Published March 6, 2004 in the North Island Weekender
Not only is your digestive tract the focus of digestion and
absorption of nutrients from food it is also the major center of your immune
system. I have just studied a lecture taught by Dr. Nigel Plummer PhD
Microbiologist from the UK and this article is part two of the story of your
immune system and your gut. The mucous membrane of your small intestine tract
is lined with a single layer of cells that when stretched out is the size of a
tennis court and on top of this layer is the protective layer made up of 3-5
pounds of microflora. These cells have tight junctions in order that food is
not absorbed before it is properly broken down. However if these cells don’t
get proper nutrition in the form of glutamine, butyrate and soluble fiber they
shrink and then spaces develop between them resulting in leaky gut syndrome.
Food particles are absorbed before they are properly broken down and these
large particles set up an immune response causing all kinds of symptoms, not
only itchy hive skin eruptions but include also joint pain, headaches, fatigue,
lack of concentration, heart irregularities, dizziness, post nasal drip and
many more. Leaky gut can also lead to secondary infections and chronic
inflammatory conditions.
Wade, age 35, came to me with irritable bowel symptoms
(IBS). His doctor had done all the tests and had not found ulcerative colitis
or Crohns disease. His stool was irregular alternating between constipation and
diarrhea. He often had cramping of the bowel and mucous in the movement but no
blood. His father had had colon cancer so Wade was concerned about not only
treating the IBS but preventing colon cancer. He had a history of taking lots
of antibiotics as a teenager for acne and then more recently for his irritable
bowel symptoms.
I explained to Wade that 90% of the microflora is wiped out
by taking one prescription of antibiotics and if he had taken a probiotic made
from human microflora (HMF Forte by Seroyal). for one week during the
antibiotics that we wouldn’t have wiped out any gut flora! So what happened is
that his gut was never recolonized with the good guys (lactobaccilus
acidophilus and bifidobacteria) but the opportunistic bacteria (bacteroides,
clostridium and coliforms) took over thus contributing to his irritable bowel
syndrome.
The food for intestinal cells in the small intestine is
glutamine and for the cells in the colon (colonocytes) is butyrate and soluble
fiber. If your body does not get enough glutamine it will rob this protein from
muscle to feed these cells and thus contribute to muscle wasting as seen in
long term illness. Butyrate is produced by the microflora and so if you don’t
have adequate microflora then butyrate decreases and this leads to a loss of
control of colonocyte growth increasing the risk of colon cancer. I told Wade
that to increase the production of butyrate, we wanted to enhance the growth of
his microflora with soluble fiber such as oat bran and fructo-oligosaccharides
(FOS) as well as taking HMF Forte. Glutamine was also supplemented to optimize
the health of the small intestinal cells thus treating the leaky gut syndrome.
I also had Wade avoid the common gut irritants wheat and dairy to start to
control his symptoms as well. I explained to him that the Mediterranean diet
generates 20 grams of FOS because of the fruits and vegetables and the North
American diet only generates 3-5 grams of FOS.
He complained that he had more gas when he first started the
program but I explained to him that as we were changing his gut flora from the
bacteroides, clostridium and coliforms to the lactobaccilus acidophilus and
bifidobacteria that there would be more
gas production and as these good strains attached to the intestinal membrane
the gas would get better over time. He thought taking yogurt was a good idea
but I clarified that the microorganisms in yogurt were meant to grow yogurt,
not human microflora, and thus would just pass on through the gut and not
attach to the mucous membrane. If microflora does not attach to the membrane
then they cannot colonize and don’t forget you lose a large amount of
microflora with each bowel movement so you need to keep on generating more!
He wondered why I was giving him a microbiology lesson, but
understood the importance of the type of probiotic he was taking, realizing now
that most on the market were not ones that colonize the gut.
You need healthy microflora to eliminate heavy metals as well as to trigger a healthy immune response so now you can understand better why I am always trying to improve the gut. It is your best friend!
Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic
medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be
reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com