If you’re struggling to lose weight or successfully doing so but want a little boost or some help getting beyond a weight loss plateau, there are a number of foods and supplements that have good evidence behind them for supporting weight loss. In my experience, the number one issue for weight loss is reducing your carbohydrate intake, but we’ll focus on some more advanced strategies here.
Protein: When you’re trying to lose weight, you want to lose fat and preserve or increase muscle mass. In order to favor that balance, it’s important to eat sufficient protein, ideally spread throughout the day rather than primarily at dinner. In addition, protein requires more calories to digest it (20-30% of its calories) than fats (0-3%) and carbohydrates (5-10%), the other macronutrients. As a result, the net calories that you absorb from the protein you’re eating will be less than other foods. Megan Hall, Scientific Director at Nourish Balance Thrive recommends eating 1.8-2.2 grams of protein daily per kilogram of body weight if you’re trying to lose weight. This is probably a lot more meat than you’re used to eating: a 150 pound person would need to eat 123-150 grams of protein a day (FYI – 6 ounces of meat is around 50 grams of protein). Of course you can get your protein from non-meat sources as well like nuts, beans and legumes, but you will end up eating a really large (and complex and healthy) amount of carbohydrates at the same time. Vegetarians and vegans would likely benefit from the addition of protein powders to their dieting toolbox. For vegetarian food options, tofu is a good choice for a high protein to carb ratio.
Turmeric/Curcumin: Well known for its anti-inflammatory properties, curcumin (the active compound derived from turmeric), has been shown in mouse and human studies to enhance weight loss and increase body fat reduction. For the humans, the weight reduction of curcumin plus a weight loss program in 30 days (over just a weight loss program alone) went from 1.88% to 4.91%, while the increase in body fat reduction went from 0.70% to 8.43%.
Apple Cider Vinegar:Consumer Labs affirms that apple cider vinegar (ACV) may reduce or slow the rise in blood sugar after eating and may modestly help with weight loss. They recommend taking 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. diluted in 1.5-8 ounces warm water before meals. They also recommend that you not let the vinegar linger in your mouth and to rinse afterwards, as it can erode tooth enamel. Note that they did not find ACV powder and pills to be an equally effective form for weight loss. They also caution against using ACV for diabetics without adequate blood sugar surveillance because of its alteration of blood sugar levels.
Probiotics: There is some evidence that probiotics may be helpful in weight loss due to their impact on the gut microbiome. In a placebo-controlled, double blind, 7-day study of Equilibrium Probiotic, 72% of participants reported a reduction in food cravings and mild weight loss.
Berberine: Used for centuries in Chinese medicine, this powerful compound found in many plants and known to help blood sugar regulation (perhaps even as well as Metformin), has been shown in several studies to help with weight loss. In one 2012 study, participants consuming 500 mg of Berberine three times a day lost an average of 5 pounds, while simultaneously improving their triglyceride and cholesterol levels. In another 2012 study, participants lost an average of 4 kilograms over those who consumed a placebo.
Fiber: While losing weight, it’s also important to consume foods with plenty of fiber, or supplement with additional fiber. Toxins are stored in fat cells, and if you have a higher toxic burden you may find yourself feeling unwell while losing weight unless you consume sufficient fiber to flush it out. One of my favorites fibers is psyllium husk, which can be mixed with a full glass of water or mixed in smoothies, ideally 1-2 tablespoons a day. It thickens up quickly so drink it down right after mixing if possible.
If you want more help with weight loss, gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
Note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links and I receive a small commission if you click on them. Thanks for your support!
LP: Do you still consider yourself a cancer patient? Or do you feel fully recovered and not in danger?
NW: That’s a really good question. I personally don’t believe that there is a cure for cancer. I believe cancer is in all of us and the studies and research support that fact. I believe that we have the ability to turn the signaling and those pathways off, or to keep them quiet and dormant, or we have the ability to set them on fire and turn them on wildly. So, I feel where I am today, per Western medical standards, I am not cancer free. However, per my standards, especially since about mid 2010, I’ve stopped “cancer-ing,” if that makes sense. Everything is stabilized, and my body is completely in harmony and balance with all of this. And I know how to check under the hood: to test, assess, and address my process. That’s what I’ve learned for myself, what I’ve taught other patients and now what I’m teaching other physicians: is exactly how to manage this disease process and really understand where it’s come from, why it’s so individualized, and how to best support the person through the process. One of the coolest key foundations for getting better outcomes is based on the health and diversity of the microbiome.
LP: Well, that’s exactly where I was heading. So let’s talk more about that.
NW: First of all, one of the things I love—and you being the poo goddess, microbiome diva that you are, I’m probably not saying anything that you are not aware of—but I love how we consider the microbiome today the “Forgotten Organ.” Let me explain. We’ve known since Ayurvedic medicine, which is the sort of great grandmother of medicine that we know of today—so we’re talking anywhere from 3000 to 5000 years old information—saying that our health is based on the health of our gut. We didn’t quite know what that exactly meant, but we know today, when we started really looking at studies in 2005, and really started placing more emphasis on our GI tract, we certainly were validating thousands of year-old ideology and theory. So that’s the one thing that even as a naturopathic doctor, since my medical school training in the mid 90s, we were like, “the gut, the gut, the gut,” and everyone just basically said, “you’re crazy,” and “standard of care.” Yet today, we’re investing so many of our resources for research and treatment. Until they could monetize [research on the gut microbiome], it didn’t mean anything. But once they were able to really monetize it, now we’re paying attention. That’s unfortunately the way it happens a lot in our medical system. But I just think this is really a powerful thing to think about: the Forgotten Organ always been there, we’ve always known it played a role, and now we are paying for the research to really explain why. The other cool thing specific to cancer and the microbiome is that it is estimated at 20 percent of all tumors worldwide are microbially-driven. Let that sink in.
LP: And would that be bacteria, fungi, viruses…?
NW: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
LP: …and parasites!
NW: Yes. You’re nailing them all! You hit them all. And there’s a great quote that showed up in a cancer journal back in January 2019. The article was titled “Gut Microbiome and Cancer Immunotherapy.” This simple quote says, “a healthy body is inseparable from an integrated gut epithelium with specific function and gut microbiome, immune cells and mucosal barriers together that maintain epithelial homeostasis.” In short, what that says is that what those crazy Ayurvedic doctors have been saying for 5000 years was spot on: our health comes down to the function and flora of our microbiome. I just think it’s very interesting that it took us until 2019, to really state that fact with much more certainty in the standard of care model.
LP: So let me dig a little bit more into what you were saying about 20 percent of cancers having a microbial origin, is the implication there that the microbe is somehow setting off the tumor process?
NW: Yes, basically what we have learned is that the micro ecology of our microbiome, the changes there, are where—if you’re going in the wrong direction, that’s where we will rapidly proliferate rogue bacteria, or viruses, or parasites, and then those little creatures will then interact with the lining of our gut: the epithelial cells, and these other cells, which hold the structure of our inner world into a sort of matrix or into sort of a scaffolding, known as the stromal cells. What happens when that ecology gets tweaked in any way [is that] the epithelium and stromal cells are altered in their function and their chemical responses. Even more specifically, what’s happening is that rapid shift in the microbiome, and those specific cells result in what’s known as toxic metabolites that trigger off what we call carcinogenesis: new cancer cells that can grow anywhere in the body, not just in the gut. Then that happens even further, causing a cascade of things like inflammation and immunosuppression. In my mind, the trifecta today of cancer is: gut dysbiosis with inflammation and poor immune function. This is the perfect combination for a cancer storm.
LP: Okay, so, now, when you said “toxic metabolites,” is that the same as the endotoxins? Or LPS?
NW: Yes, all of those pieces. So, endotoxins that the individual organism can shed, but also a perforation to the lining, that LPS, that lipopolysaccharide coating that goes across our whole tube—I always tell people, “we’re just a tube with the body wrapped around it”—and so that piece happens. But, then, also we trigger—because you and your listeners obviously know that, depending on who you talk to, about 70 to 80 percent of our immune cells and our immune function is happening at the GI tract level, the microbiome level—we trigger a cascade of cellular responses such as: natural killer cells, cytokines, which are inflammatory molecules. We can create a little cacophony, a little orchestra, of all types of things that are triggered, that not only impact what’s happening at the tube level, but send out all kinds of signals throughout the rest of the body.
LP: And so they’re sending those signals, and as a result a tumor forms? I’m having trouble taking the one part and making it connect to the other part.
NW: Well, so, here’s the thing: your discomfort around really grappling with this is because we have [in Western medicine], frankly, blown smoke up people’s asses for 70 years with regards to what cancer is. So, what I’m talking about blows people’s minds because we sort of think of cancers as exogenous invaders that somehow enter us, from outside of us, and we have to then kill it or fully eradicate it. We’ve given [cancer] unbelievable power, [in believing] that it’s driven by our genetics, that it is a genetic disease, and that we’re sort of powerless and dealing with it. However, what we have learned in the last–well, what we’ve re-learned, let’s put it that way, because we knew this back in the early 1900s, but we took a little different turn when Watson and Crick came along with their focus on genetics and DNA–but what we’ve since learned is that really cancer is a metabolic disease. It’s a disease on the energies that we take into the body. It’s a disease at the mitochondrial level: on the little powerhouse cellular structures that each of our cells carry, the turning on or off energy performance throughout our tissues, throughout our organs, throughout our whole body. But [because cancer is a disease at the mitochondrial level, it is also a disease on] the signaling pathways that tell things to grow. Mitochondria tell things to die, they tell things to stall, to hold off, they tell things to regenerate, they tell things to increase inflammation when you need it, or to decrease inflammation when you need it. So basically, all of these cell pathways start to communicate to each other for the rest of the body, and, then, over time, on average, somewhere between seven and ten years, enough cells start to congregate and clump up, and hang out, based on the inflammation we talked about at the level of those epithelial cells that not only line our gut, but line our vasculature, and line our cells, and line our organs, [and] so, too, at the level of our stromal cells that offer structure–think of them as the sort of jungle gym that cells walk around on, like travel around on to migrate throughout, building and metastasizing. So when you said, “Okay, I’m trying to understand where the bridge comes together–that suddenly you have a tumor from this,” [my response is] it’s a long standing, ongoing process that can take years to solidify to be big enough and loud enough and clumped together in such a way that we recognize it as a tumor, or a cancer diagnosis. What I’m trying to help your listeners understand is that we have the power to turn this around way before it’s big enough and loud enough to capture our attention by changing things down at that cellular level, and preventing things from getting on the move, and congregating and clumping up to make what we know today as a tumor.
