Intestinal health and intolerances
At a glance:
- Our intestinal microbiome reflects our habitat and eating habits.
- The intestinal flora functions like its own ecosystem, which must remain in balance.
- The intestine is the body's most important point of contact with the world around us. Therefore, an intact intestinal barrier is important.
- If intestinal bacterial strains are missing, the metabolism, among other things, no longer functions properly and a "leaky gut" or inflammations can be the result.
Intestinal Health
Our lifestyle determines our intestinal flora. And vice versa.
The intestinal microbiome - an ecosystem in one's own body
Our intestines are home to many intestinal bacteria. There is an ecosystem of its own for a large biodiversity of bacteria that are vital for the functioning of our body: the intestinal microbiome, our intestinal flora..
Although microbiomes also exist, for example, in the mouth or on our skin, the intestinal microbiome is by far the most important, because the intestine plays a central role in all bodily processes (including food intake, detoxification, metabolism, synthesis of neurotransmitters). It is also responsible for our immune system. This immune system ultimately distinguishes between friend and foe..
As in a forest, the diversity of species in the ecosystem is important in the ecosystem to keep it in balance. In the intestine, this means that one strain of intestinal bacteria, for example, is particularly good at metabolizing raw foods, while another is particularly good at metabolizing dairy products. If one strain of bacteria is missing, this leaves a gap that is inevitably filled by other intestinal bacteria. A microbiome that is out of balance in this way quickly develops inflammatory reactions because certain strains can multiply too much.
You are what you eat. Quite literally.
Our gut microbiome maps the human habitat. We humans in Central Europe have different gut bacteria than in other parts of the world. This makes sense, of course, because these organisms are specialized for the food that is consumed there. But even from person to person, they differ depending on what our eating habits are.
Since 2003, the human genome has been considered decoded (by the Human Genome Project). This answered the question of which genes (which are converted into proteins) exist and in what number. It turned out that humans, with about 25,500 surprisingly have only slightly more genes than a fruit fly with 23,000 and even less than a water flea with 30,000 genes. These few genes are what is inherited from the mother and father. So what constitutes the complexity of Homo Sapiens? What makes us?
We need to include our intestinal microbiome in our thinking.
Intestinal bacteria control, for example, hormone metabolism (i.e. which hormones are absorbed and which are excreted) and neurotransmitters. They determine the body's load of toxins (i.e. which are excreted and which are not), etc. Our gut also determines how we feel and how we behave!
Some genes greatly increase the likelihood of acquiring certain diseases. Intestinal bacteria, however, can help prevent these diseases through their diversity..
But there are also negative examples: Metabolic products of certain intestinal bacteria promote the development of intestinal cancer.
In short: we are therefore decisively controlled by our intestinal bacteria. So "you are what you eat" is to be taken literally.
At the same time, unlike the genes we have inherited, we can determine what our intestinal flora, and thus much of the genome that makes us up, is made of. We have it in our hands.
Why is a healthy gut flora so important?
The intestine is the point of contact with the outside world and the origin of our immune system.
Leaky gut syndrome - an intestinal barrier that is no longer one
Our immune system is formed in the intestines, and intestinal bacteria help sort foreign substances in our food into the useful and the harmful. Open at the top and bottom like a tube, the intestine is a critical point of contact between the body and the outside world. separated from it only by a thin barrier. An intact intestinal barrier is thus extremely important.
In the so-called "leaky gut" syndrome the protective barrier of the intestine is damaged, which means that harmful substances from the intestine can enter the bloodstream in an uncontrolled manner. This condition occurs when there are no longer enough intestinal bacteria to maintain the barrier.
Symptoms of leaky gut syndrome can vary widely, ranging from bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue and headaches to skin rashes, joint pain and autoimmune disorders.
What destroys the intestinal barrier?
We see the development of more and more autoimmune diseases in younger and younger people; diseases such as diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease, which would normally be expected in old age.
In Germany, our lifestyle and eating habits play a major role in this. Industrially processed and modified foods (with additives such as colorants, preservatives, flavors, lactase, etc.) are just as much a part of this as light products from the food industry. In addition, antibiotics (often used too lightly) are particularly known for their destructive effect on the intestinal flora. But other factors can also include chronic stress, excessive alcohol consumption, intestinal infections as well as intestinal inflammations .
We can offer our consultation to privately insured patients as well as to patients with statutory health insurance as self-pay patients. You can easily book appointments in our preventive medicine yourself via our online calendar here:
Good to know
What do carbohydrates have to do with Alzheimer's?
And what role does the gut play in this?
Ketogenic diet in the prevention of dementia
Normally, the body gets its energy from glucose, which is derived from carbohydrates. If the body does not get enough glucose from carbohydrates, it is forced to use its fat reserves for energy. When fat is burned as the primary source of energy, the body forms so-called ketone bodies, which serve as an alternative source of energy for the brain. This comes into play especially during fasting or a ketogenic diet , because fat burning is awakened and ketone bodies are produced. However, ketone bodies are also produced by (the right) intestinal bacteria.
Ketone bodies are the main source of energy for the brain, especially in people with impaired glucose utilization, which is common in dementia patients. It turns out that ketone bodies also act as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents which may help slow the onset and development of dementia significantly.
