Probiotic Bacteria to the Rescue

All of us are fighting a microbial battle, whether we realize it or not. The human intestinal lining is made up of trillions of these microorganisms, and either the balance is stable and healthy or the balance is tipped, allowing the proliferation of pathogenic microbes.

Antibiotics, environment, and diet all contribute in one way or another. Consuming probiotics in the form of supplements or food can play a critical role in restoring or maintaining health. These microorganisms are true superheroes—ready to step in when needed.

Drawing by Ryan Fabry

In her book Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride lists six families of probiotic microbes. The following summary is excerpted from p. 247-249. (I heartily recommend reading her book for a more complete look at health and the gut lining.)

1. Lactobacilli. This is a large family of bacteria which produce lactic acid, hence their name . . . By producing lactic acid they maintain acidic environment (pH 5.5-5.6) on mucous membranes, which suppresses the growth of pathogenic microbes. Apart from lactic acid they produce a plethora of active substances: hydrogen peroxide, a powerful antiseptic; anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal agents, which do not allow pathogens to take hold in the gut.
2. Bifidobacteria. This is a large family of probiotic bacteria . . . In an adult gut they are about seven times more numerous than Lactobacilli and fulfill many useful functions . . . Bifidobacteria actively synthesize amino acids, proteins, organic acids, vitamin K, vitamin B3 (niacin), folic acid, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cobalamin); assist absorption of Ca, iron and vitamin D.
3. Saccharomyces boulardii. This is a yeast first discovered by a French scientist, H. Boulard, in 1920. He observed that people in China treated diarrhea with an extract from the lychee fruit . . . Recently, there has been a lot of interest in using S. boulardii as an antagonist to a pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans.
4. Escherichia coli or E. coli. E.coli is a large family of bacteria. Pathogenic members of this family can cause serious infections. However, physiological strains of E. coli are normal and numerous inhabitants of the healthy human gut . . . Physiological strains of E. coli fulfill a number of beneficial functions in the body: they digest lactose, produce vitamins (vitamin K and group B) and amino acids, produce antibiotic-like substances called colicins, and have a powerful stimulating influence on local and systemic immunity.
5. Enterococcus faecium or Streptococcus faecalis. They normally live in the bowel where they control pathogens by producing hydrogen peroxide and reducing pH to 5.5. They break down proteins and ferment carbohydrates. There are a number of clinical studies showing that they are effective in treating various forms of diarrhea. These bacteria are quite common in probiotic formulas on the market.
6. Bacillus subtilis or soil bacteria. B. subtilis is a spore-forming microbe and is resistant to stomach acid, most antibiotics, temperature changes and other influences. It has strong immune-stimulating properties and is considered particularly effective with allergies and autoimmune disorders. It produces a whole host of digestive enzymes, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and other active substances. Soil bacteria are not indigenous to humans; they are transitional microbes, which do not colonize the gut but go through it doing a lot of work on the way. (According to Campbell-McBride, "probiotics which contain soil bacteria are the most effective probiotics on the market.")

Campbell-McBride recommends Bio-Kult, a probiotic with 14 strains of bacteria, including B. subtilis. The Gut and Psychology Syndrome website also suggests GUTPro. Organic 3 offers the strain S. boulardii in its product Yeastbiotic.

One important note regarding probiotics in supplement or food form: It is best to start small. Introducing probiotic bacteria can result in a die-off response as the pathogens die and release toxins. This can manifest in a skin rash, extreme fatigue, fever, sore throat, or a variety of other symptoms.

Fermented foods offer a wonderful source of natural probiotics. In upcoming posts I will detail the benefits of Efficient Microorganisms, or EMs. EMs offer a combination of beneficial bacteria, yeasts, and soil bacteria. (Pictured here in my kitchen.)

Water and dairy kefir offer a combination of beneficial yeasts and bacteria. Yogurt provides lactic acid bacteria in abundance, as do sauerkraut and kimchi. See the momsAWARE Natural Year Challenge: Food Edition to learn more about making your own fermented foods.

Read More...

Toxic Talk: Cleaning Without Chemicals

Join my husband Chris and me tomorrow, April 9, for another Toxic Talk Tuesday on Chris Fabry Live! We'll talk about cleaning without chemicals. Is it really possible to clean your home without bleach, sanitizers, and harsh detergents? Join us for a lively discussion Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Central Time or visit the Chris Fabry Live! website to listen via audio stream or podcast.

Read More...

Managing Our Microbes

Walk into a grocery store and you'll see spinach that has been triple washed and foods wrapped tightly in plastic, as well as cleaning products that "kill 99.9% of bacteria." Before you step into the store you'll wipe your hands with an antibacterial wipe. In all likelihood this wipe will contain a strong antimicrobial agent such as triclosan, first introduced to America as a pesticide in 1969.

We are indeed the Super-Sanitized Generation.

Our obsession with hygiene is understandable. Bad things happen when people don't wash their hands or dispose of fecal waste in a responsible manner.

But has the pendulum swung too far? Are all microbes bad? Are we missing some key information that might help us turn the tide on increasing instances of allergies, chronic disease, and autoimmune conditions?

The truth is, our bodies are mostly microbial. Ninety percent, in fact. Microbial cells outnumber human cells by 10 to 1. Our bodies are a combination of fungi, bacteria, viruses, single-celled organisms called archaea, and probably other categories of microbes that will one day be named. Certainly not all of our inhabitants are "good," but is it possible that even the "bad" microbes help us in ways we don't yet understand?

