneficial fats from sources such as flax seed and borage oil. This formula helps balance the microbiome with a vegetable base featuring broccoli, digestive enzymes, prebiotics, and clean vegetable protein. With 20 grams of vegetable protein per serving, the Biome Shake promotes a feeling of fullness and provides essential vitamins and minerals for the perfect meal replacement. This delicious vanilla shake is both certified vegan and gluten-free.

 BIOME ACTIVES

Biome Actives combines both prebiotics and probiotics to synergistically provide a favourable gut environment. It provides 1 billion colony-forming units (CFU) of probiotic Bacillus coagulants per capsule, which is enhanced when combined with inulin fibres. These active probiotics are resilient, strong enough to thrive through human digestion and to benefit the microbiome.

Ongoing support is provided during the programme with either consultation via zoom or in person or by telephone, WhatsApp and/or email.  The client dependent upon results and the confidence of the client will have the option to purchase further consultations if required which many find beneficial has the client moves away from the old habitual lifestyle towards and into the healthy lifestyle.

 One the client starts to experience the healthier changes and wellness, a new confidence results and the new way of life is very invigorating and positive however its important that old habits don’t start to slip can in but they do the client will notice and usually makes adjustments.

 If you have found this article interesting and maybe prevalent and you would to reach our with questions or want further details or to book an initial no cost 20 minute consultation via the telephone with me, you can either email anthony@goodlivingnutrition.com , telephone 07930 428 438 or private message via Facebook or WhatsApp, you can read further information or purchase products via our website at: www.goodlivingnutrition.com

Remember: Your Health is Your Wealth

Best wishes and love

Anthony Jackson