Gut Health: The Microbiome and Butyrate (Part of Inflammation Series)

As we learned earlier in histamine and the cycle of illness is that damage/injuries to the gut can cause food particles to leak into the blood stream, triggering inflammation and immune responses.

70-80% of your immune system resides in your digestive tract. Small masses of lymphatic tissues in the small intestine, known as peyers patches, protect mucus membranes by releasing white blood cells and monitoring the bacterial population in the intestines, preventing an overgrowth of of harmful gut flora.

High numbers of toxic gut biomes may cause inflammation, compromise your Immune system, and lead to a variety of health issues.

Microbiome:

Gut microbiome is still early in research phases, but even though we don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle in place yet, it seems that controlling inflammation will eventually become a part of disease prevention and management.

For example, a few years ago – researchers found that inflammation stimulates specific proteins that promote tumor progression, linking inflammation with certain types of cancer.

And people with type 2 diabetes have higher levels of cytokines – inflammatory chemicals- than people without diabetes. Although there’s more research needed, a lack of gut biome diversity may be a tie to inflammation. Studies have shown, however, that low gut flora diversity is a culprit in allergies, eczema and allergy induced asthma. Other studies found that less microbiota diversity amoungst heart failure, obesity and diabetes.

A damaged gut will also produce less DAO to combat histamine buildup; also triggering inflammation and immune responses.

Also, when the gut is badly damaged, it does not move food through your intestines as well as it should. Leaving food to sit in your gut and start fermenting – which will also drastically raise the histamine burden, cause further damage, and can create infections or bacterial over-growths.

But, multiple aspects of our health depend on molecules produced in the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome health is reflected in many processes in our bodies, including chronic inflammation and associated disease risk.

The gut microbiome is a delicate eco-system of bacteria that live in your large intestine. Its not only important for your physical health, but for your mental health as well.

The Gut and STRESS:

Alterations in the gut microbiome, causing dysbiosis (also called sysbacteriosis) is a term for a microbial imbalance or maladaption on, or inside the body such as an impaired microbiota.

For example, dysbiosis has been shown to increase anxiety – especially in mice. They’ve also shown that chronic stress can reduce levels of important probiotic bacteria called Lactobacillus.

Interestingly, studies using mice, showed transplanting the microbiota of stressed mice into other ones caused them to display anxiety-like behavior as well. Its also been researched that things like sharing drinks, forks, spoons, foods with family members can do the same thing.

On the flip side, the controversial transplant of healthy microbiome into a patient has been able to save the lives of those who were suffering or could have died from the severe deficit.

Studies in humans indicate that the probiotic bacteria can help alleviate depression, increase stress resilience, and relieve anxiety. Research also suggests that gut bacteria directly talk to the brain and influence chemicals like serotonin and Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA).

BUTYRATE

There are certain molecules that the gut makes that helps with our health; and unfortunately, the human body can’t make them, but our bacteria can.

Butyrate is a short chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by microbes from dietary fibers that the human body can not digest. Butyrate is one of the best studied microbiome derived molecules for its broad benefits for our health.

First of all, it helps to maintain the integrity of our digestive tract and supplies most of the fuel for our cells in the gut lining. By doing so, it bolsters this barrier and helps prevent metabolites, food particles, and unwanted bacteria from crossing into the body from the intestines.

Low butyrate production and below-average levels of butyrate-producing bacteria are found in many inflammatory and metabolic diseases including Crohns and ulcerative colitis.

Butyrate also helps modulate the immune system by reducing the production of TNF-a, and IL-6, (Highly found inflammatory markers for those with inflammation or autoimmune disorders), all while promoting anti-inflammatory signaling. By doing so, this chemical promotes healthy and balanced microbiota and even protects against colon cancer.

The PROs of Butyrate:

1. Fueling gut cells

2. Harness antioxidant powers

3. Helps prevent gut inflammation

4. Helps prevent colon cancer

5. Helps plug a leaky gut

6. Combats obesity and diabetes

7. Helps protect the brain.

Produced by the bacteria in the colon, its associated with neuroprotective effects that benefits the brain and nervous system.

When combined with fasting, D-beta-hyroxybotyrate helps to mitigate acute hypersensitivity episodes that many of us get from time to time. It targets many of the pathways associated with the progression of diseases like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, stroke and autism. Thus leading to diet being the simple way to improve disease outcomes.

As you can see, D-beta-hydroxybutyrate is also capable of rescuing mitochondrial respiration - which is incredibly important to the health of your cells - it can start to force damaged mitochondria to start taking in nutrients again, creating more energy for you, and helping you to start healing versus taking on more damage due to butyrate deficiencies.

Red light therapy with PEMF is also suppose to be able to rescue mitochondrial respiration as well.

Our body takes the foods we eat, (ie our veggies or other plant foods primarily) and converts it into ATP which provides the energy of the cells and our body. This process happens in the mitochondria - because its the battery - or powerhouse- of our cells. But it needs cellular respiration to convert it into ATP for energy for you.

