The Health Diva

Healthy gut ecology is one of the most important pillars of health. Normally your bowel maintains a delicate balance between the desirable ‘friendly’ and undesirable bacteria found in the gut. Dietary changes such as eating rich foods, increased alcohol intake, anti-inflammatory medication, hormonal medications such as the pill and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and stress can all disrupt this fine balance.

The result can be a variety of tummy problems including bloating, over acidity, diarrhoea, constipation, and abdominal pain.

When this balance is disrupted, a state of Gut Dysbiosis develops and opportunistic bacteria, yeasts, or parasites can take over and colonise the digestive tract quickly multiplying and spreading, producing lots of fermented gas, and toxins as by products, and can set the stage for disease and inflammation to occur.

One of these opportunistic yeasts is Candida albicans. Candida lives naturally in the digestive tract, genital tract, mouth, oesophagus, and throat. Normally this yeast lives in a healthy balance with the other bacteria and yeasts in the body; however when the ecology is disrupted a candida infection can occur.

Candida sets the stage for developing allergies, this is partly because Candida keeps the immune system in an impoverished state and a healthy immune system is required to eliminate undesirable bacteria, parasites, and prevent developing allergies.

Candida forms just one part of a whole syndrome, which stems from an unhealthy environment in the gut.

The Good news is by increasing your intake of probiotics, and gentle fibres, reducing your dietary intake of sugars, and manage your stress, you can quickly get your gut back on the road to wellness.

Friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics act as a barrier against potentially harmful bacteria that pass through your digestive system, and are believed to inhibit the growth of many common disease-causing organisms, including E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Candida albicans, and C. difficile.

There are many types of bacteria found in probiotic supplements, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum 299v and Bifobacterium longum, help to ensure that the digestion and absorption of our food is efficient and that any harmful bugs in our food are dealt with.

Many people are now using probiotic drinks or live yoghurt as a way of improving gut ecology, however the high sugars, and the fact that stomach acid destroys most of the friendly bacteria found in yoghurt is leading people towards using probiotics supplements.

One of the crucial issues with probiotics is survival. To get to where they’re needed in the bowel, they must first pass through the stomach. A good Probiotics supplement is designed to withstand the rigours of the stomach and find a happy home in your bowel.

Once your have start to readdress any imbalance it is crucial that you look at your diet as a way to maintain your gut ecology and promote a healthy friendly bacteria colony. Eating lots of raw fruits and vegetables help to provide fibers and nutrients, which act as prebiotics.

Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that make their way through our digestive system and help good bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics keep beneficial bacteria healthy.

Prebiotics mostly come from carbohydrate fibers called oligosaccharides. You don’t digest them, so the oligosaccharides remain in the digestive tract and stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Sources of oligosaccharides include fruits, legumes, garlic and whole grains. Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) may be taken as a supplement or added to foods. Yogurts made with bifidobacteria contain oligosaccharides, so the prebiotic benefits ensure that it’s still worth taking a daily amount of organic live natural yoghurt.