Click to listen to the audio…
Why just taking a probiotic is unlikely to “fix” gut dysbiosis
Your gut is pitch dark, so gut bacteria, depend on you, to tell time – when your time signals are scrambled, they’re clueless and so they misbehave
Gut dysbiosis…………..
It’s a common feature of many health problems.
Why are the “good” guys missing ?
The first response is, they never made it in. We have a very long list of lifestyle experiences, that compromise our exposure to THE GOOD GUYS.
- Antibiotics and other medications
- Living in “sterile” environments
- Processed foods
- C-sections and formula feeding etc.
So, the “fix” is often, send in the GOOD guys – one way or another.
For many, this involves swallowing an expensive probiotic. I prefer more natural approaches, because probiotics, are not without issues.
Arrivals versus residency
But, who is there, is only partly determined, by who arrives.
Who stays is controlled.
- By who is already there
- By YOU
We know genes and diet, influence your bacterial profile……..
How does this happen ?
Through body chemistry. The bacteria respond to chemical signals….
So BAD BODY CHEMISTRY begets BAD BUGS.
Not BAD BUGS beget BAD BODY CHEMISTRY.
NOTE : This is clearly NOT always true, just ask someone who has picked up a bad bug. Biology is ALWAYS complicated.
Dysbiosis in perspective
The idea that bad body chemistry is behind dysbiosis, rather than the bad bugs – is a subtle difference, but an important one, because it gives us, a whole new set of tools, to tackle THE DYSBIOSIS.
Let me give you a concrete example, taken from a recently published journal article…….it’s in diabetic mice.
NOTE : The principle is likely to apply, to the majority of conditions, that have been associated with changes in gut flora, not just type 2 diabetes.
Figuring out the who
The mice were diabetic, thanks to a genetic problem, NOT diet. They and there, normal cousins, grew up on ordinary mouse chow, in the same lab – but by 10 months, they were seriously overweight and considered diabetic.
Now our team, was interested in what was going on in the gut, but instead of taking a poop sample, first thing in the morning, they camped out in the lab and collected poop samples, ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT.
They ended up with 6 poop samples, taken at 4 hour intervals.
So what did they find ?
The who is time based
Who is there, is fluctuating across time.
This, in and of itself, is NOT a big surprise. Conditions in the gut are different, across the day.
At night, when mice are out and about, food is dropping in and the gut residents, take advantage, sharing in the spoils, the mice have “collected”. During the day, when mice, “hit the sack”, the supply from above, dries up.
So gut residents, make a plan….
A bug makes a plan
Some bacteria take stock, upgrading their biology, for the next, round feeding. Others, MAKE A PLAN……. switching to host generated molecules, to munch on.
Among, their favourite, dining delicacy, is mucin – the protein that lines/protects our gut.
The “surprise”……….. in diabetic mice, the pattern of who was around, was different. Here you can see, the patterns of all the bacterial species, our team tracked.
Diurnal oscillatory rhythms of the gut microbiota at the genus level in type 2 diabetes. Copyright 2019 Beli et al
The red lines, are the diabetic mice, the blue lines are the normal.
Many of the bacteria showed a different pattern….
- Sometimes the oscillation was the same, but the overall numbers were different e.g. Lactobacillus – panel E
- Sometimes the oscillation was time shifted i.e. the peaks and troughs moved forward/backward by a few hours e.g. Blautia – panel F
- Sometimes the oscillation just never happened e.g. Allobaculum – panel J
- And sometimes the oscillation was completely back to front e.g. Prevotella – panel O
These changes in bacterial profile, will have knock on effects, on body chemistry.
Our team demonstrated this, using metabolomics.
Good or bad ? It’s hard to say…..
Body chemistry is the key
This research shows…
The gut residents are impacted by YOUR BODY CHEMISTRY.
And timing……………. is EVERYTHING !
In the case of metabolic syndrome………
Insulin levels aren’t oscillating
Insulin is high, morning, noon AND NIGHT !
The high at night, which reflects as fasting hyperinsulinemia, is what characterizes insulin resistance.
At this stage, exactly why insulin, is high at night, is unclear – but reining in insulin, is what you need to work at, if you want to cultivate, the “right” microflora.
Further reading
Diet doesn’t matter if you live outside
Inside light is NOT the same as outside light. If you’re wired to be diurnal and you LIVE INSIDE, you do whatever, whenever………… and pay a metabolic price
When you fail to obey YOUR CLOCK – trillions are impacted
Stuck in the warm dark gut, your gut microflora depend on you to tell time. If you get it wrong, they get confused. And this is T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
Why midnight feasts cause bigger hips
If you eat, when you should be asleep, the enzymes contracted to work the night shift clock in for work, but they don’t do the work, so fat burning ceases