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Allergies – and Gut Health

ALLERGIES and GUT HEALTH

Do you struggle with allergies when the beauty of Spring is in the air? If your eyes itch when you should be enjoying a sunny, spring day, strange though it may sound, it’s time to heal your gut…

Let me explain…

Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to something that’s generally harmless, such as pollen or dust mites.  This triggers inflammation and produces allergic symptoms. These can range from hay fever (also known as allergic rhinitis), digestive discomfort, eczema, and asthma, to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

While quick-fix medications, such as antihistamines, provide symptomatic relief, targeting the underlying casues of allergy, particularly your gut health and function, can provide long-term health benefits.

Did you know that improving your gut health can increase your tolerance to allergic triggers?
This can help you overcome your allergies and enable you to be outdoors without getting teary, fiery eyeballs.

‘While quick-fix medications, such as antihistamines, provide symptomatic relief, targeting the underlying causes of allergy, particularly your gut health and function, can provide long-term health benefits.’

 

Let’s see how Gut Health affects Allergies

Your microbiome (i.e. your gut bacteria) is a foundation of good health, especially when it comes to regulating your immune system and reducing its reactivity.
In fact, dysbiosis (an imbalance in the types and levels of gut bacteria) has been identified as a distinctive feature of allergy.

Research has actually identified differences in microbiome composition between people with allergies and those without.
The imbalance in the types and levels of gut bacteria has been shown to promote gut inflammation, which also stimulates inflammation beyond the gut.
This includes the release of histamine (an inflammatory chemical produced by immune cells), which causes many of the symptoms associated with allergies. 

Fortunately, you can reduce dysbiosis and improve the composition of your gut bacteria through the use of specific probiotic strains (types of bacteria), which help regulate your immune function to prevent and reduce allergic symptoms.
For instance, the strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®) has been shown to increase the production of anti-inflammatory immune cells. These act against allergy-associated inflammation and support healthy immunity.

Enhancing your gut bacteria composition has also been shown to suppress histamine release.
Together, these benefits may reduce immune hyper-reactivity and decrease allergy symptoms.

Gut Inflammation can Trigger a Leaky Gut.

Gut inflammation, caused by dysbiosis, has also been shown to trigger a leaky gut, which occurs when your gut barrier (cells that form a physical barrier between your digestive tract and the rest of your body) becomes permeable or ‘leaky’.
When the gut barrier is damaged, food particles, bacteria, and toxins may be able to enter your bloodstream. This aggravates inflammation and triggers an immune response that worsens your allergy symptoms.

Fortunately, specific herbs and nutrients can help restore a leaky gut barrier. These include:

  •   Glutamine: An amino acid (a small compound that combines with other amino acids to form protein) that strengthens the integrity of the gut barrier and reduces the passage of contents between your gut and bloodstream.
  •   Vitamin A: is essential for optimal cell growth and maintenance of the gut barrier, with deficiency of this key nutrient preventing the regeneration of gut barrier cells.
  •   Zinc: is another essential nutrient that supports the integrity of gut barrier cells, with deficiency increasing the likelihood of leaky gut development.
  •   Baical skullcap: a herb that has been found to reduce the gaps that form between gut barrier cells (as a consequence of dysbiosis), causing them to become leaky.
  •   Shiitake mushroom: a medicinal mushroom that regulates immune function and reduces inflammation.

 Support Good Digestive Function to Reduce Allergies

Given the strong connection between the health of the gut and immune system, supporting good digestive system function can address some of the underlying factors that cause your immune system to be over-reactive.

The Allergy and Reactivity Reduction Program used at Your Wellness Centre is specially designed to repair your gut and improve your immune tolerance, reducing allergy symptoms.
This approach can help you gain control of your allergies and how your body reacts so that you can once more indulge in the activities that you enjoy.
To find out if the Allergy and Reactivity Reduction Program is right for you, consult with a naturopath at Your Wellness Centre.

‘Given the strong connection between the health of the gut and immune reactivity, supporting good digestive system function can address some of the underlying factors that cause your immune system to be over-reactive.’

Overcoming Allergies

If your nose has done more running during springtime than you have, perhaps it’s time to consider an allergy plan with long-term health benefits.
Maintaining a healthy gut is key to supporting your immune function and building tolerance to allergic triggers, and is therefore central to providing a lasting solution to allergic conditions. 

For guidance on how best to improve your allergies, speak with a naturopath at Your Wellness Centre to see how we can help you in your journey to wellness.