[…]
LP: What do you recommend–short of a fecal transplant–to replace that diversity [in the microbiome] as a preventive measure?
NW: I mean, first of all, we eat very differently than we do from our ancestors. We ate so many more diverse foods, and plants for millennia. And as I said, we’ve really mono cropped. So, you, then, have to take it upon yourself to branch out your diet and bring in foods you don’t normally eat. I tell people: start playing with things like Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, plantains, things that you would probably normally eat a little bit of in your diet that bring in the prebiotics and the insulin and the types of fibers that are the food and fuel for your microbiome. Then, diversify your portfolio with your pre-digested soil rich foods. Don’t be too clean with your foods. Grow your own. Eat the dirt off your carrot… And then also, in the West, we’re not really keen on our ferments, but most cultures have some type of ferment: like borscht, like the kvass, you know, in some parts of the world and, and the kimchi in others, or the sauerkraut in others, or pickled vegetables in others. It’s now becoming kind of hipster and cool in the U.S.: thanks to things like Portlandia: “you can pickle that!” But ultimately it’s about encouraging people to eat a fermented food on a daily basis. If you have really terrible things like FODMAPs or Small Intestine Bowel Overgrowth issues, even those foods can backfire. So you have to work with a trained professional to help get the inner garden more ready to accept those foods. So that’s a big one. Another big one is sugar. We’re a bunch of sugar junkies and sugar is really a beast and feeding these little wrong directional microbes and organisms in our gut. They will vie for that fuel and basically starve us of our other nutrients. And then fiber. We tend to have a very low fiber dietary intake in the West. We just don’t do our veggies. You know, we want to be telling our patients to take their 9-15 servings of vegetables in a day, which is what I have my patients do: above the ground, leafy green, low-carbohydrate rich foods, but ultimately, most people can barely get three servings in a day.
If you want more help with your gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
Because their names are so similar and because they’re often combined in one supplement, people often confuse the terms probiotics and prebiotics. And you’ve probably heard a lot from me so far about probiotics, as I’m a fan, but today I’m going to be writing about prebiotics.
So the term prebiotic can be used officially as a food ingredient if you can scientifically demonstrate that it • resists gastric acidity, (meaning your stomach acid doesn’t break it down), hydrolysis by mammalian enzymes (hydrolysis is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water ruptures one or more chemical bonds), and absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract; • is fermented by the intestinal microflora; and • selectively stimulates the growth and/or activity of intestinal bacteria potentially associated with health and well-being. In other words, we can’t digest it and our good bacteria can.
The most widely accepted prebiotic supplements are the fermentable oligosaccharides fructoligosacrharides (FOS or fructans), inulin (a form of FOS), galactooliogosaccharides (GOS), xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and lactulose. Besides being found in supplements, these beneficial substances are handily located in something we all could stand to eat more of – fruits and vegetables, in particular legumes, as well as in whole grains, nuts and seeds. So the more of these foods you’re eating, in particular fruits and vegetables, and the greater the variety of them, the more and different types of prebiotics you are getting.
Some examples of particularly good food sources of prebiotics are: onions, leeks, radishes, carrots, coconut meat and coconut flour, flax and chia seeds, tomatoes, bananas, garlic, chicory root, dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, asparagus, and yams.
Both prebiotics and probiotics nurture the good bacteria required by the digestive tract for proper health beginning in your mouth. And while probiotics are live, active, bacterial cultures capable of multiplying in numbers, prebiotics serve as the food source for the bacteria and do not grow or reproduce. As such, prebiotics are considered functional foods because they provide numerous health benefits and aid in the prevention and treatment of various health conditions and diseases.
Prebiotics have been shown to have many positive effects including: • increasing the health of the intestinal mucous membrane, which improves digestion and gut health in general • decreasing blood sugar and insulin levels, and consequently the risk of obesity and weight gain • decreasing inflammation • lowering cholesterol and the risk for cardiovascular disease • lowering the stress response • helping with hormonal balance • modulating the immune system and helping manage autoimmune symptoms. In particular, prebiotic foods can result in significant changes in the composition of the gut microbiome that help improve immunity, shown by improvements in biomarkers and activities of the immune system, including reduced levels of certain cancer-promoting enzymes and bacterial metabolites in the gut (the byproducts of bacterial digestion). • Other benefits include preventing traveler’s diarrhea and aiding in the digestion of lactose in those who are lactose intolerant, in particular with the prebiotic GOS.
So now that we’ve talked about some of the benefits, let’s get to some of the potential concerns, especially if we’re talking about supplementing with prebiotics, as opposed to getting them from food.
First, because you’re giving your gut bacteria a sudden, pure form of food, you’ll likely have some bloating from the gasses that the bacteria produce after eating this food, until the balance of bacteria in your intestines adjusts and more bacteria that consume that gas grow to accommodate it. So start slow and build up – either with a supplement or with a new prebiotic food you don’t normally consume (think gas with that occasional meal with beans – it’s because your system isn’t adjusted to their regular consumption).
In his great tome “Healthy Gut, Healthy You,” Dr. Michael Ruscio summarizes the research on prebiotics for various gut conditions.
For IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), the best evidence suggests prebiotics should be avoided and a low-prebiotic diet like the low-FODMAP diet should be adopted. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols and it’s a huge list of foods including many fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy products and more. But keep in mind that this is a temporary diet and elimination and reintroduction process, not a permanent diet, until you’ve resolved your SIBO, dysbiosis or IBS. I’ve done the low FODMAPs diet on two different occasions and it’s very limiting – excluding two very common food ingredients – onion and garlic, including their powders – so imagine trying to go to a restaurant and not eating FODMAPs. And I actually had a funny thing happen to me during those two low FODMAP diets, and I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this. When I’m excluding FODMAPs, after a couple of days, everyone’s breath starts to smell like garlic to me, to the point that I can’t even kiss my husband. So it’s interesting how much our bacteria and its die-off (for lack of food) can influence our senses. So if you do try low FODMAPs, keep in mind it’s more about managing symptoms, rather than solving the problem. Typically you also need to take antimicrobials or other supplements to bring a dysbiotic gut or bacterial overgrowth into balance.
For IBD (an umbrella term used to describe disorders that involve chronic inflammation of your digestive tract, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), the best evidence suggests that people should avoid supplemental prebiotics as some trials have shown harm from using prebiotic supplementation in IBD.
While in a flared state, you should adopt a low-prebiotic diet like the low-FODMAPs diet or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), which is a diet that eliminates all sources of grains and pseudograins like quinoa, even the white ones, all but long-fermented dairy, processed meats, most processed sugar, artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols and all processed foods.
In terms of weight loss and gain, while a systematic review of twenty-six clinical trials concluded that prebiotics are effective in lowering blood sugar, many studies show prebiotic supplements have little to no effect on weight loss.
Finally, for celiac disease, there are no studies available, however, indirect evidence suggests avoiding prebiotics may be advisable, especially in those who do not fully respond to a gluten-free diet.
Synbiotics
Now on to another related topic. While I’m talking about prebiotics, I should also mention synbiotics, which are combination products of probiotics and larger amounts of prebiotics than the nominal amounts typically added to a lot of probiotics. One review published in 2014 concluded that the use of synbiotics may promote an increase in the number of bifidobacteria, glycemic (blood sugar) control, stimulation of the immune system, reduction of blood cholesterol and balancing the intestinal flora, which aids in reducing constipation and/or diarrhea and improves intestinal permeability. The study, linked above, has recommendations on dosages of certain prebiotics and probiotics in order to see benefits.
Fiber Supplements
Another related topic is fiber supplements. So while all prebiotics are dietary fibers, not all dietary fibers are prebiotics.
But first, a little bit about what fiber actually is and why it’s important: fiber is the part of plant-based foods—fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes—that give the food its structure. There are many types of fiber, but we’ve separated it into two major types: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and gastrointestinal fluids when it enters the stomach and intestines and then is transformed into a gel-like substance, which helps to positively slow absorption of nutrients during digestion. Insoluble fiber passes through the body and becomes the bulking agent to take up and help eliminate any by-products of metabolic processes, such as bacteria that need to be cleared, excess estrogen, and excess waste. Both soluble and insoluble fiber play an important role in digestion and the health of the microbiome. While soluble fiber feeds the bacteria in the gut, insoluble fiber ensures that nothing harmful lingers too long and creates a state of putrefaction or dysbiosis. You can find soluble fiber in supplements like Metamucil (or its simplest form without additives, psyllium husk), Citrucel (which is methylcellulose) and FiberCon, Fiber Lax, Equalactin, and Mitrolan, which are polycarbophil. You can find insoluble fiber in foods like beans, barley, corn, rice, bran, whole wheat, vegetables and apple and pear skins.
