World Microbiome Day

🌿 Gut Instincts: Transforming Your Microbiome for Peak Health 🌿

It’s World Microbiome Day! Let’s dive into the fascinating world of the gut and uncover why it’s a powerhouse of our health. Discover what steps to take if it’s not performing at its peak.

🌟 The Superpowers of Your Microbiome

Your gut microbiome performs essential functions to keep your body running smoothly:

• Energy Extraction: Helps extract energy and nutrients from food
• Fermentation: Transforms indigestible food into absorbable substances.
• Vitamin Creation: Produces essential vitamins.
• Detoxification: Removes harmful toxins.
• Barrier Strengthening: Protects the intestinal barrier.
• Immune Support: Regulates and stimulates the immune system.

Did you know your microbiome has connections to other organs? It plays a vital role in influencing your brain function and skin health!

⚠️ What is Dysbiosis?

Dysbiosis happens when the balance of your gut bacteria is disrupted, tipping the scale between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes. This can trigger inflammation leading to health issues and symptoms, such as the ones listed below.

🚨 Symptoms of a Disrupted Gut Microbiome

• Upset stomach
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Vaginal or rectal itching
• Bloating
• Skin issues
• Fatigue
• Mental health conditions
• Belching
• Acid reflux

🦠Not Just the Gut

Other areas of the body are also vulnerable to dysbiosis, such as the vagina, oral cavity, and urinary tract. The oral microbiome kickstarts digestion and fights off invaders. The vaginal microbiome, rich in Lactobacillus, keeps infections at bay by maintaining a pH balance. The urinary microbiome helps prevent UTIs. These interconnected microbiomes mean a disruption in one can impact the others, underscoring the need for a holistic approach to microbial health. We no longer need to guess which systems are affected by dysbiosis; we can run tests to uncover the root cause of your symptoms.

🔗 What Causes Dysbiosis?

Several factors can disrupt your gut microbiome, including:

• Stress
• Poor diet (high sugar, low fibre)
• Inflammation
• Antibiotics
• Ageing
• Lifestyle choices
• Infections
• Genetics
• Certain Medications
• Food additives

📝Microbiology Testing

At Laura Lam Nutrition, we run various Functional Microbiology Tests to help identify what bacteria, yeasts, viruses or parasites may be running amok in your body. Be it a Comprehensive Stool Analysis looking at the your gastrointestinal microbiome, an Oral Microbiome test, Vaginal Ecology test or Urinary Tract Ecology test, we’ve got it.

Understanding the microbiome helps us make targeted and precise nutrition and supplement protocols to help rebalance a client’s microbiome.

Improve Your Microbiome with These 5 Steps:

• Eat a Variety of Plant Foods: Support a thriving microbiome by indulging in a colourful array of plant-based foods.
• Chew your food: To ensure proper digestion, aim to chew each bite about 30 times.
• Reduce Processed Foods: Minimise the intake of processed foods.
• Manage Stress: Practice stress-reducing activities, such as meditation and yoga.
• Get Quality Sleep: Ensure you have good sleep hygiene, which means putting away the screens at least an hour before bed!

Identifying the root cause of the imbalance is the most important part in order to restore your gut health. Functional testing can enable us to truly see what could be affecting your health.

Curious to learn more about how your gut health can impact your overall well-being and health? Book in a free 30 minutes discovery call, to discuss how we can get you feeling your best! 🌿✨

References and resources for further reading:

1. Wei L, Singh R, Ro S, Ghoshal UC. Gut microbiota dysbiosis in functional gastrointestinal disorders: Underpinning the symptoms and pathophysiology. JGH Open. 2021;5(9):976–87.
2. Carding S, Verbeke K, Vipond DT, Corfe BM, Owen LJ. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease. Microbial Ecology in Health & Disease. 2015;26:26191.
3. Heintz-Buschart A, Wilmes P. Human gut microbiome: Function matters. Trends in Microbiology. 2018;26(7):563–74.
4. Martin CR, Osadchiy V, Kalani A, Mayer EA. The brain-gut-microbiome axis. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2018;6(2):133–48.
5. Mahmud MR, Akter S, Tamanna SK, Mazumder L, Esti IZ, Banerjee S, et al. Impact of gut microbiome on skin health: Gut-skin axis observed through the lenses of Therapeutics and skin diseases. Gut Microbes. 2022;14(1).
6. Bharwani A, Mian MF, Foster JA, Surette MG, Bienenstock J, Forsythe P. Structural & functional consequences of chronic psychosocial stress on the Microbiome & Host. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016;63:217–27.
7. Yadav M, Verma MK, Chauhan NS. A review of metabolic potential of human gut microbiome in human nutrition. Archives of microbiology. 2018 Mar;200:203-17.
8. Hrncir T. Gut microbiota dysbiosis: Triggers, consequences, diagnostic and therapeutic options. Microorganisms. 2022;10(3):578.