prebiotics

Recently the FDA issued a report; which centered on the increasing use of antibiotics in pigs, chicken, cows and seafood between 2009 and 2013. Antibiotics are usually administered into the animals we eat and they are mostly given in low doses to promote faster growth or prevent diseases.

New research from New Zealand has found children given antibiotics in the first one to two years of their life may be at a greater risk of having a higher body-mass index (BMI) or becoming obese by the age of four or five.

Now, this action is a major concern for both the FDA and Centers for disease control and Prevention (CDC). They have claims that these constant use of antibiotics give rise to the multiplication of harmful bacteria due to bacteria resistant after long periods of abuse. But, apart from this concern, scientists are also searching to see if humans would also gain weight from the prolonged use of antibiotics as animals would.

HOW DO ANTIBIOTICS CHANGE A PERSON’S MICROBIOME?

Our intestinal microbiome is all the microorganisms in our digestive tract, and you have to look at it like a human organ, just as important as your heart, brain and lungs. Our digestive tract (gut) contains about over 100 trillion bacterial cells of many types. Usually, there is always an equilibrium of species; they help our bodies digest food and function well. Antibiotics change this gut flora, by creating a imbalance between good and bad bacteria.

How does this affect my weight?

Many types of bacteria in your gut affect how your body absorbs calories. Creating an imbalance of bacteria- especially the type that breaks food down into energy—you may be absorbing more calories from the same amount of food you eat than you would normally d because of this effect.
Research shows that obese people have a different mix of bacteria in their gut than lean people.
Most times though, it might not be direct contact with antibiotics but indirect contact from animals (food) that has been fed with antibiotics or even water treated with antibiotics.

Which foods have the most antibiotics in them?

Mostly animal products carry substantial amounts of antibiotics; and they are administered o them directly or added to their feeds if they would be commercialized.
Pigs have the most antibiotics in their meat, then chicken, then beef, according to research from the National Academy of Sciences. Also, farmed seafood like shrimp, fish (especially commercially farmed salmon) contain high levels of antibiotics because the drugs are needed to prevent disease in the farming pens. Even organic vegetables have antibiotics in them because about 75 percent of antibiotics fed to livestock are excreted out, and in the manure used to fertilize fields.

How can this be curbed?

The only real solution to this is if there is a strong rule stating that the use of antibiotics be stopped by farmers or food producers.

So, what can I do?

1. Reduce your intake of unprescribed antibiotics (that’s a good place to start at least).
2. Always look out for food labels stating about the use of antibiotics . visit supermarkets that sell whole foods and not processed or prepackaged foods.
3. Increase your intake of prebiotics and probiotics so your gut flora would be at equilibrium. Examples include yoghurt, kitchen, sauekrat,  fermented corn starch made into pudding (pap) etc.
4. Reduced intake of pork, farmed shrimps and sea foods.

Summary
Keep your gut healthy, do more of real foods and add as much sources of probiotics to your diet as you can. You should be in charge of your health.

Sources
1. https://www.google.com/search?q=gut+flora&rlz=1C1SQJL_enNG936NG936&oq=gut+flora&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l9.1898j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
2. http://a-healthy-body.com/are-antibiotics-making-us-fat/

3.https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/the-link-between-antibiotics-and-obesity-in-children-doesnt-mean-you-need-to-avoid-antibiotics-130392

The talk about gut health and hormones isn’t yet hitting the internet as it should. Rather, everyone is more concerned about their shape and the size of their belly. Your gut and hormones are intrinsically connected and affect your health in ways you can’t imagine.
This write up helps explain the link between your gut and hormones.

What Is The Estrobolome?
The estrobolome is a collection of bacteria in the gut which is capable of metabolising and modulating the body’s circulating estrogen. It is the bacteria in the gut, and the estrobolome, that affects estrogen levels, which in turn can impact weight, libido and mood. The estroblome modulates the enterohepatic circulation of estrogens and affects circulating and excreted estrogen levels.

Hormones And Gut Health: Why should I care about my Gut Health?
Scientific research has demonstrated that gut microbes regulate many aspects of human physiology, including intestinal permeability, the absorption of nutrients from food, and immunity.