Other supplemental fibers you may want to consider include Sunfiber, which is made from the guar plant and is actually a low FODMAP fiber, glucomannan (made from Konjac root), acacia, pectin and inulin. In foods, you’ll find some of these same and other fibers as well, including cellulose, found in legumes, nuts, and bran; inulin, found in bananas, garlic, onions, asparagus, wheat, barley and rye; pectins, found in apples, strawberries, citrus fruits, carrots, and potatoes, and in smaller amounts in legumes and nuts; beta glucans, found in oats, barley, shiitake mushrooms, and reishi mushrooms; and lignin, found in whole grain foods, legumes, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, avocado, unripe bananas, and nuts and seeds.
So you’ve probably heard that we all need more fiber and you’ve likely heard of the Recommended Daily Allowance of fiber, which is is 30 to 38 grams a day for men, 25 grams a day for women between 18 and 50 years old, and 21 grams a day if a woman is 51 and older. Or generally, you should get 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories in your diet. But it’s important to remember that, while fiber can help some and probably most people feel better, especially if you’re currently eating a standard American diet, it can make others feel worse, especially those with inflammatory bowel disease during a flare. But for anyone considering supplementing with fiber, it’s a great first step in trying to solve lower level bowel issues like constipation, but be sure to do it with a full glass of water or other liquids.
Resistant Starch
Another related topic is resistant starch, which is like fiber, in that it feeds your healthy gut bacteria. It’s called resistant because it resists digestion by us but not by our bacteria. Resistant starch is naturally found in foods like green bananas and their flour; banana skins; cooked and then cooled potatoes, rice and pasta; beans and legumes; raw potato starch; hi-maize flour and oats. And I like to think of resistant starch as free food because the amazing thing is that by cooking and cooling and then optionally reheating to no more than 130 degrees foods like potatoes and rice, you can save yourself many calories but eat the same foods. This is because the starches convert into resistant starches, so we don’t absorb the calories! They also promote feelings of fullness so you end up eating less. One study showed that men who had a meal with resistant starch versus a placebo ate 90 fewer calories. One great trick I learned is that if you buy organic bananas and use them in smoothies, leave the skin on and you’ll get a nice serving of resistant starch and it will fill you up a lot more without adding calories. I also tend to make my rice ahead of time and reheat it throughout the week as I eat it, but of course that’s primarily because no one else in my house will eat any whole grain rice so I have to make it for myself while they make white rice.
Benefits of Fiber
In terms of the research on the benefits of fiber, Michael Ruscio also sums it up in his book. In terms of digestive-tract cancers, the overall impact of supplemental fiber, including resistant starch, on colorectal-cancer risk appears minimal at best. Most of the data shows no positive impact.
For IBD, randomized controlled trials have shown fiber to be helpful for IBD, but again, fiber is best used when IBD is in remission. Low-fiber diets have been shown to be helpful for active or flaring IBD.
For IBS, fiber has been shown to help IBS symptoms, including stool frequency and consistency and quality of life. However, high-fiber intake can be problematic for some IBS patients. You may have heard that something like 80% of IBS is believed to be caused by small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), so as you can imagine, if your small intestine bacteria is overgrown, adding more fuel to the fire wouldn’t be ideal. As a result, low-fiber diets like low FODMAPs have also been shown to be helpful in IBS, at least until the SIBO is cleared, if that’s your underlying cause. And in general, fiber has the most benefit for those with IBS-C or constipation, although I have to say that I have tended more toward the IBS-D and found that supplementing with psyllium husk gave me much better quality stool as it absorbed some of the excess water in my colon.
For celiac disease, there is no quality data available for supplemental fiber’s impact.
For type 2 diabetes, high-level science shows supplemental fiber can help lower fasting blood glucose by about thirty-five points and hemoglobin A1C by about 1% in patients with type 2 diabetes. But the healthier your blood sugar already is, the less effect supplemental fiber will have.
For heart health, supplemental fiber may cause a small decrease in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, there does not appear to be a clear benefit for heart disease from fiber supplementation.
For obesity and weight loss, a review paper showed that the average weight loss from fiber supplementation was around 4.2 pounds. Viscous fibers (gel forming) might be best for weight loss but also may carry the highest risk of digestive side effects. Overall, supplemental fiber does not appear to be hugely effective for weight loss.
Now I’m going to mention a study from 2018 that seems to have gone virtually unnoticed but definitely didn’t escape my notice. Researchers at the University of Toledo found a link between refined dietary fiber, gut bacteria, and liver cancer, at least in mice. The study challenges conventional wisdom that dietary fiber is good no matter how you get it. Chicory root is used as a source of inulin to fortify a lot of processed foods with fiber. In the study, the mice were given chicory root inulin and they developed liver cancer. And the ones that developed liver cancer had altered and elevated gut bacteria, or dysbiosis. Interestingly, the researchers observed no evidence of liver cancer in inulin-fed mice that were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics to deplete gut bacteria. So given this was on mice and was just one study, probably the biggest takeaway is that fortifying processed foods with refined, soluble fiber may not be safe or advisable for people with SIBO or dysbiosis, whose abnormal fermentation of this fiber could potentially increase their susceptibility to liver cancer.
On the other hand, there are studies supporting the positive effects of fiber, in particular in kidney disease. A 12-week, single-blind study published in 2014 in the Journal of Renal Nutrition found that supplemental inulin was beneficial, in particular with increasing stool frequency. Many people with chronic kidney disease don’t get enough fiber, because many fiber sources are too high in potassium and phosphorus, so if you do have kidney disease and try to get more fiber, be sure to do it carefully and with your doctor’s advice and support.
Speaking of stool frequency, in case you weren’t sure, ideal stool frequency is around 1-2 bowel movements a day, so it’s beneficial to keep the gastrointestinal tract moving. This also helps prevent diverticulosis or pockets inside the colon, which can become diverticulitis when they become inflamed or infected. This is a very painful condition and can lead to bowel surgery, so keeping those bowels moving regularly is very important.
Now you may be asking what to do with all this information if you’re just an average person? Well, my general approach to fiber and prebiotics has been to get it from my diet rather than trying to supplement, although I will say that prior to solving all my bowel issues, I did have success with a tablespoon of psyllium husk in my smoothies, and I now get it in my keto bread. I hear that Jason Hawrelak, a Naturopath, probiotic researcher and university lecturer, recommends aiming for 40 different whole plant foods week. So next time you’re shopping, pick one new fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried, and incorporate it into your diet. Then add another one the following week. Just because you like broccoli and have finally gotten your kids to eat it, don’t just buy broccoli every week – switch it up, get something different, try new recipes. And you can find some of my favorite vegetable recipes at the bottom of my podcast show notes.
If you’re someone with IBD and you’re flaring, switch to a low fiber diet, but once your flare is over, slowly increase your fiber again to protect yourself from future flares.
If you’re considering investing in a prebiotic or synbiotic supplement, look for research to support its effectiveness. But don’t be like these folks I’ve seen in some Facebook groups who are selectively supplementing with certain prebiotics in hopes of increasing specific gut bacteria. We really don’t know enough about individual gut bacteria to be targeting them. Rather, think more about how well your gut is functioning overall.
If you want more help with your gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
Links in the article to products are Amazon affiliate links for which I receive a small commission.
From my podcast interview with Dr. Drew Sinatra, edited for readability.
What is the relationship between the gut and autoimmunity?
There are three things that I tend to look for. First you need to have a genetic predisposition. So, for example, with celiac disease, you must have either one or two of the HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 genes. Number two would be there has to be an exposure to an environmental trigger that will instigate an immune response. And gluten is a classic example of that. That’s the trigger that creates all this inflammation. And then, thirdly, there has to be intestinal hyper-permeability in the intestinal lining, which will obviously allow substances to go from the gut lumen into the bloodstream, and the immune system will become activated and that will set off a sort of systemic inflammatory type reaction. So, generally speaking, that’s kind of how I look at the development of autoimmune diseases.
And also you can use those three parameters for treatment as well. If you want to remove the trigger, which today we’ll talk about some triggers for autoimmunity in the gut. And what I found, doing a lot of research into this is that, unfortunately, there’s no unified theme when it comes to certain bacteria or certain phyla that might be increased or decreased, or looking at byproducts like short chain fatty acids, whether those are increased or decreased. It seems like there’s huge variability all across the board. Let’s say a condition like rheumatoid arthritis might have an elevation in prevotella, but in MS, you might have a decrease in prevotella species. So, I was hoping for more of a concrete unifying theme around these parameters, but I didn’t necessarily find it. And so that’s why I still come back to treating those three parameters in terms of development of autoimmune disease and also using them as treatment.
And so how important do you think gluten is for most autoimmune conditions?
I’m so happy you asked that. I take every single autoimmune patient that I see off gluten, and the reason I do that is because I’m sure you’ve read up on a lot of Alessio Fasano’s work in regards to zonulin. But gluten is one compound that can elevate and increase the production of zonulin, which then leads to the disassembly of tight junctions, which therefore sets the stage for leaky gut. And that happens regardless if you have celiac disease or if you have non-celiac gluten sensitivity or if you don’t even have any sensitivity or allergy to gluten. It happens in everyone. There’s this increase in zonulin that’s temporary after consuming gluten. You need to have the intestinal hyper-permeability present for autoimmune disease. That’s why I always take every single patient off of gluten that has an autoimmune condition. And I will say this too, out of all the treatments I’ve done over the last 12 years in private practice—this is including supplements, medications, dietary changes—gluten removal has been the most profound in terms of changes. . .
