Gut Feeling: My Experience With Gut Microbiome and Health
Two years ago, something strange happened with my health. At first, I noticed myself losing some weight, feeling more tired than usual, and not feeling as mentally sharp as I usually am. It was right after my wedding, and I was in the start of a new chapter in my life. I then started having strange symptoms of indigestion, something I never experienced before even though my college and dental school eating habits were more college-y. Overall, something was off, and I didn’t know what was going on.
After LOTS of medical testing (bloodwork, stool samples, and even an endoscopy), the only likely conclusion came after I did a test for the health of my gut microbiome. To my surprise, I was low in many populations of healthy bacteria in my gut.
The microbiome, or a community of living microorganisms that live in and on the body, are the focus of current investigations into a range of immune, metabolic and behavioral health issues.
The human body is made up of 30 trillion cells, however the number of bacteria in our body is 40 trillion, making our body made up more of bacteria than human cells. With the GI tract having a large proportion of these bacteria and influencing the metabolism of what we eat, along with the enteric neural system (the brain of the gut) making hormones and neurotransmitters, this led scientists to investigate how bacteria in the gut influence metabolic diseases such as diabetes, lipid disorders, obesity and mood disorders. Much of the research at this time has been focused on identifying the different species of bacteria that inhabit the gut, along with the proportions of bacteria in healthy people when compared to people who have a particular disease.
With the current information focusing mainly on the populations by number rather than the proportions of bacteria in diagnosing disease, I could not be certain what was going on in my body except that I needed to boost the healthy flora of my gut. The main way to improve your gut microbiome is how you feed your body, and ultimately the bacteria that help to process the food.
One of the first proponents of the gut microbiome’s importance to overall health is Dr. Raphael Kellman, an internal medicine doctor and author of “The Microbiome Diet.” In his book, he outlines how to heal your gut microbiome through a diet regimen in order to improve your body’s metabolism and overall health using the four R Model:
Remove - elimination of foods that are high in toxins or cause inflammation to the body
Repair - Eating high nutritious plant based foods and foods high in prebiotics (fiber)
Replace - Eating foods that are high in populations of good bacteria, such as fermented foods
Reinoculate - Add high doses of Lactobacill and Bifidobacteria as well as consuming vitamin D, zinc, wormwood, grapefruit seed extract, oregano oil and berberine
Kefir, similar to fermented yogurt, has lots of probiotics to improve overall health. Add some herbs or fruit for added flavor.
With the help of a naturopath, I followed a similar modified diet plan for four weeks, and noticed significant changes in my health, pretty much returning to my normal self. Despite not knowing what the true cause of my ailment was, it seemed that an imbalance in my gut microbiome played a significant role, and correction of that helped me get back to my normal self. Hopefully, more research in this area will provide new diagnosis and treatment for many more illnesses that have gone under the radar.