Optimising our gut health is key to keeping our hormones in balance. Gut health is so important because the microbiome has many functions as listed below:
• Aids the synthesis and regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters
• Facilitates absorption of macro and micronutrients
• Has an essential role in the immune system
• Contributes to regulation of estrogen levels in the body
Estrogens are primarily made in the ovaries and adrenal glands. There are three different types, which are Estradiol, Estriol, and Estrone. All of which have vital roles in the body. In women, estrogens help regulate body fat, are essential to female reproductive function, cardiovascular health, bone health, and brain function (including memory). In men, estrogens aid in the maturation of sperm and maintenance of libido, oh yes! Male folks has estrogen too.
When the gut microbiome is healthy, the estrobolome is producing optimal levels of an enzyme called betaglucuronidase – there is an imbalance in estrogen when there is too much production of this enzyme.
Betaglucuronidase also has an important role in breaking down complex carbohydrates and the absorption of bilirubin and flavonoids. A healthy, diverse gut microbiome with a rich collection of different bacteria is critical for hormonal balance.
A healthy estrobolome minimises reabsorption of estrogen from the gut allowing safe removal as waste in stool and urine again ensuring hormone balance.
Gut dysbiosis is an imbalance of the gut bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Elevated betaglucuronidase levels are associated with conditions including:
• Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome
• Estrogen-related cancers (breast and prostate)
• Endometriosis
• Infertility
• Mood swings (the feel good hormones are produced in the gut, if the gut is not healthy, it sends wrong signals)
• Heart disease
Unfortunately, gut dysbiosis and gut microbiome imbalance are very common and the delicate balance of the microbiome and estrobolome can be affected by many different factors which include genetics, age, weight, diet, alcohol, antibiotics, environmental pollutants and more.

Signs of an Unhealthy Gut
There are many signs of an unhealthy gut, which can often be misdiagnosed as something else.
• Digestive issues (bloating, gas, diarrhoea or constipation)
• Weight changes
• Food sensitivities
• Fatigue
• Skin irritation
• Autoimmune conditions
• Hormonal imbalance

Factors that affect Gut Health And Hormone Balance
To correct hormone imbalance, there are ways to ensure that the gut stays healthy and those ways include:
1. Dietary considerations
“The food we eat not only feeds our cells, but also determines what kind of inner garden we are growing in our guts.” – Dr. Mark Hyman.
Well, the saying “you are what you eat” comes to limelight here. Diet plays a vital role in shaping our gut microbiome. A low GI (glycaemic index) diet which contains a diverse range of fruit, vegetables and fibre, high in phytonutrients – the so-called ‘rainbow plate’ – can encourage microbial diversity.
It is important to go moderate on what is referred to as ‘white carbs’ such as pasta, rice and potatoes which contain resistant starch; a type that promotes healthy gut. Cutting them out totally would mean cutting out the sources of resistant starch.
Bear in mind that cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, contain compounds that ease detoxification of estrogen. The supplement DIM (diindolylmethane) contains concentrates of such compounds and can be effective in lowering more toxic estrogen byproducts.
Prebiotics and probiotics should also be considered. Prebiotic foods such as garlic, onion, asparagus and bananas provide the material that gut bacteria like to feed on. Probiotic foods such as kefir, kombucha, kimchi, plain yoghurt and other fermented foods are really useful for introducing beneficial bacterial strains, like lactobacillus, to the gut.
It’s important to note that the supplement calcium D glucarate is a betaglucuronidase inhibitor and allows estrogen to remain conjugated, and therefore safely eliminated by intestinal detoxification.
2. Your environment matters a lot
Phytoestrogens from plants such as soya, tofu and tempeh are consumed as food while others are synthetically manufactured and called Xenoestrogens. These are found in common household products such as fragrances, pesticides and plastics, and can easily be obtained from the environment around us. It is important to find ways of reducing these toxic substances that impact our health and find more environmentally friendly solutions. Xenoestrogens are absorbed by the body and stored in liver and fat cells. They act synergistically with endogenously produced estrogens and influence cell proliferation and disrupt the delicate balance of hormones.
3. Antibiotics
So many people abuse antibiotics, if not prescribed, please desist from using them. The use of antibiotics disrupts the ecology of the gut microbiome, and can cause overgrowth or dysbiosis. A study by the University of Copenhagen found that six months after stopping antibiotics, most healthy people can recover the microbiome composition and function. However, the gut can still lack some of the beneficial bacteria and we then need to reintroduce the good guys!
4. Alcohol
No one really wants to hear that overconsumption of alcohol is detrimental to the health. Our society has made it look like consuming alcohol doesn’t make you vulnerable at all. But alcohol consumption can have a negative impact, not only on the gut microbiome but also on the liver and its ability to detoxify. This contributes to estrogen dominance symptoms and an increased risk of estrogen related cancers. Its festive season and you must unwind with friends and families, so we won’t put a knife to your throat not to take alcohol. 1 drink a day for women and 2 drinks a day for men( 1 drink equates 12 ounces of beer, 8 ounces of malt liquor, 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits and liquor). A single large glass of wine can contain up to 3 units of alcohol!
5. Physical activity
Physical activity can never be overemphasised. Exercise is an excellent way to support the detoxification that happens in the liver. Regular, moderate intensity exercise can lower levels of circulating estrogens. It can also reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, which can have a negative impact on our sex hormones. However, we do need to be mindful of individuality as different people have different stress levels/thresholds. Activities that stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system or the body’s ‘rest and digest’ mode, such as yoga, are also very beneficial to hormonal health and keeps the hormones balanced.
Summary
Lifestyle, nutrition, physical activity and stress management all play important roles in helping to balance your estrobolome and also ensuring that we keep our hormones balanced and optimal.

