Poor gut health, microbiome dysbiosis

[Sly Saint]

Inside each of our guts, there are trillions of bacteria, fungi and microbes. When we maintain a healthy balance of these, they help protect our organs and prevent disease.

But when this is thrown off balance, it not only harms our gut but could have some surprising knock-on effects with some unusual symptoms.

Auto-brewery syndrome: ‘A brewery in your intestines’
Your favourite beer, wine and spirits are made by putting grains, fruits or vegetables through a process called fermentation. This is a chemical reaction where yeast or bacteria react with sugar to create ethanol (pure alcohol).

An upset to the delicate balance of bugs living in your gut can effectively turn your intestines into a brewery.

Auto-brewery syndrome (ABS) occurs when usually harmless fungi (a type belonging to the Candida species) that are capable of fermenting alcohol outgrow other organisms in the gut.

It was first reported in 1946 and only a handful of cases have been logged since.

ABS is most common among patients with underlying conditions, such as diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, or in healthy people who have used antibiotics, which kill off the good bacteria in the gut.

“People can feel foggy-headed, excessively tired, dizzy or slur their speech, appearing drunk,” says Anna Mapson, a registered nutritional therapist.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) occurs when these bacteria spill over into the small intestine. It is a form of gut dysbiosis and the imbalance in bacteria leads to bloating, flatulence and discomfort, as well as malabsorption.

“The main causes are issues with digestion which allow more bacteria into the gut,” says Mapson. These include food poisoning and taking a proton-pump inhibitor (used to treat indigestion, heartburn and acid reflux), which reduces stomach acid production.

“Other risk factors are things that slow down the small intestine, such as diabetes, physical obstructions like adhesions or tumours, or medication like opiates,” she notes.

It is unclear how many people suffer from SIBO but experts believe it is underdiagnosed.

Whipple disease: ‘Weight loss, diarrhoea, abdominal pain’
As well as an imbalance among the bugs normally found in our gut wreaking havoc, harmful bacteria that shouldn’t be living inside us can also cause problems.

Whipple disease occurs when Tropheryma whipplei bacteria make their way into the small intestine, where they cause small sores to develop and damage the lining of the organ. We are routinely exposed to this bacterium, so experts don’t understand why some become infected.

Studies suggest it affects just one person per million.

Feeling persistently sad, hopeless or generally low for weeks or months could signal depression. There could be a trigger for symptoms, such as a bereavement, or there could be no obvious reason. Recent research has suggested that the gut could play a role.

One study, published in Nature Microbiology, looked at the gut microbes of more than 1,000 people. Results suggested that those who had depression had lower levels of Dialister and Coprococcus, compared with people who reported having a higher quality of life.

A separate paper, in the Journal of Affective Disorders, compared bacteria among 43 patients with depression against 57 with good mental health and found that Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria were lower among depression sufferers.

“These bacteria are involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitters like glutamate, butyrate, serotonin and gamma aminobutyric acid, which may affect mood,” Mapson says.

Microbes that impact heart health
But research suggests that gut health can affect our risk of developing certain heart conditions. For example, one paper found that patients with atherosclerosis (a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries) were more likely to have Collinsella bacteria in their gut, while those who didn’t have the condition had higher levels of Roseburia and Eubacterium.

Bugs in the large intestine have also been linked with energy metabolism, cholesterol levels and blood pressure – all of which affect heart health, Mapson says.

“Gut microbes also support heart health through the metabolites they make when they get our indigestible fibre arriving in the large intestine,” she says.

“They create short-chain fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory and can travel around the body.”

Why poor gut health can make you feel drunk