Consider a healthy appendix. Once thought to be a meaningless organ, research suggests that it is a storehouse of beneficial bacteria, ready to share its microbial abundance when the body is in need.

Studies now show that babies get the majority of beneficial microbes in the birth canal—a finding with significant implications for children born by Caesarean section.

We now understand that antibiotics kill not only the bad microbes, but many of the beneficial ones as well.

The National Institutes of Health wants to find out more about the role of microbes in human health. In June 2012 it launched the Human Microbiome Project, which will study various microbial communities such as those found in nasal passages, oral cavities, and the gastrointestinal tract.

The Human Food Project, a crowd-funded initiative, is on a similar path, hoping to learn more about the connection between health and microbes.

What can we do in the meantime to arm ourselves microbially? Here are five suggestions for boosting your immune system by bolstering what some scientists call our "forgotten organ."

1. Spend more time outdoors. Even our less-than-perfect outdoor air may offer some relief from microbes unique to indoor environments and expose us to healthier, naturally occurring microbes. A recent study conducted by the University of Oregon shows a microbial diversity in the air sampled on the roof of a local hospital, as opposed to a lack of diversity in the air sampled from mechanically ventilated rooms. Rooms with a window came out somewhere in between. The mechanically ventilated rooms had the greatest relative abundance of potential pathogenic bacteria. The outdoor samples were dominated by naturally occurring water and soil bacteria. On average, Americans spend 22 hours each day indoors. Why not make it 21?
2. Use fewer chemicals on your skin and hair. Research suggests that any chemical applied to our skin will reach every organ in our body within 26 seconds. We are now realizing the potential for internal harm, but what about the vital communities of microbes present on the surface of our skin and scalp? If antibiotics kill the good as well as the bad microbes in the gut, can we assume harsh chemicals do the same to our skin flora? Even the Food and Drug Administration states that antimicrobials like triclosan are no more effective than soap and water. Why not try an all-natural soap made without fragrances or other chemicals? Check out these coconut castile soaps from momsAWARE.
3. Consume less meat from animals treated with antibiotics. According to the FDA, 80 percent of all antibiotics in the United States are fed to farm animals. What is this doing to the microbial communities in our digestive tracts? Antibiotic resistance may be one result. Researchers recently found 42 antibiotic-resistant genes in the human digestive tract that had transferred from antibiotic-treated livestock (see this article from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Eating meat from animals raised without the use of antibiotics may be one of the wisest things we can do to protect our delicate gut lining.
4. Grow more of your own food. The mental health benefits of gardening are well known. Who can't benefit from time spent outdoors and the artistic satisfaction that gardening brings? But what about the microbial benefits? Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that the soil-based bacteria mycobacterium vaccae triggers the production of our "good mood" neurotransmitter, serotonin. A recent study published in the journal Nature shows that children in rural areas exhibit greater microbial diversity than those raised in urban areas, implying that gardening as well as playing in the dirt may have far-reaching health implications.
5. Ferment more of your food. This is probably one of the easiest ways to boost your population of beneficial microbes. Food fermentation, while daunting for those new to the process (see my article A Fear of Fermentation), is making a comeback as many are realizing what humans have intuitively known for centuries. Lactic acid bacteria and many other strains derived from properly prepared sour milk products, sauerkraut, pickles, and other foods contribute to the trillions of microbes teeming with life in the intestinal lining. Kombucha, water kefir, and fermented lemonade make wonderful alternatives to sugar-laden soda drinks.
   
   
   

Want to learn more about the human microbiome? Check out the Human Food Project or pick up any of these resources:

• Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World
• Gut and Psychology Syndrome
• Honor Thy Symbionts

Read More...

Mold and Microbes

When our 15 year-old daughter wanted to go to Peru in the summer of 2003 it seemed like a good idea. In hindsight her immune system was too compromised. She got sick while she was there. When she decided to go to Africa in the fall of 2005 little did we know how vulnerable she was to parasites and illness. She got malaria twice in the 3 months there, had massive ear infection, and came home with another parasite. It took several visits to an infectious disease doctor and phone conversations with a doctor with a long history of working in Uganda to find the "right"medicine to help her. Her health continued to suffer, however, until the fall of 2008 when she could no longer work. She had already left college.

When I brought the younger kids to Arizona in December she dropped everything to come. She knew she needed help. She began the protocol in earnest and began showing signs of a "die-off". Her rashes became extreme. Her mental state deteriorated. She was truly getting worse. It wasn't until I corresponded with a mom in Virginia that I considered something other than the mold exposure was involved. Her son appears to have a serious case of bartonella/lyme's disease. Thus began our quest to determine if Megan's parasite history is playing a part in her healing process. I have talked with two doctors who specialize in lyme's/bartonella. We are awaiting blood test results. In the meantime Megan is essentially housebound. We have backed off on the sequestering component of the treatment. It's too much for her system. Today we begin an herbal regimen recommended by one of the top doctors in this field. Ironically one of the herbs is from Peru. It makes sense to me that the de-tox caused whatever was hiding to surface. It also makes sense that the mold exposure contributed to her vulnerabilty and would have been reason enough to keep her from traveling to a third world country. But everything is always clear in hindsight.

Read More...