Dysbiosis: The formation of a dysfunctional relationship/s between a microorganism/s and its human host.
As is typical of normal pathologic disorders there are signs and symptoms to indicate a problem. The signs and symptoms commonly seen are fever, redness, swelling, induration or lymphadenopathy. Unfortunately, with intestinal dysbiosis there are none of these classic symptoms. As a clinician I have to look beyond these disease associated characteristics to ferret out the patient’s individualized response to an intestinal microbe imbalance or dysbiosis. The confounding situation for a practitioner is that a particular microbe imbalance in one patient may present with dermatitis while in a different patient same microbe may present as neuropathy or inflammatory arthritis. Often we find that patient’s with an autoimmune or inflammatory disorder is having a pathogenic inflammatory response to a non-pathogenic microbe.
At this point you may ask how does dysbiosis occur. Good question. Dysbiosis can occur due to any one, combination of , or all of the following. Let me first add that this is the short list: The Standard American Diet (SAD), antibiotics, over the counter medication such as anti-inflammatory’s (NSAIDS), illicit drugs or excessive ingestion of alcohol.
Let’s single out one factor common to 95% of the population that leads to dysbiosis; The Standard American Diet. SAD is heavily acidic and therefore damaging to the internal environment of the intestine. Short term acidity would not be a problem but it is the habitual indulging in SAD that leads to the following scenario within the intestine. After, let’s say five years of SAD (from ages five to ten to start), it will have altered the Ph to acidic, which will lead to an over growth of unhealthy microbes. Remember unhealthy microbes thrive in a high acid environment. The high acid environment is the first domino in what will now be a long chain of unfortunate events likely leading to pathology. This is within the first decade of your life.
Last month’s newsletter I used an analogy of the brick, mortar and sealant for a basic structural model of the cellular intestinal wall. Let’s elaborate what happens with chronic acidity at the cellular level of the intestine. The brick sealant, being the mucosa, is where healthy bacteria and unhealthy microbes live. In the presence of chronic acidity the gel/mucosa will break down or may actually thicken in the presence of certain microbes, due to both the high acidity and the overgrowth of unhealthy microbes. Unhealthy microbes will further displace the healthy bacteria by competing for binding sites on the cell wall and by doing so perpetuate an even higher acidic state. At this point it’s the dog chasing its tail. High acid leads to increased microbes, leads to higher acid, leads to more microbes. You get the picture? Multiply that by another 40 or 50 years of life!!
Beneath the mucosa are the brick and mortar or cells and cell junctions respectively. The cell junctions called gap junctions are sensitive to Ph imbalance. The gap junctions will, overtime become loose or weak, providing an open door from the inside of the intestine to the inside of your body. I mentioned last month, the cell lining of the intestine provides protection from pathogens very much the same way our skin does. If the skin is compromised by a cut or laceration, bacteria can enter and infection can occur. The same way the opening of the gap junctions of the intestinal wall allows for bacteria and in worse cases, macromolecules, to cross the intestine into the body cavity. A common term for the lost integrity of gap junctions is “Leaky Gut Syndrome”.
The next domino is the ignition of inflammation throughout the body. Recall “the function” of the intestine is to absorb the broken down food that you ate. If you have, like most of the population, indulged in a life time of SAD your intestine have been absorbing a very high amount of acidity from inside the intestine and transporting it to the rest of the cells in your body through the blood stream and other metabolic transport pathways.
Here’s where it really gets fun!! But I am out of time and space. Tune in next time for the next issue of my series on intestinal health.
Till then put down the burger and have a salad.
If you missed last month’s posting you can go to my web page at www.drmichaelaustin.com for this and other information.
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