We talked about the diet piece, the autoimmune paleo, or anti-inflammatory diets – where I like to start. I always add on vitamin D if there’s overarching inflammation in the body. I’ll typically do like a tumeric or a boswellia or an artemisinin supplement to calm down inflammation.
I’m a huge fan of CBD. I don’t know if you’ve dug into CBD at all, but big fan of CBD . . . And you know what you’ve got to do is really talk to the company and figure out what they’re doing that is special, and make sure that their products are organic and they’re not overly processed. And then you need to experiment on yourself to figure out which one actually helps you feel different or better. That’s how we settled on it. I finally settled on one, it’s called Sana Botanicals. I love that company. They have such amazing products that work well, and I tell you, people come back and they’re sleeping better, they have less anxiety, they feel just calmer in their body, and it also helps with pain and inflammation.
. . . And then I also like to recommend LDN, low dose naltrexone. And it’s never good as a monotherapy, but when you combine it with everything that we’re talking about today, I do find it’s helpful across the board for autoimmune conditions. And the reason for that is it’s really helping upregulate T regulatory cells, which can really calm down a part of your immune system that’s overactive. And side effect profile-wise . . . people might have some insomnia the first couple of nights or some vivid dreams, but then that tends to go away, especially if you start off with a low dose and work them up.
I like, obviously probiotics, which you talked about, prebiotics getting mainly from food are really going to support the gut lining and work on inflammation. And then something like a GI Revive or something that has glutamine in it or DGL or aloe or marshmallow root, slippery elm, zinc carnosine, all these different nutrients to help calm down inflammation and help heal the gut.
If you want more help with your gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
When it comes to gut health problems, it’s not bad enough you can have gas that people might smell, bloating that makes you look pregnant, debilitating cramping and pain, frequent trips to the bathroom that can leave you exhausted mentally and physically, unpredictable bowel movements that can cause accidents and an inability to follow through on plans, but on top of all that, because of the nature of your issues, it can also cause stigma.
Stigma is when society labels an individual as abnormal. Stigma can be something you experience, perceive, or internalize.
If you’re experiencing stigma, it’s when you’re receiving concrete signs or actions of bias or prejudice against you from someone else. If you’re perceiving it, you may be sensing discrimination against yourself from others but the signs are subtle enough that you can’t be 100% sure. But when it’s internalized that’s really the worst because then you’ve absorbed and now believe certain stereotypes about yourself because of your condition, like I’m weak or I’m unreliable or I’m always in bad health and always will be or I’m not a good(fill in the blank: worker, friend, mother, father, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, etc.), or the mother of all internalized self-criticism, I’m not enough.
I’d like to undo some of that stigma and programming to help you see yourself as whole, healthy, healable, strong, and good enough in and of yourself and in relationship to others.
For starters, I want you to know that you’re not alone.
A 2013 Fox News Survey showed 74 percent of Americans are living with digestive symptoms like diarrhea, gas, bloating and abdominal pain. And whether a given individual has those symptoms now, everyone has had them at some time and knows what it’s like to have gas, constipation or diarrhea. Literally everyone, except maybe small children, has had those at one time or another.
In terms of actual diagnoses, as of 2015, it’s estimated that 1.3% of US adults (3 million) had been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), which is either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
In terms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) studies have estimated that between 10% and 15% of the entire U.S. population has it. That’s more than 1 out of every 7 people. So if you’re at a party with 10 people, someone else probably has IBS besides you. A party with 30 people? 3 more besides you. You’re not alone. That being said, in one study, more than half of people with IBS believed that they were treated differently because of their IBS.
How about gastritis? In the U.S., it’s estimated to affect 25-35% of the entire population!
And in my experience talking to clients (many of whom aren’t coming to me for gastrointestinal issues) I have yet to meet more than 2 people who think they have no GI issues at all: no pain, no constipation, no bloating, no soft stool or diarrhea, perfect Bristol Stool chart #3 or 4 stools with a clean wipe. That’s almost non-existent, because we’ve all taken antibiotics, we’ve all eaten a standard American diet, we’ve all taken NSAIDS or other prescriptions meds, we’ve all been subjected to a medical system that doesn’t focus on root causes. So if you take nothing else from this article, please take the information that almost everyone has gut issues of some sort, so if you’re experiencing stigma, much of it may be perceived and internalized but may not be experienced.
But I don’t want to underplay experienced stigma, as experienced stigma is real. So let’s talk a bit about it.
One study on IBS found that co-workers and employers were the greatest source of stigmatization, followed by health care providers and friends.
Stigma can result from
Being reluctant to tell others that you have a gastrointestinal condition.
Being unable to fulfill your expected role in a relationship.
Being unable to fully participate in daily life, work and social activities.
Lack of awareness and knowledge about your condition in the general public.
Lack of awareness or even belief in your condition among allopathic, or traditional medical doctors (particularly with conditions like SIBO, candida or dysbiosis).
A perception that your condition isn’t taken seriously, which is much more prevalent with conditions like IBS where there’s no physical evidence of a problem than with conditions like IBD.
And finally, stigma can come from other people’s perceptions that your condition is self-inflicted or all in your head or being used as an excuse to get out of doing things, which is again the case more with IBS than IBD.
It’s important to identify and address stigma, because the research on perceived stigma in IBS and IBD shows that it negatively impacts clinical outcomes, including increased depression and anxiety, lower quality of life, and reduced self-esteem and reduced self-efficacy (or the ability to advocate for yourself). Internalized stigma in both conditions is associated with an increase in health care utilization and reductions in health-related quality of life, psychological functioning, and perception of health competence. And again, perceived stigma is greater with IBS, with IBS patients showing more perceived stigma from their health care providers than patients with IBD. As a result, 40% of people with IBS reported choosing self-care after being dissatisfied with their health care provider, which is a shame because often working with a functional medicine provider in conjunction with your allopathic provider can give you access to tests and drugs that can be paid for by insurance and may be quicker or more effective in treating your condition.
And if you’re someone who doesn’t have a gastrointestinal condition and you don’t fully realize how debilitating it can be, read this:
In a global survey of 1,966 individuals who suffer from IBS, on average patients surveyed said they would give up 15 years of their life to live symptom free.
In another multi-continent survey involving a little over 500 people who suffer from IBS, 11% agreed that when their symptoms were at their peak, they often wished that they were dead.
Let’s talk about the different domains where gastrointestinal issues can cause stigma. As I mentioned, one study on IBS found that most patients felt most stigmatized by their employers and co-workers, followed by their doctors and friends.
Work
If you have been struggling at work, it’s best to have an honest, straightforward conversation with your supervisor or HR department about your condition and see if there are accommodations they can give you, like the ability to work from home when having a flare. It’s better to be honest about your condition than have them think you’re unreliable.
If your workplace has 15 or more employees, you have a diagnosed illness like IBD or IBS and your symptoms significantly impact on a major life ability, your condition should be a covered disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA requires your employer to provide you all the usual work-related opportunities including hiring, promotions, salary, raises and training opportunities and to make “reasonable accommodations” to the limitations of the disabled individual, as long as these accommodations do not result in “undue hardship”. You can look at the ADA legislation to understand more what reasonable accommodations are.
If finances have been an obstacle in getting the care you need from a functional medicine provider, you might ask your employer for assistance in covering the costs of tests or special care, because they’re already paying a lot if your condition is causing you to miss work or meetings or spend a lot of time in the bathroom. It might help to be armed with statistics for your condition, like the ones I found on IBS – that at least one third of employees with IBS miss an average of one day of work per month due to their IBS symptoms and they have 15-21% greater loss in work productivity because of gastrointestinal symptoms than employees without IBS. Also, IBS is the second leading cause, behind the common cold, of workplace absenteeism. So getting you the help you need to is in their best interests.
Also, there is something called EFundYourHealth that will match any money you raise to cover the cost of your functional or alternative medicine care. Your medical provider will have to set up a fundraiser for you and give you a code to get in, then you can ask friends and family to help contribute and they will match up to $250. I have an account set up with them and can give you a code to get started if you’re working with me.
Doctors
If you feel like you’re being stigmatized by your doctor because of your condition or your reaction to your care, it may not be about you. It may be about the fact that your doctor doesn’t have a solution for your problem and that makes them self-conscious or insecure about their inability to help you. I’ve heard from doctor friends that gastroenterologists would love to pawn off their IBS cases on someone like me because they don’t know what to do with them.
Second, I can tell you that it is important to advocate for yourself with healthcare providers, but I myself know what it’s like to be in a doctor’s office these days. Your provider has about 7 minutes to spend with you and most don’t want to take the time to talk in depth about your situation or hear about what you’ve heard in a podcast or on the internet. And you probably don’t want to sound like a crazy person asking about something that isn’t evidence-based or isn’t the “standard of care”. And honestly, your allopathic doctor isn’t really free, from a liability standpoint, to give you anything that doesn’t fit in with the standard of care. Plus, most doctors won’t order a test whose results they don’t know what to do with. So keep that in mind if you’re requesting microbiome stool sequencing or Organic Acids Testing, for example, from a doctor who’s never seen those tests before. To some extent, you have to understand the limits that an allopathic doctor’s knowledge and scope of practice impose on them. If you want to take a non-pharmaceutical and functional medicine approach to your treatment, you will likely need to seek out a functional medicine provider, which includes functional medicine MDs, naturopaths, a chiropractor who practices in gut health as well, a functional nutritionist or a health coach like me who specializes in gut health.