Constipation is broadly defined as an unsatisfactory defecation characterized by infrequent stools, difficult stool passage or both.

PHYSIOLOGY OF COLONIC FUNCTION
Water absorption
The colon receives approximately 1.5 L of liquid effluent daily from the small intestine, with 200 mL to 400 mL excreted in the stool. The functions of the colon are to absorb fluid from residual food and transport waste to the rectum, where it is expelled or stored until defecation is convenient.
The amount of fluid contained in a diet determines the state of one’s stool.
Removal of water from the fecal slurry is time dependent and actively regulated, and can be substantially increased in dehydration states. Sodium is actively reabsorbed from luminal content through several active transport channels, with water following passively in response to osmotic gradients. Conversely, colonic secretion is mediated through chloride channels (eg, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator [CFTR]), which are generally quiescent, leading to a net reabsorption of electrolytes and fluid. Thus, stool that remains in the colon longer will become drier, which can lead to scybalation (pebble-like stools) and impaction if the stool becomes too large and hard to pass through the anal canal.

POOR DIET AND CONSTIPATION
If stool remains in the colon for too long, it could become dry and hard.
A diet that contains enough water and fiber would help moisten the faeces and make it easier to pass through the anorectal region.
Fiber-rich foods are generally made from plants. Fiber comes in soluble and insoluble forms. The soluble fiber can dissolve in water and creates a soft, gel-like material as it passes through the digestive system.
Insoluble fiber retains most of its structure as it goes through the digestive system. Both forms of fiber join with stool, increasing its weight and size while also softening it. This makes it easier to pass through the rectum.

Stress could also be a factor that would lead to constipation, other routines that would slow muscle contraction of the colon could also lead to hardening of stool.
Underlying medical problems
Possible medical conditions that could lead to constipation:
• certain diseases, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes
• problems with the colon or rectum, including intestinal obstruction, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or diverticulosis
• overuse or misuse of laxatives (medications to loosen stools)
• hormonal problems, including an underactive thyroid gland

SIGNS OF CONSTIPATION
-An excruciating pain experienced while trying to defecate.
– bowel movements restricted to 3 per week.
-feeling of fullness after passing stool.
– passing hard dry stools.
– feeling like your rectal areas are blocked.

MANAGEMENT OF CONSTIPATION
– Drink more water. At least 3 litres per day.
– Add more fiber to your diet; either soluble or insoluble fibre. Examples include wheat, bran, dark green leafy vegetables, oats, seeds, some fruits with roughages.
– Do exercises.
– Eat probiotic and prebiotic containing foods or you can use their supplements. Examples of foods in this category include plain yoghurt, banana, onions and garlic.
– Over the counter drugs like bulking agents
– Try magnesium citrate
– Eat prunes: prunes contain the sugar alcohol sorbitol which has a laxative effect. About 7 pieces twice a day is recommended (50g).
Constipation could be uncomfortable for anyone, these home remedies suggested would really help get you relieved, but if symptoms persists, see your doctor (as every drug would indicate).

There are bacteria present in our entire system, our guts especially and the largeness of a colony determines if our guts and us would he healthy. These bacteria could be helpful or harmful, but we would look more at the helpful ones.
In the light of that, we’d be seeing what prebiotics and probiotics are and how beneficial they are to our gut.

🔥 Prebiotics are non digestible part of foods like banana, garlic and onions which goes through the small intestine undigested and ferment when they reach the large intestine. This fermentation process helps in feeding beneficial bacteria colonies  and help increase the number of desirable bacteria in our digestive system that are associated with better health and reduced health risk.

🔥Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that are created during the fermentation process of yoghurt, sauerkraut e.t.c.

There are two major beneficial bacteria present in our gut which are: lactobacillus and bifidobacterium.

Lactobacillus is present mainly in yoghurt and other fermentable products and helps with diarrhoea and people who are lactose intolerant.

Bifidobacterium also can be found in dairy products and helps to ease irritable bowel syndrome.
It helps to fight againts harmful bacteria, helps againts constipation and give immune system a boost.

To easily understand probiotics and prebiotics, you can call probiotics the ‘seed’ that is planted prebiotics is the water and fertilizer that helps it grow and thrive.

Additional benefits of both is that it could help prevent halitosis (bad breathe), enhancing mineral absorption especially vit B12(intrinsic factor).
Its important to note also that anaemia or nervous system damage could rise from the deficiency of vit B12, so its important to always add CARBS to your diet😏🙄.

Food sources: fibre rich containing foods, especially carbs 🤧🤧; they contain resistant starch which is fermentable and healthy for the gut, onion, garlic, asparagus, apple with skin, oat, wheat and bran bread, yohhurt , kefir, e.t.c.

Note: 90% of your feel good hormone(serotonin) is produced in your gut, so the healthier your gut, the happier you are😘😊😊.