Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis is the technical term for an unhealthy change in the normal bacterial make up or ecology of a part of the body. In general, it is used to describe an issue in the intestines associated with digestion problems.

Additionally, the term can also refer to problems in the oral cavity, such as a bacterial tooth or gum infection, or a case of inflamed acne on the skin.

Thyroid Link

One of the many functions of the thyroid is to help in the production of digestive enzymes. It also regulates temperature control not only of the hands and feet but all over the body. A lower “heat of digestion” affects how the body breaks down food. Bad bacteria and parasites could overgrow if the protective mechanisms are not optimal.

Over use of Antibiotics

Studies have been done on laboratory animals with sterilised guts. These show that the absence of good bacteria can allow bad bacteria to get out of control. When under attack from pathogenic flora and without the care of beneficial bacteria, the whole structure of the gut epithelium changes, starting a process of pathology or disease.

The villi degenerate and become unable to digest and absorb food properly, leading to mal-absorption, nutritional deficiencies, and food intolerances. All because their housekeepers, the healthy gut bacteria, are not there to take care of them. As a result, when the gut flora is abnormal, the structure of the gut deteriorates because it is not properly cared for.

Pathogens and the toxins they produce damage enterocytes and open the junctions between them, called tight junctions. So, the gut becomes porous and leaky, allowing substances that should not be there to pass through. Then the immune system finds these partially digested foods in the blood, does not recognise them as food, and attacks them. This is thought to be how food allergies and intolerances develop. So, there is nothing wrong with the food, it is the damaged gut lining that is the cause of this phenomenon.

Food allergies and intolerances can cause any symptom in the body, from headaches, abnormal behaviour to arthritis; and the reaction can show itself immediately, in a few hours, or in a few days. As these reactions overlap with each other, it is impossible for the person to figure out what they are reacting to on any given day. Unhealthy gut flora produces hundreds of very toxic substances. If these leak and absorb through the damaged gut wall into the blood and get distributed around the body, they will cause inflammation.

When they get into the brain, they impair brain function and cause mental symptoms: from inability to learn, poor memory, mood problems, behavioural problems, and anxiety, panic attacks and psychosis. If they get into other organs in the body, these toxins cause other problems: arthritis, skin problems, asthma, allergies and autoimmunity. Autoimmunity is born in the gut! When undigested foods and toxins get into the blood stream, the immune system reacts to them. There are several mechanisms of how autoimmunity develops.

Treatment must concentrate on healing and sealing the gut lining with the Gut and Psychology, GAPS Nutritional Protocol; once the gut lining heals and the healthy gut bacteria are restored, food allergies and intolerances can disappear.