These types of practitioners don’t typically take insurance (although some people are able to pay with their FSA or HSA) but they will be able to spend much more time with you, will not stigmatize you for your condition, will take your complaints and ideas seriously and will offer natural methods of healing, including changes to diet, lifestyle and the use of herbal medicines.
But an allopathic physician can be a good partner in ordering tests like nutrient deficiency tests, for example, that are usually covered by insurance. And depending on your policy, you may have some out of network coverage for other lab tests if ordered by an MD, so it’s always worth checking whether your doctor will order the test for another practitioner to interpret. My approach with my own gut and autoimmune health is to find a general practitioner who’s willing to order tests for me if I know what to do about the results.
But in the end, you know your illness better than anyone and if you don’t advocate for yourself, no one will. You have to take responsibility for finding solutions or possible solutions to your problem. If your provider isn’t solving your problem and isn’t open to tests or medications you suggest (or even can provide peer-reviewed evidence to support), and/or you feel stigmatized by your provider, it may be time to transfer your medical care elsewhere. I used NextDoor.com to ask neighbors about providers that are open to integrative or alternative medicine. You can also choose, at your own expense of course, to talk with the doctor for the length of an appointment about their approach to medicine and their willingness to order tests for you or try non-traditional approaches. Or talking to a nursing assistant over the phone may also be a way to find out more about the doctor. But you shouldn’t have to put up with stigma at the doctor’s office.
Personal Relationships
A study done in 2014 found that more than half of the participants with IBS felt that they were treated differently by peers, family, friends and colleagues due to their diagnosis.
While this article is not just about IBS, for people with IBS in particular, whether it’s been diagnosed or not, because there aren’t physical signs of disease in your intestines, stigma may come from loved ones or peers who think it’s all in your head or being used as an excuse to get out of activities and events. And the reality is that IBS is linked to a dysfunction between the brain and the intestinal nervous system, so in some sense, it is in your head, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less real and that’s not the same as it being psychosomatic. And as a result of the connection between the gut and the brain via the vagus nerve, stress can manifest in your gut and gut issues may be caused by your brain. And if you didn’t listen to my podcast #20 with Corey Deacon, you should listen to that episode because he talks a lot about the gut brain connection, how it’s measured, and how to fix gut problems that originate in the brain due to incorrect electrical signals.
Again, talking about your gut condition with friends and family may help to reduce psychological stress and improve relationships, because it will help people understand why you may have to be absent from activities, may be less reliable that you’d like, and it may lessen your feelings of isolation. And who knows, someone you tell may have gut issues of their own. Positive relationships can be hugely helpful when it comes to managing symptoms and helping you out when you’re having a flare with transportation, child care or errands, or for a colleague, covering for you at work.
But if you find that the person you’re sharing with does not take you seriously or treat you with kindness, that may not be a person that’s good for you right now. You have a right to be taken seriously, believed, and be treated with kindness and compassion.
So if you’re a loved one of a person with gut issues – here are some key pointers for you:
Let your friend, romantic partner or family member know that you think they’re brave for confiding in you. It takes a lot of guts to talk about this kind of stuff.
If they’re in pain, ask them if there’s anything you can get for them, or offer to leave so that they can rest.
Tell them that they have nothing to be embarrassed about and what they’re going through is not their fault.
Ask them if it’s okay to share about their condition with other people before doing so.
If you hear or see someone else making jokes at their expense (like for spending a long time in the rest room for example), defend them. Let the person know that their comments are inappropriate and that your friend/family member/colleague suffers from a gastrointestinal disorder and those types of comments are not acceptable (if they gave you permission to share about it).
Offer to go with them to a doctor’s appointment if they have been feeling like they are not being heard by their physician and be a moral support.
Encourage them to confide in you when they’re feeling down; the psychological impact of having IBS or other gastrointestinal issues are real.
Help to educate other people in your life about their condition, especially mutual friends or colleagues who may not know what it is.
If they’re unable to follow through on plans due to a flare, don’t pressure them to come and don’t make them feel guilty. They probably already feel bad about cancelling. Just let them know that you understand, and offer your support if they need anything.
If you are planning to go out, make sure there are bathrooms available.
Gut health issues are often lifelong battles with periods where you loved one is better and periods where they are worse. Don’t blame or insult them for being in a worse period or going down rabbit holes or trying anything, including a million different supplements to solve their problem; if you had a similar problem, you’d do the same.
Don’t tell them it’s all in their head or psychosomatic. This feels condescending. If you suspect their condition is related to stress, rather, point them to stress management techniques that may be useful. But ask more questions, give fewer answers.
It’s not your responsibility to solve their problem. If they ask for your help, give it, but otherwise, just listen compassionately, reflect their pain and emotions back to them (“I hear you, you’re feeling really down right now because you can’t make it to the party”), but don’t try to troubleshoot their problem unless they’ve asked for your help.
Support their dietary restrictions – this is what helps them avoid flares. Don’t tempt them with foods that cause a flare. Talk to them about their greatest temptations and if there are foods they really don’t want eaten around them that are too tempting to resist but will cause a flare.
Finally, talking to a new romantic partner may be the most tricky, so here’s some advice:
Take it in baby steps, this can happen over multiple conversations.
Explain to them about your condition and how it affects your life.
You don’t have to tell them all the gory details of your symptoms and toilet habits when you’re just getting to know one another.
Share how it makes you feel (not sexy, bloated, nauseous, needing to be near a bathroom).
If you’re intimately involved, share how it can impact your libido (not feeling sexy, pain, need to use the toilet, fear of accidents) and if there are better times of day to be romantic – like first thing in the morning rather than after dinner.
Make sure your partner’s ego isn’t impacted (people’s egos are tightly tied to their feeling sexually desirable) by explaining that it isn’t about them and is just that you’re having a flare. Make sure they know you still find them sexy and desirable but just aren’t in a physical place yourself to be intimate.
In sum, life is messy, being honest and open is more likely to lead to closeness and intimacy than hiding. You deserve a romantic partner who shows you compassion and support for your condition, so don’t settle for less.
And some pointers on stigma around food and special or restricted diets:
If you’re eating out (when that becomes possible again) or ordering take out, pick the restaurant if possible.
Check the menu and call ahead to the chef to make sure they understand how serious your diet issues are.
If you’re cooking/eating at home, you can make bulk quantities of gluten-free or non-grain side dishes (like pasta, quinoa, rice, riced cauliflower, etc.). If another person cooking doesn’t want to eat gluten-free, they can just pull out some of your pre-cooked side dishes or base starch, then add the other ingredients to it for you.
Batch-cooking and freezing meals so you can eat your own thing can also be helpful.
I hope that those pointers for dealing with stigma with others are helpful.
So finally let’s talk about internalized stigma you may be experiencing. Think for a second about these questions:
What are the messages you send yourself about your condition?
What are the words you tell yourself about your health, your ability to participate in work and activities, your future prospects?
Now imagine a child who’s totally innocent and has the same condition. What would you say to that child? Are you being as kind yourself as you would be to that child? Because you should be, you should give yourself the same kind kindness and compassion, even if you messed up and ate something you shouldn’t have, for example, as you would that child.
Are you taking time to care for yourself or are you still trying to put everyone else’s needs first? It’s like the oxygen mask: you have to put your own on before taking care of others’. That means you have to take the time to practice self-care, which may mean exercise, relaxation activities, meditation, yoga, and practices that reduce stress because stress is a real, concrete factor in bowel issues, and research shows that exercise and stress reduction are essential components of healing.
And stop feeling like you’re a bother. You have to speak up and advocate for your own needs, in your relationships, at work, at the doctor’s office, you can’t let the opinions of others keep you from living your best life and getting better.
And finally remember, what you’re going through now is not going to last forever. Five years from now, if you keep searching, keep trying and keep advocating for yourself, most likely this will all be a distant memory. So don’t lose hope. There is always a path to healing and you will find it. You are enough, and you are good, and you need to love yourself through this challenging experience.
My
last podcast with Lucy Mailing, PhD shed light on a new theory to describe the
process of gut dysbiosis that may be responsible for many different symptoms
and diagnoses in the gut. This has impacted the education I am sharing with my
clients in helping them heal their guts. Read excerpts of our interview below
(edited for readability).
So let’s get to the main topic, the
oxygen-gut dysbiosis theory. Tell me about the theory and the research today
that supports it.
So
first I saw a talk done by Dr. Sean Colgan at Experimental Biology Conference
and essentially learned that butyrate is essential for the gut barrier. Most
people know that, but it actually also helps to maintain hypoxia or a very low
oxygen environment in the gut. So a healthy colon, large intestine, is
virtually devoid of oxygen. It’s a very low oxygen environment, also known as
anaerobic. And what happens is that anaerobic environments select for certain
healthy bacteria. And what happens when we have gut inflammation is that the
epithelial cells, the cells that line the gut, start to become inflamed and
they start to leak oxygen into the gut. And when this happens, a lot of
opportunistic pathogens like E. Coli, Salmonella and Enterococcus really like
that oxygen, and they can use it to outcompete some of the beneficial microbes.
So that oxygen leakage is really what is driving the dysbiosis.
And
in fact, we do see this pattern across different chronic diseases: the most
common pattern among all the dysbiosis that’s been observed is that there’s this
overgrowth of facultative anaerobes, meaning microbes that can use oxygen when
it’s present, and they do this at the expense of the beneficial microbes,
including a lot of those butyrate producers that are so important for
maintaining the gut barrier.
