The Microbiome, Your Gut is the Gateway to Your Health

As Hippocrates, the father of medicine wisely states in approximately 350 BC, “All disease begins in the gut”, last Wednesday night’s h & w seminar, The Microbiome, Your Gut is the Gateway to Your Health focused on just this. We considered how a delicate balance of microbes both good and bad is critical to our gut health and therefore our overall physical and mental health. Indeed, the modern medical paradigm focusing primarily on germ theory has seemingly come full circle, as no longer are all microbes considered to be “bad” and something to be eradicated.

During the many thought-provoking shares one such question prompted an interesting discussion around the dangerous use of antibacterial products in addition to chronic overuse of antibiotics. Weighing the pros and cons of hyper cleanliness versus potential disease, I likened using antibacterial gels for cleaning one’s hands before eating to the analogy of using plastic straws to be hygienic while drinking. Although the harsh reality of the chemical composition of various types of plastics and antibacterial products are far more complicated than this simple illustration, please bare with me.

One long-term repercussion of overflowing plastics in our landfills and oceans is that it takes an estimated 10,000 years on average for these plastics to biodegrade. So with an endlessly steady stream of plastic stuff being jettisoned into our landfills and eventually ending up in our oceans, the use of “disposable” plastics, is a Real health issue with the repercussions coming right back at us! As my friend Mia says, “Be careful where you throw. There is no away!”

Likewise, the use of antibacterial personal hygiene and household products (which are perfectly legal, ever present in the market place, and receiving seemingly no mainstream media attention) are devastating not only to our personal ecosystem but to our collective one. According to an article published in Scientific American, Superbacteria are developed by the liberal use of Antibacterial soaps and cleaners. Within this article, Microbiologist Stuart Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine explains that, “Unlike traditional cleaners, antibacterial products leave surface residues, creating conditions that may foster the development of resistant bacteria.”(1) Environmental scientist, Rolf Halden, the co-founder of the Center for Water and Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health explains how both triclosan and triclocarban (two of the most common antibacterial agents and household cleaning ingredients) “are present in 60 percent of America’s streams and rivers which could be a recipe for breeding antimicrobial resistance in the environment.” (2)

So in the spirit of attempting to live authentically healthy lives, I believe that there are two important questions for us to consider. One: How does being overly clean keep us healthy when the nature of this “cleanliness” throws us out of balance? And Two: At what point should we draw the line between short-term hygiene versus long-term pollution (both personal and collective)?

Your micro-biome is your very own unique gut ecosystem with an estimated 100 trillion bugs including bacteria, viruses and fungi, outnumbering human cells 10:1. It’s the good gut bugs that boost your immune system, helping you to digest food and then turn food into vitamins and helpful hormones. It’s also these good bugs that keep in check the bad bugs by outnumbering them.

The indiscriminant use of antibiotics and anti-bacterial products create a too clean environment where bad bugs can thrive and proliferate. Long-term domination of bad over good bugs within our gut Microbiome ignites gut inflammation, which can then also lead to intestinal hyper-permeability. Gut dysbiosis, followed by leaky gut, often results in disease.

For more info on this juicy subject, please be sure to watch, Live Dirty, Eat Clean! Why The Microbiome Is The Future Of Medicine, a fabulous lecture by Dr. Robynne Chutkan. It was after seeing this video that I was inspired to focus my research on the Microbiome. For my participants of last Wednesday’s Microbiome Pt. 1 seminar, I believe this enjoyable lecture will resonate.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-14368/live-dirty-eat-clean-why-the-microbiome-is-the-future-of-medicine-dr-robynne-chutkan.html

And finally, please don’t forget our next seminar The Microbiome Pt. 2, 18:00 on 21 March, at SHAPE HF, 2^nd Floor Conference Room. I intend to focus much more on how to put the Microbiome theory and science into practice, so to make some practical lifestyle changes for better gut and overall health.

A Votre Santé,
Alyce Childers
holistichomehealth ©

Important note:

For your protection, please always consult with a knowledgeable healthcare professional regarding any health issues (including stress and or anxiety). Neither this blog nor my seminars are meant to either diagnose or treat any medical disorder.

(1),(2)  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-antibacterial-products-may-do-more-harm-than-good/