Video Transcript:
I have had a lifetime of gut issues. So I know very well how important a healthy microbiome is.
And not only that, being a gut health nutritionist, I'm in that world all day long.
And what we know is that if our gut microbiome is less diverse or is compromised, we're definitely going to be feeling that some of those gut dysbiosis symptoms can be anything from acid reflux to constipation, to diarrhea, to just bloating or gas that causes you lots of discomfort throughout your day.
And so we at Oswald Digestive Clinic and with Flusso Nutrients, we do help people understand their gut dysbiosis through understanding their health history better as well as using supplements.
And so today that's what I'm going to talk about. I want to talk about how to get rid of bad gut bacteria.
But first, my name is Marcie Vaske and I'm a licensed nutritionist with Flusso Nutrients and at FLusso Nutrients. We work really hard to educate you on a variety of different supplements that can help to support your health, and remember to speak with a practitioner that is supplement minded if you have questions so that you're not interacting with medications you might be taking or either other supplements that you're taking.
So as I started talking out today just about gut health and the microbiome, that is what I'm going to talk about, how to get rid of bad gut bacteria and what supplements can be helpful to do so.
But first, let's talk about what is harmful gut bacteria and what do they do?
Bad Gut Bacteria
So harmful gut bacteria can be a variety of different pathogenic bacteria.
It can just be an overgrowth of bacteria in our digestive system that works to eliminate and also diminish the variety of our flora in our gut.
And so if we have a lot of pathogenic bacteria or even just a lot of opportunistic bacteria, we're oftentimes going to have less good flora because it kind of eats it up and takes it, moves it out the way, and it makes no space for it.
And so when we have a lot of that going on, like I mentioned earlier, you're oftentimes going to have symptoms, and these symptoms can start with just inflammation and then turn into maybe more digestive symptoms or digestive syndromes such as irritable bowel syndrome, or even inflammatory bowel disease.
And so this is why it's so important for us to have a healthy microbiome.
Gut Dysbiosis Symptoms
Now, if you're wondering, well, how would I know if I had a harmful bacteria?
And even though you might have some symptoms like bloating or gas, it doesn't mean that there's some sort of crazy bacteria or pathogen going on in your gut, but it is an indicator.
And so that's what makes it kind of confusing and hard to detect.
However, when you work with a practitioner in the area, we can pick it out pretty quickly as well as there's functional testing to always be done.
But just off the top, what you might be feeling is anything from, as I mentioned, acid reflux to bloating, to gas, to diarrhea to constipation, and these symptoms are really a sign of an unhealthy gut.
Gut Microbiota
Now, I know I've said, well, we really need to have this healthy microbiome to have a healthy body.
And why is because the microbiome does so many things for us from digesting our food properly, to absorbing our food properly, to bolstering up our immune system, to creating more transmitters for our brain.
And so if we have a bad microbiome where we can see that we have symptoms in maybe all of these places.
Gut Bacteria Imbalance Causes: Chronic Stress
So if you're noticing some of those symptoms and you're thinking, okay, well this kind of sounds like my gut, how did this happen?
And there are a few culprits that definitely can get you to this place.
First is going to be just chronic stress. It's amazing what chronic stress does to our digestive system.
So that's number one.
Gut Bacteria Imbalance Causes: Unhealthy Diet
Another one can just be what you're eating.
So if you're eating a lot of high packaged or packaged foods that have lots of toxins in 'em, such as damaged fats or even high fructose corn syrup, that just pulls down the health of your microbiome.
Gut Bacteria Imbalance Causes: Overuse of Antibiotics
And then there's also an overuse of antibiotics, and we've heard a lot about that in the past years for sure.
But sometimes because you're on an antibiotic, the infection goes away, but you don't bolster up that microbiome, you end up sick again and back on another antibiotic.
And so this is where that overuse of antibiotics can come in.
And those are kind of the things that can just over time take the stress or kind of put more stress on our intestinal tract creating issues.
And when it pulls down our microbiome, this is where we end up with the symptoms and end up with opportunistic or even pathogenic bacteria.
How to improve gut health naturally
So how can you restore your gut health naturally?
And this is what I love to do because I mean, you can't out supplement a bad diet, number one. And so I always say that.
And so that's why I'm going to start off with lifestyle changes as well as dietary changes.
So lifestyle changes, meaning finding a way to relieve some of that chronic stress, paying attention to your environment, putting lotions and different things on that aren't full of toxins.
Those little things, like I said, add up and they take a toll, including even hand sanitizers.
And so if you have to overuse those, your microbiome also has been diminished.
And so those are lifestyle factors.
Now, of course, dietary is going to be a huge factor.
And so how can you improve your gut?
Well take out all the packaged foods for the most part, right?
If they have bad toxins in them, the bad oils, the high fructose corn syrup, the artificial sugars, soybean oils, things like that. That's just every time you eat it, it's causing more issues.
So in its place, you want to have a whole foods diet made up of proteins and healthy carbohydrates and healthy fats, and adding in even some fermentable foods such as kimchi or yogurt or sauerkraut, which is amazing.
And those can help build up the good microbiome or the good flora in your gut, and as well as making sure you're getting in some soluble fiber, some insoluble fiber.
And you'll find both of those things if you're just eating a healthy diet.
So if you have your diet in check and your lifestyle, you're working on making a few changes there, what are some supplements that can be helpful?
Gut Microbiota - Probiotic Supplements
Well, number one would be implementing a probiotic.
And I would recommend one that's just an easy one that has bifidobacterium full of the bifidobacteria family, as well as the lactose bacillus family that is the two families of that flora that make up the abundance of our digestive system.
So just starting off with a probiotic would be amazing. Another supplement that can be really helpful is also going to be digestive enzymes.
So digestive enzymes help to actually digest our food better.
And so if we digest our food better, it also means that the acid in our stomach is breaking down and ridding some of those toxins that are in our foods.
Because even if you're eating a whole food amazing diet, you're going to get some toxins.
That's just the way because of the environment, the soil, and all of those things.
And so by having a proper digestion in your stomach, you will eliminate some of those toxins.
If you don't, then those toxins get into the small intestine, which create havoc with our flora.
So probiotic and digestive enzymes are amazing.
Gut Healing: L-Glutamine
And the last one I would talk about is L-glutamine and l-Glutamine is an amino acid, and this amino acid has been researched abundantly, but shows that it is the number one in tissue repair.
And so when we have maybe a compromised digestive system, that means our intestinal tract just isn't, it's inflamed, and it could be even leaky and the integrity of that tissue well.
So using L-glutamine can help to bolster up the tissue and give you a stronger integrity gut lining, as well as just intestinal tract in general.
So those three are really easy ones to add in after you've made some of these food changes as well as lifestyle changes.
Now, of course, if you've done all the things we just talked about and you're like, my stomach is still giving me issues, and this is where I would urge you to speak with a nutrition practitioner that specializes in gut health such as myself, you can really get and dig into a lot deeper levels of this, because of course, we can have some bloating and gas, but if you can't get rid of it with these few things that I talked about, sometimes there's just something bigger going on that you need support with.
So I hope that this was helpful for you, learning to change your lifestyle, change your foods, understand what's going on with your gut.
Just listen, our body is always telling us and implementing a few supplements that might be really helpful in supporting your gut health.
So thanks for watching.
Check out the high-quality supplements we discussed in this video - links below for your convenience!
1) Daily Probiotic: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/ultrabiotic-daily
2) L-Gluamine Powder: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/l-glutamine-powder
3) Digestive Support: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/digestive-complete
4) ALL PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com