And what are some of those species
or genera or phyla of beneficial butyrate producers?
I can
name a few: Lachnospiraceae is one, Clostridia, a number of different
Clostridia produce butyrate, Eubacterium, Roseburia. So there’s a number of
different genera and families of butyrate producing bacteria, and essentially
these are crucial to maintaining the health of that gut barrier because we if
don’t have those butyrate producers, then we’re not getting an abundance of
butyrate to fuel the epithelial cells and maintain them in a healthy state.
And so what is the result of that
oxygenation and then the increase in these facultative anaerobes?
So
just generally the facultative anaerobes tend to be much more inflammatory, so
they tend to stress the gut, cause inflammation, intestinal permeability, and
are also directly inflaming the gut epithelium. And what’s really interesting
is that their inflaming the gut epithelium then leads to more oxygen produced
in the gut. So it’s almost like these pathogens can hack our gut metabolism to
feed themselves the substrates that they need to survive. And then it becomes a
vicious cycle and they start to expand.
Right. And these are all typically from the phylum proteobacteria?
Yeah, most of them are in the phylum proteobacteria; that’s the most common that’s seen. And particularly the family Enterobacteriaceae is the most common to expand in this condition of increased oxygen leakage.
And
more from our conversation on gut stool testing using metagenomics:
There’s
a couple: Onegevity and Sun Genomics are two that I’ve explored. I’m liking
Onegevity the best right now because they also allow you to download the raw
data and then you can kind of parse through that as well. So that’s what I’m
using currently. I was using uBiome, which was really great for 16s [a
different form of gut microbiome testing] and you know, a lot less expensive.
They’re totally gone now, so it’s not an option. So I haven’t found another 16s
that I feel is reliable. So I’ve typically recently gone to the metagenomics instead
. . . metagenomics is taking all of the genes in the sample and sequencing all
of them and then matching them back up to databases so we can get down to the
genus species and strain level and typically do so with a greater degree of
accuracy.
And will Onegevity tell you your
breakdown of these big phyla?
Yeah.
Onegevity does show the phyla breakdown. They also show your butyrate-producing
capacity, which is pretty cool. And they do have a brief pathogen screening
profile. I’m hoping that they’re going to be expanding that soon.
And do they include fungi?
They
do include fungi, yeah. At least in the raw data. I’m not sure how much they
report in the visual reports at the moment.
And parasites or viruses or
anything like that?
So
they will detect them with the metagenomics, whether some of them will pop up
on the visualization report that they give you. Some of them you might have to
find in the raw data. So for example, things like Blastocystis hominis that are
a little bit more, is it parasite, is it not, will be in the raw data, but wouldn’t
necessarily show on what they choose to report at the moment, at least.
So let’s go back to my ridiculous potential
overabundance of proteobacteria. And if I look at some of these great anaerobic
butyrate producers, and in my reports, I got none of them. So other than doing
a fecal transplant, is there any way I can get them back into my system?
So
the question is, do you actually not have them or are they just at such low
abundance that they weren’t detected by 16s? And I would guess since you’re relatively
healthy and talking to me, my guess is that they’re there. They’re just not at
as high of abundance as they could be or are maybe even not high enough
abundance to be detected with 16s, especially if it was skewing with the
proteobacteria. Some of the butyrate producers may have also come back lower
than they should have, but essentially, you know, there’s a number of things
that you can do too even if the bacteria have gone down to really low
abundance. Improving the health of your gut and your diet will essentially help
them to reflourish.
So
the gut really is quite resilient. There are certainly instances where your
butyrate producers could go completely extinct. And in that instance, the only
way to get them back would be to do a fecal microbiota transplant. But for most
people, if you’ve got low butyrate producers, it is possible to shift the
ecosystem back to just allow those to flourish and become more abundant.
And how do you do that?
So I
think the, the first step is really just to make sure you have the basic health
behaviors in place. We can talk about all kinds of advanced gut interventions,
but if you don’t have the basic, you know, healthy diet, exercise, sleep and
stress management cupboard, then all the fancy gut treatments, advanced therapies
are not going to move the needle nearly as much as any of those things. So
that’s kind of the first step. And honestly, that will shift the microbiome
quite a bit back in the right direction.
Any particular aspect of a healthy
diet, since obviously so many people define that differently?
Yeah.
I think the truth is we don’t exactly know what the best diet is for the gut
microbiome, and I don’t think that there is one best diet for the gut
microbiome. Everyone’s microbiome is different, and some people, you know, may
respond really well to a ketogenic diet, whereas other people might do better
with a diet that includes more plant foods. So generally I just talk about
focusing on whole foods and making sure that you’re getting processed foods and
refined sugars out of your diet for sure.
After
that, it really is personal experimentation. And if your gut is really
inflamed, then it might be beneficial, like I said earlier, to do a short term
more hypoallergenic diet, like the autoimmune protocol, to remove some of those
more inflammatory foods, at least for a time to facilitate that healing. Because
healing, bringing down inflammation, is going to essentially stop that oxygen
leakage, which is driving the dysbiosis.
And what about the role of fiber
in there?
Yeah,
so fiber can be really beneficial for some people, but for other people it’s
just going to exacerbate inflammation. So it’s kind of nuanced. Again, fiber
does seem to be important in some people and is a good way to increase
production of butyrate. But something we haven’t really touched on yet is that in
a ketogenic diet, even if you’re not getting quite as much fiber, you are
getting beta hydroxybutyrate, which is one of the primary ketone bodies
produced in the liver, and it can actually eat into the same pathway in the gut
that fulfills.
So what if you had this typical
overabundance of proteobacteria and oxygen dysbiosis thing going on? What would
be the typical symptoms of that?
It
really can manifest in a lot of different ways. So we’ve seen that basically
this microbial signature of high proteobacteria and low butyrate producers is
found across a wide range of different diseases: inflammatory bowel disease,
irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer. But even type 2 diabetes, obesity,
psoriasis.
Okay, so you wouldn’t necessarily
say, well, people like this typically tend towards diarrhea or less formed
stool versus constipation?
No,
not necessarily. Although I will say that I see it a lot in my clients that
have persistent bloating and abdominal distension. That’s a very common one
that I see, but it’s also probably skewed based on my client population.
And so in your article that you
wrote about all this, you suggested the supplemental butyrate might be
something that would turn around this state of dysbiosis. Can you talk a little
bit about that?
Yeah,
definitely. And I should say, I don’t think that supplemental butyrate alone
will necessarily be able to overcome this dysbiosis. So I outlined a number of
different things, both diet and lifestyle factors, and supplemental things that could be useful in
trying to prevent oxygen leakage into the gut and kind of shift back to a state
of homeostasis, butyrate being one of those things though that’s really
important. So essentially what’s going on is the oxygen leakage is happening
partly because the epithelial cells that line your gut are starved for energy.
And when they’re starved for energy, they’re not metabolizing butyrate if they
don’t have it. So what they do instead is pull glucose from the bloodstream,
and essentially this ferments to lactate, and that lactate leaks into the gut,
in addition to the oxygen that is normally used through the metabolism of
butyrate. So it’s really the fact that there’s not butyrate present, and that’s
what means that the oxygen that’s flowing into epithelial cells from the blood
doesn’t get used. And that’s when it ends up spilling out into the gut lumen
and feeding the pathogens.
So essentially
providing supplemental butyrate will mean that you’re providing the energy that
the epithelial cells prefer. They’ll use more oxygen as part of their
metabolism of that butyrate and won’t need to do this, essentially, anaerobic
glucose fermentation. That’s going to produce lactate and end up not using up
the oxygen, meaning that oxygen and lactate will leak into the gut and feed
Salmonella, Enterobacteriaceae, and a number of those different proteobacteria.
. . But when we’re talking about things like supplemental butyrate, or I even talked
about in my article, the use of mesalamine, which is actually a pharmaceutical
treatment for inflammatory bowel disease that I could think could be beneficial
in some cases of severe dysbiosis. I’m certainly not recommending that to the
average person trying to improve their gut health. I’m really recommending that
when we’ve gone beyond the typical interventions.
Well I know we are running out of
time, but I have one last question because you’ve mentioned glutamine, so is L-glutamine
something you frequently supplement with or suggest people supplement with?
Occasionally.
It really depends on the case. It has been shown to be beneficial in IBS, in
randomized control trials. Typically that’s a dose of five grams given two,
three times a day. So in some people, yes. I am a little bit more cautious in
people who might have autoimmunity, because glutamine can stimulate the immune
system, so it really is more of a case by case basis, whether I’ll recommend
glutamine. And of course there’s plenty of ways to get glutamine from our diet.
If you tolerate bone broth, broth is a great source of glutamine, as are a lot
of those other messy animal parts.
And I didn’t ask about this, but
what kind of dosages are you thinking about with the butyrate supplementation?
With butyrate, I think it’s really important to be using a dose that is more of a physiologic concentration. So a lot of butyrate salts out there, sodium butyrate, calcium butyrate, magnesium butyrate, you can buy are suggesting like a five gram dose. I prefer to use smaller doses and those that are more targeted to the colon. Again, I’m not a licensed practitioner, but in the evidence in reviewing the literature, it seems that lower doses of butyrate can be beneficial for healing the mucosa, whereas large, massive doses of butyrate might actually inhibit STEM cell proliferation in the gut and prevent wound healing. So I think butyrate supplementation is great in a lot of different conditions, but it needs to be done in a way that’s more mimicking the concentrations of butyrate that we would be getting if we had a healthy microbiome that was producing butyrate.