But with mitochondrial damage, or an improper nutrient dense diet, that process becomes more difficult and you start taking on damage in the body, including neurological effects and damage to nerves. If you reach a certain level of damage in the the mitochondria, they will stop taking in the nutrients all together halting mitochondrial respiration.

Butyrate just doesn't apply to those with Parkinsons, but anyone who has on Mitochondrial damage no matter the condition you have.

Butyrate in its forms plays a big role in our health and the health of our cells.

How to boost your butyrate production:

Boosting butyrate with diet is easy and low risk. A high fiber diet can boost butyrate production because it encourages the butyrate-producing bacteria in your colon to thrive.

Members of the FIRMICUTES PHYLUM are renowned for their ability to produce butyrate. If you want to nourish this class of bacteria and your microbiome in general, then foods containing prebiotics are popular with gut bacteria.

But for those of us struggling with healing our guts and keeping inflammation markers lower – a good primal earth probiotic is better.

But we can combat chronic inflammation with lifestyle, diet and gut microbiomes.

Chronic inflammation is influenced by what we eat; and diet has a strong impact on the microbiome and preventable disease risks.

Dietary fiber enables beneficial bacteria to produce butyrate, which is important to keep our gut healthy. But that’s not the only way your food choices affect chronic inflammation.

Researchers developed the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) to indicate how anti- or pro-inflammatory a person’s diet is. According to studies, the Standard American Diet (SAD) has a particularly high inflammatory index.

Also called the Western diet, this eating pattern is characterized by high quantities of red and processed meat, fried foods, high-fat dairy products, potatoes, and sweetened drinks. Some scientists also add pre-packaged meals to this list.

Some consequences of a pro-inflammatory diet may seem unexpected. For example, young adults on a Western diet are more likely to develop symptoms of depression. When coupled with low physical activity, the standard american diet is associated with higher risk of age-related weakening of the bones: osteoporosis.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is often contrasted with a healthy eating pattern, filled with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and legumes, as well as healthy fats like olive oil. Such foods have a much lower inflammatory index.

There is compelling scientific evidence of older French adults (around 80 years old) that had a high adherence to the Mediterranean diet which is low in pro-inflammatory foods; and it meant lower chances of frailty in later life.

On the other hand, eating a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with a higher risk of heart attack. People following eating patterns with high dietary inflammatory index are also more susceptible to weight gain and obesity, as well as type II diabetes.

Eating habits are an important influence on our chronic inflammation levels. Your body will thank you for a balanced and diverse diet with a variety of whole, plant-based foods, fruit, and vegetables.

1. Antibiotics

Everytime you take antibiotics, you kill the good bacteria with the bad; which can lead to yeast infections, gastrointestinal problems, increases leaky gut, C.Diff infection, and antibiotic resistance.

Best defence while on antibiotics: Take a probiotic, add fermented high fiber and prebiotic foods to your diet (if tolerated). Seeking Health ProBifido or Primal Earth Probiotics are both much better choices for those with mast cell, histamine, Crohns, or Celiac, Candida, and SIBO issues.

2. Antipsychotics

Some of these drugs tend to slow the growth of gut bacteria, affecting overall gut biome diversity.

Best Defence: A probiotic supplement and foods high in probiotics, prebiotics, such as fruits, veggies, whole grains (no gluten), nuts and legumes (ONLY if tolerated).

3. Calcium Channel Blockers

Like antipsychotics, they slow or completely inhibit microbiota growth.

4. Protein Pump Inhibitors

These are generally safe to use, however when used regularily, they too can cause bacterial imbalances, raising the risk for bacterial infections.

Best defense: if taking PPIs on a regular basis, you’ll want to add fermented foods to your diet to balance the gut bacteria and ease heartburn and GERD. Also a lot of green leafy vegetables are great substitutes for balancing heartburn and GERD, however this takes time.

Cutting back on coffee, sodas, tea, dairy products,and citrus fruits.

A probiotic can actually interfere with the effectiveness of of the PPI, so be sure to discuss with your doctor.

5. NSAIDS

Alter immune system actions, and increase changes of leaky gut and lowers your DAO levels.

Conclusions:

There is a direct link between gut health and the causes of inflammation. The microbiome is a key player in helping to maintain your health and your immune system. In addition, the microbiome also helps regulate many processes in the body and interruptions in these processes will lead to inflammation and other health issues.

Butyrate is one of the best understood microbiome molecules and how it helps our health. Shortages of this critical molecule can and will create havoc in many parts/systems of our body, including to help regulate the rhythm of your heart beats (tachycardia), healing our gut, lowering homocysteine levels, anxiety, depression, etc.

Healing your gut and microbiome helps supply the body with various enzymes and amino acids needed to maintain health, keep inflammation markers low, and keep it in homeostasis.

Love and Light,

Happy Healing