Gut Dysbiosis
The human gut is home to trillions of bacteria, which collectively form happy communities of microbes that work together to maintain your health, both physical and mental. This delicate balance of microorganisms is also crucial for aiding digestion, supporting the immune system, and even influencing mental well-being. However, when one of these happy little colonies falls out of balance, it can lead to gut dysbiosis - which is just a fancy way of saying that the microbes living in your gut are all out of whack.
To put it simply:
In a healthy gut, the good and bad bacteria are balanced = homeostasis.
But when the bacteria are no longer in a mutualistic state, the harmful bacteria can thrive and dominate the intestinal tract = dysbiosis.
Types of Gut Dysbiosis
Gut dysbiosis can refer to a few different scenarios:
A lack of diversity in the types of microbes you have in your gut
A deficiency of beneficial gut microbes, or
Overgrowth of harmful bacteria
Now, a lot of the time, if a small imbalance occurs, you’ll maybe suffer from something as small as an upset stomach. However, if the disturbance between your microbial communities grows from a small neighborhood dispute into a full scale war in your gut, watch out.
An imbalanced microbiome can trigger pro-inflammatory cascades in the body and contribute to immune dysregulation associated with various conditions, even autoimmune diseases.
Causes of Gut Dysbiosis
While there are many suspected causes of gut dysbiosis, it's likely that a combination of factors ultimately is at the root of the issue. The most common and influential factors include:
Poor Diet - inflammatory foods, high in refined sugar, processed foods, poor-quality fats
Stress - mental and physical stress; this includes oxidative stress
Infections - pathogenic infections via food or water sources wreak havoc on the microbiome and can have a long-lasting impact
Antibiotics/Medications - antimicrobial agents, oral contraceptives, antidepressants, antacids, PPIs, and NSAIDs contribute to gut imbalances
Lifestyle factors - poor sleep patterns, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, and smoking
Excessive Sanitizing & Lack of Soil Exposure - we must unlearn that all microbes are harmful and must be killed and respect the symbiotic relationship we have with microbes
Often, a single factor is not enough to cause dysbiosis. The microbiome has natural resilience and a unique capacity to adapt to variations in nutrient availability and changing environmental conditions. By contrast, the combined actions of several factors can eventually trigger significant shifts to cause concern. The threshold required to trigger dysbiosis largely depends on the bacterial groups affected - more specifically, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes.
Signs and Symptoms of Gut Dysbiosis
Identifying gut dysbiosis can be challenging as its symptoms can manifest in various ways, including:
Digestive issues like bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, food sensitivities
Fatigue and decreased energy levels
Skin problems like acne and eczema
Mood disorders such as anxiety and depression
Weakened immune system, increased susceptibility to infections, allergies
Rebalancing the Gut
While gut dysbiosis is a physiological root cause driver of many conditions, do not fall into the trap of thinking that bacteria just randomly populated in a certain area, externally or internally, to destroy your health and that you need to ‘destroy them’. Sadly, this is a common perspective, but also a dramatic oversimplification of what’s actually happening.
Reframe your perspective to understand that these imbalances appear as a result of how we are living and our environment. It is not a random event. Whether you have a lack of microbial diversity, deficit of good bacteria or an overgrowth, be curious and investigate what your body is trying to communicate to you.
For example, say you’re struggling with Candida overgrowth. Well, we know that Candida is a fungus that naturally exists in the intestines, skin and mouth. Sugar, simple carbs, and foreign chemicals like oral contraceptives, antibiotics and other medicine feed Candida. Starting a candida diet or protocol to kill the overgrowth may work temporarily, but if your lifestyle is still feeding the fungus - you’ll be going in circles.
Here’s the point : if you want to heal gut imbalances long-term, start with changing your perspective that bacteria and other microbes are the enemy and must be destroyed. Zoom out and understand the bigger picture behind the imbalance.