If you’re suffering from gut health issues and traditional routes have not yet brought you relief, I offer free, 1-hour Health Restoration Breakthrough Sessions to share about your struggles and learn how health coaching with me could help.
I know this is a scary time for lots of people who are concerned about their health or concerned about loved ones who are older, immunocompromised or in otherwise fragile health. My parents are in their late 70’s and I’m definitely concerned for them.
To help alleviate my concern and give all of our bodies some tools for preventing and fighting viral infections, I ordered myself and my parents these herbal medications. I wanted to share them with all of you too so you could protect yourselves and your loved ones.
Disclaimer:None of the statements below have been evaluated by the FDA; some of the links are to my affiliate accounts for these products/Fullscript dispensary for which I receive affiliate commissions.
Antiviral Throat and Nose Spray Options (prevention while going out or also for use if infected)
Biocidin Throat Spray (available in my Fullscript Dispensary – you have to set up an account to order – or buy from Bio-Botanical Research directly but do compare prices!) A great throat spray to stop sore throats in their tracks, kill viruses and bacteria and increase secretory IgA (your antibodies in mucus-lined parts of your body that kill invading pathogens).
Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis Throat Spray – an alternative throat spray option. This is the antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal substance bees make and use to line the interior of their hives.
Biocidin Nasal Spray – you have to make this yourself using Biocidin Broad Spectrum Liquid Formula or Biocidin LSF Liposomal Formula Liquid available from my Fullscript Dispensary. Add 8-12 drops of Biocidin Broad Spectrum Liquid or 1-2 pumps Biocidin LSF to a 1 oz bottle prepared saline solution nasal spray (some common drugstore brands have removable tops or you can pry the top off with pliers). Use several times a day until improvement is seen or as a preventative/post-contamination or while going out. Good for sinus infections too and sinus infections post dental surgery on upper teeth.
Immune Supportive and Antiviral Supplements
Biocidin LSF Liposomal Formula Liquid – antiviral herbal combo supplement – available from my Fullscript Dispensary. If you’re well now, titrate up slowly per the instructions included and stop if you have any die-off (Herxheimer) reactions until they’ve passed (sudden flu-like symptoms). Don’t increase your dose during die-off reactions. [You can also use GI Detox (also available on Fullscript) or activated charcoal to help absorb die-off by products. Take 2 hours after taking this medication.] Titrating up slowly will prepare your body to be able to handle it when you need it. When you get to the maximum dose and can tolerate it, stop and hold onto the liquid until you actually need it. If you’re already sick, titrate up slowly per instructions. If you’re acutely sick, consult with your doctor before taking and/or if you have an acute reaction. It can also be used to shorten the duration or severity of other viruses like colds and flu.
Olivirex – olive leaf extract combo herbal antiviral supplement – available from my Fullscript Dispensary. If you’re well now, titrate up slowly per the instructions included and stop if you have any die-off (Herxheimer) reactions until they’ve passed (sudden flu-like symptoms). Don’t increase your dose during die-off reactions. [You can also use GI Detox (also available on Fullscript) or activated charcoal to help absorb die-off by products. Take 2 hours after taking this medication.] Titrating up slowly will prepare your body to be able to handle it when you need it. When you get to the maximum dose and can tolerate it, stop and hold onto the capsules until you actually need them. I’d get 2-3 bottles to store until needed. It can also be used to shorten the duration or severity of other viruses like colds and flu. If you’re already sick, titrate up slowly per instructions. If you’re acutely sick, consult with your doctor before taking and/or if you have an acute reaction.
Lauricidin – highest dosage monolaurin supplement available – antiviral, antifungal and immune supportive. If you’re well now, titrate up slowly per the instructions included and stop if you have any die-off (Herxheimer) reactions until they’ve passed (sudden flu-like symptoms). Don’t increase your dose during die-off reactions. This will prepare your body to be able to handle it when you need it. When you get to the dose of 1 scoop 3 times/day and can tolerate it, stop and hold onto it until you need it, or continue taking as an immune system support. One bottle lasts around one month. If you’re already sick, titrate up slowly per instructions. If you’re acutely sick, consult with your doctor before taking and/or if you have an acute reaction.
You can email me if you have any questions about purchasing or using these products. I’m happy to help.
If you want more help with your gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
As we all think about social distancing, face masks, sterilization, hand washing and the like, I just wanted to make sure you don’t forget the basics of protecting your health and keeping your immune system functioning well.
Drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water a day (3/4 even better).
Eat a healthy diet. For most of us this means decreasing grain-based carbs (bread, pasta, desserts, white potatoes, rice) significantly and replacing them with healthy sources of protein (beans, legumes, grassfed and pastured meat and eggs) and fat (avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, olives). Eat 5-9 servings of a moving variety of fruits and vegetables a day. See my breakfast photo for how you can amp up your breakfast and start the day right: that’s sauteed spinach, sauteed avocado slices, hash browns made with grated purple sweet potato, sauteed zucchini. See how many colors you can get on a plate. Use fruit or dark chocolate (70%+) as your after dinner sweet. Get lots of fiber from root vegetables, lentils, beans, wild rice, quinoa and other whole grains (preferably not ground into flour). But think of the grain or starch portion of your meal as the side dish – it should only cover 1/8 of your plate (for women that’s like 1/2 cup; men 1 cup), non-starchy fruits and veggies should cover 3/8 to 1/2, Protein 1/4, healthy fats 1/4 (not in size but in terms of servings/calories). Use almond flour for baking instead of white or whole wheat flour. If you can’t give up your sources of white grains, you can greatly reduce their impact by cooling and reheating (potatoes, rice, pasta). This creates resistant starch that your body can’t digest but your good gut bacteria can.
Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
Get 20-30 minutes of sunshine unprotected by sunscreen (but protect your face with a hat).
Get regular, daily movement (it’s never been a better time for a walk around the neighborhood). Look for online workout videos. I keep an aerobic step in my living room and do my exercise there while watching TV.
It’s never been a better time to quit smoking.
Continue positive social interaction in whatever way is possible. We’ve done 6-ft. happy hours with our neighbors, we’re planning a zoom happy hour with distant friends and family, you can still take walks/hikes with friends unless you’re in one of the most vulnerable groups (then maybe just keep more distant).
Engage in some type of calming or meditative practice, especially if you are feeling anxious. Possibilities include contemplative prayer, EFT, yoga, tai chi, meditation, yoga nidra and many more.
Laugh.
Keep your bowels moving regularly. Add fiber to your diet (Sun Fiber, psyllium husk or other natural source) and/or magnesium citrate until you’re going at least once a day with ease.
I’m sure that you’ve all heard about the gut-brain axis and how your gut health impacts your mental health. A 2017 review of the peer-reviewed medical literature on this axis by Clapp et al. concluded: “This review demonstrates the importance of a healthy microbiome, particularly the gut microbiota, for patients suffering from anxiety and depression, as dysbiosis and inflammation in the CNS [Central Nervous System] have been linked as potential causes of mental illness. Of note, studies have shown that probiotics effectively mitigated anxiety and depressive symptoms similar to conventional prescription medications.”
In my practice, I have often noted that clients with gut infections and dysbiosis (abnormal overgrowth of certain bacteria or fungi) also have diagnoses of anxiety and depression. While I agree that probiotics can be helpful, it’s important to heal gut infections before wasting money on probiotics.
In my latest podcast episode, I interviewed Mary, a mom from California who sought out FMT or fecal microbiota transplants (aka poop transplants) for her children’s urgent health problems at a clinic in Australia (because it’s not legal here for their conditions). Her daughter had severe social anxiety and auditory and tactile hallucinations diagnosed as something called PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus) and her son had autism and lifelong diarrhea. By the end of 3 weeks of transplants, the clinic determined through testing that her third child was a safe donor to continue the transplants once home.
That’s where it gets interesting on the topic of anxiety and depression. Mary had been suffering with both her entire life, and the anxiety had become quite severe to the point where she was having panic attacks every time she contemplated driving, which was a daily necessity. So Mary gave herself 10 fecal transplants over the course of 15 days using her daughter’s stool. Her symptoms of anxiety and depression were gone after the first two fecal transplants, and haven’t returned since. And her daughter’s condition was also gone after two weeks of transplants plus supplemental FMTs after returning, as well as her son’s diarrhea.
Mary’s story is amazing but not shocking given that we know that gut bacteria produce and/or consume a wide range of our neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In fact, 95% of the body’s serotonin is found in the bowels. While Mary’s solution may be a bit extreme for most people (not to mention costly given the testing and the trip to Australia that gave her the confidence to try FMT at home), testing and correction of gut health issues is a much more mundane way to treat mental illness.
Various functional lab tests that consumers can order themselves can shed light on what’s going on in your gut that may be affecting your brain. These include the Organic Acids Test, which includes over 70 metabolic markers of gut health, vitamin levels, neurotransmitters, mitochondrial function and much more and Onegevity’s Gutbio test, which is a complete metagenomic sequencing of your gut microbiome down to the strain level, including parasites, bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Stocked with this information, I educate my clients on protocols recommended by MDs and PharmDs to heal/treat the dysbiosis (usually through herbal antimicrobials + probiotics), which can help correct neurotransmitter issues impacting mental health.
If you’ve only sought out allopathic (aka traditional) doctors or therapists to help with your mental health issues without relief, it may be a gut problem! I encourage you to listen to Mary’s family’s amazing healing story! (Or if you’re not podcast-listening savvy just find it here on my web site.)
If you’re suffering from mental illness and traditional routes have not yet brought you relief, I offer free, 1-hour Health Restoration Breakthrough Sessions to share about your struggles and learn how health coaching with me could help.
If you didn’t have time to listen to my latest podcast episode with Dr. Raphael D’Angelo, MD, who is a retired holistic medical doctor who provides thorough parasite testing through his business ParaWellness Research, here are some of the key takeaways.
What are parasites and which types are most common?
A parasite is anything that derives its life, substance or ability to reproduce from some other organism. Most parasites in the human gut are either worms like roundworms, flatworms and flukes, or protozoa. Protozoa are the most numerous parasites throughout the environment, especially in water, but can also be carried by insects, like malaria. In Dr. d’Angelo’s testing, about nine out of ten patients have a protozoan, and one out of ten has a protozoan and a worm.
Can you have a parasite and no gut issues?
While Dr. d’Angelo generally tests people who are suffering from gut symptoms, he also noted that we would probably find one or two types of protozoa in healthy people who are not having any gut problems. These protozoa may be transient and just reside in the gut for a short time.
Why do typical labs fail to find parasites most of the time?
While Dr. d’Angelo’s parasite testing (at ParaWellness Research) is very thorough and involves many different tools, Dr. d’Angelo explained why parasite testing through typical labs covered by insurance usually finds nothing. Those labs conduct a wide range of tests, including bacterial testing, virus testing, fungus testing, and more. Because there’s a perception that parasites are not a real problem in the United States, parasite testing receives the lowest priority in assigning lab personnel, with newer and less experienced technicians assigned to parasite testing. Insufficient time is spent looking for parasites because they’re rarely found, and parasites change form, making it difficult to detect them under a microscope some of the time. As a result, little effort is given to detecting parasites with a foregone conclusion that they won’t be found. So if you’ve been given an ova and parasites test through your doctor’s office and it came up empty, but you think you may have a parasite, you may want to consider additional testing.
What is Blastocystis Hominis?
The most common protozoan
parasite worldwide other than malaria is called blastocystis hominis. It can
come from contaminated food or water or can be transmitted from person to
person with poor hygiene habits. Symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal
cramping and occasionally, nausea. Often people with a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS) have blastocystis hominis. Occasionally it can be found in swelling
around arthritic joints when fluid is extracted. For many years it was not
believed to be a parasite, but over the last 25-30 years, it’s been shown that
it can invade some tissues.
While blastocystis
hominis is known to be difficult to eradicate, Dr. d’Angelo has had success
treating it with a silver type preparation mixed with essential oils, sometimes
including liquid preparations of herbs.
While treating parasites
with antibiotics is also possible and can take less time (1-2 weeks), those who
wish to avoid antibiotics can choose natural treatments. Dr. d’Angelo
recommends these treatments be taken over the course of three months, for 20
days from when the moon is half full to a full moon and then from the full moon
until the half moon for three moon cycles, giving the body a 10 day rest in
between. The moon’s pull on bodies of water also applies to parasites, and
their most active metabolic period is during this time, allowing smaller
amounts of the medicines to be used. Dr. d’Angelo learned this method of treatment
from colleagues in other countries who treat parasites routinely.
The pull of the moon points
can be an additional help in diagnosing parasites – during the fuller moon
phases, people will complain of more diarrhea and cramps.
What is Cryptosporidium?
Another common protozoan
is cryptosporidium, which is found in contaminated water as a result of animal
or bird droppings. This can often follow on flooding in an area, where drinking
water becomes polluted. Water filtration systems are generally not fine enough
to be able to completely filter out parasites, so when their numbers increase,
enough get through that they can overwhelm our immune systems. In addition,
during the cleaning of the filters, water systems backflow their filters, which
opens up the opportunity for parasites to enter the water flow. If your area
has had flooding, one way to protect yourself is to boil your water one minute
for every 1000 feet of elevation above sea level. Another good way to protect
yourself on an ongoing basis is to use a reverse osmosis filter that you can
put under your sink. Pitcher-type filters are generally not fine enough to protect
you from protozoa (which require a one or two micron filter), although some
units do boast this level of filtration.
A large amount of diarrhea
is almost always present with cryptosporidium. They are very difficult to find
on lab tests because they tend to live in upper part of the small intestine,
but they can be located using a specialized
antibody test. For a
normal healthy person who gets cryptosporidium, they may have a big bout of
diarrhea for two-three weeks, then it tapers off and they get better. However,
in an immunocompromised person, with something like diabetes or cancer, it may
cause a chronic, ongoing problem.
What is Giardia?
Another common parasite
found in humans in the U.S. is giardia. It’s almost universally present in wild
animal populations and in soil and water, so it gets into our drinking water reservoirs.
Symptoms include mushy bowel movements with a sulfurous smell and a rumbly
stomach and intestines on and off throughout the day. It can be treated through
10 days of prescription antibiotics if it’s causing problems, although many people
may have just a few giardia that their immune system keeps in check, causing no
problems.
What is Cyclospora Cayetanensis?
Another parasite that was
a problem relatively recently in the U.S. is cyclospora cayetanensis, which
came in through a cilantro farm in Mexico that had contamination from animal
waste. This also causes profuse diarrhea and can be treated with antibiotics or
three months of Dr. d’Angelo’s remedy.
What are examples of some types of parasites that typical labs
will not identify as pathogenic but that may cause problems?
Other protozoan parasites
that the CDC may not classify as pathogenic but that Dr. d’Angelo recommends
treating include dientamoeba fragilis, endolimax nana and iodamoeba buetschlii.
Dientamoeba fragilis can enter through contaminated food and water and also piggybacks
onto roundworms. Endolimax nana and iodamoeba buetschlii are very common and
can be found in almost any water source. In some people these protozoa may be numerous
enough to block nutrient absorption. These are typical of parasites that a
traditional lab will not identify.
What are the most common parasitic worms found in the U.S.?
Worms are also pretty
common in the U.S., but in nowhere near the amounts that Dr. d’Angelo would
find in samples from Vietnamese people, where he received his original training
through the U.S. army during the Vietmam war. A typical Vietnamese worker on
their base might have had five or six different types of worms and four or five
types of protozoa and have no digestive issues at all, because their immune
systems were well adapted to keeping these populations in check.
In the U.S., some of the
most common worms are pinworms and a large roundworm called ascaris
lumbricoides. With pinworms, which are common in young children, symptoms
include restlessness at night and itching of the anus. If you press a piece of
scotch tape to your child’s bottom before they get out of bed in the morning
and look at that under the microscope, you can see the eggs of the pinworm.
Ascaris lumbricoides usually
comes through swallowing an egg from contaminated food, mainly meats. That’s
why Dr. d’Angelo recommends wearing disposable
gloves when you’re handling fresh, slaughtered game meat like deer, and cleaning
the meat under running water. Sometimes it’s possible to find an egg in a
parasite test, but often it’s only discovered when the worm is passed in stool.
For many people, ascaris
lumbricoides will cause no problems while residing in your gut for six to nine
months and will pass out without incident. Some people may have no symptoms but
others may have a sense of fullness or of movement. However, in other people,
the worm may find its way to a spot in the upper part of the small intestine, where
it can block the outflow of pancreatic juices or bile into the small intestine
for digestion. Symptoms of this include pain in the upper right quadrant of the
abdomen. If given an x-ray, the worm may be visible on it.
Can parasites cause food sensitivities?
When there are
disruptions of the integrity of the lining of the intestinal tract, parasites
can contribute to food sensitivities. Blastocystis hominis, for example, eats
good bacteria and can strip an area of the intestinal lining of commensal or
beneficial bacteria that would normally protect it. As a result, the mucus
layer is stripped and partially digested food particles can escape, causing an
immune response and the production of an antibody against that food, which
leads to a sensitivity.
In addition, parasites take
in nutrients and put out toxic waste products, which can also deteriorate the
lining of the intestinal tract, causing the immune system to react as it tries
to clean up the problem, creating an allergic reaction involving foods that are
also in the area.
If you are found to have
a parasite that you believe created a food sensitivity, you should wait about a
month after clearing it before trying to eat that food again.
Should your sexual partner be treated for parasites when you are?
If there is some chance
that there’s been shared stool, urine or other bodily fluids, it’s wise to test
both members of a couple so that you don’t pass things back and forth.
What is mimosa pudica seed and can it be used to treat parasites?
Dr. d’Angelo finds it
very helpful for resistant parasites and something called rope worm. Symptoms
of rope worm include a rumbly tummy, and the frequent passing of long, rope-like
or stick-like, mucus-covered items in the stool. The mimosa plant has been used
for centuries by the indigenous healers for parasites, and so it’s a very good
anti-parasitic for many different kinds of parasites that would also work in
place of the essential oil/silver/herbal preparations that Dr. d’Angelo uses.
However, his preparation also treats pathogenic bacteria and candida.
Does Dr. d’Angelo also test for yeast/candida?
In Dr. d’Angelo’s
testing, he also looks for excess yeast in the stool and in the urine. Forty
percent of patients have excess yeast, which is why he includes silver in his
treatment, as it is effective against candida.
How much is testing through ParaWellness Research and can I order
it myself?
An initial test, including a $10 membership fee to his research program and shipping is $316.95. Patients can order tests themselves at parawellnessresearch.com.
If you want more help with your gut, autoimmune or other health issues, you can set up a free, 30-minute Breakthrough Session with me (Lindsey) to share what you’ve been going through and decide whether my 5-appointment gut health coaching program or a longer program for autoimmunity or weight loss is a good fit for you. Individual 1-hour consultations may be scheduled directly here.
I’m sure that you’ve all heard about the gut-brain axis and how your gut health impacts your mental health. A 