 

 

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Beating Bali Belly: How to Get Your Gut Back on Track After Getting Sick on Holiday

 

How to Get Your Gut Back on Track After Getting Sick on Holiday

 Coming back from a holiday with a sore gut as your souvenir is never fun.

Infections that cause traveller’s diarrhoea can lead to chronic digestive issues if you don’t repair the damage done.

Let me explain.

Traveller’s diarrhoea is simply a form of gastroenteritis (un-affectionately known as ‘gastro’), an intestinal infection that triggers inflammation and injury in your gut.

Like other forms of gastro, it causes symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue and fever, which typically pass with the infection.

However, even in the weeks following the infection, the damage to your intestinal lining can interfere with your gut’s ability to create digestive juices (required to digest your food properly) and house healthy gut bacteria, which make up your gut microbiome (the beneficial bacteria that play an important role in gut health (discussed further here).

Together, the loss of these bugs and the injury to your gut may cause ongoing digestive discomfort, such as chronic bloating or changes to bowel habits.

If left untreated, in some people it may progress to chronic digestive disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (discussed further here)..

‘Traveller’s diarrhoea is simply a form of gastroenteritis (un-affectionately known as ‘gastro’), an intestinal infection that triggers inflammation and injury in your gut.’

If this sounds like you, or someone you know, it might be time to discover the three most important strategies that can help you get your gut back on track with the help of a natural healthcare Practitioner at Your Wellness Centre, outlined below.

Step 1: Start with a Snapshot

Whether you develop chronic gut symptoms after Bali belly depends on a couple of factors.

One is how healthy your gut was, to begin with: if you started off with a lower number of beneficial bacteria, due to factors such as a low-fibre diet or frequent antibiotic use which can disturb your gut bacteria, you may be more likely to develop chronic gut issues following Bali belly.

The second is the type of bug: a super destructive bug can decimate even the healthiest microbiome to the point where knock-on issues start to arise (such as chronic bloating).

Regardless of the situation, if you’ve experienced Bali belly and don’t feel like your gut is back to normal yet, get a snapshot of your gut bacteria through microbiome testing (discussed further here).

This test allows you to assess the damage by revealing every single type of bacteria in your gut (beneficial vs less beneficial) and how they may be impacting your gut health.

his information, you and your naturopath can create a plan together to bring your gut microbiome back into balance.

Step 2: Repair and Regenerate your Gut

After surveying the state of your gut microbiome, it’s time to start repairing your gut using a combination of probiotics, nutrients and herbal extracts.

Probiotic strains including Saccharomyces cerevisiae (boulardii) (SB), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®) and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (BB-12®) have been shown to assist with the consequences of traveller’s diarrhoea by:

  • Preventing infections from escalating (blocking infectious bugs from being able to ‘stick’ to your gut lining and causing havoc);
  • Protecting your gut from tissue injury caused by gastro;
  • Restoring a good balance of beneficial gut bacteria lost to infection or treatment with antibiotics.

It’s important to note that these benefits are unique to the above types of probiotic strains; you can’t take just any old probiotic and get the same results.

As such, it’s always worth selecting probiotic strains that are supported by scientific evidence, especially when it might mean the difference between symptom recovery or relapse (discussed further here about why choosing a specific strain matters).

Similarly, nutrients, such as glutamine and zinc, in addition to herbal extracts, such as aloe vera and boswellia, can also repair the damage to your gut lining, by reducing inflammation and providing the nutritional building blocks your gut needs to heal. As such, by combining the power of probiotics, herbs and nutrients, you can help your gut return to its former glory.

‘It’s important to note that these benefits are unique to the above types of probiotic strains; you can’t take just any old probiotic and get the same results. As such, it’s always worth selecting probiotic strains that are supported by scientific evidence, especially it when it might mean the difference between symptom recovery or relapse.’

Step 3: Eat your Way to Gut Health

Eating to maintain your gut health is fundamental to your recovery process, as this helps to restore your beneficial bacteria and can promote gut healing. Start with following these simple tips:

  • Minimise your intake of inflammatory foods (e.g. alcohol or foods high in sugar), as these can make it difficult for your gut to heal;
  • Aim to eat an abundance of plants, particularly a variety of colourful vegetables, as these contain prebiotics known as polyphenols, which help feed and rebuild your good gut bacteria;
  • Limit foods that cause you bloating or discomfort, such as dairy or wheat, just for a few weeks, whilst the gut rebuilds and regains its ability to digest these foods properly.

These are just a few small ways to better your diet and get back on track after Bali’s belly, but for specific dietary advice to suit your unique needs, speak to our qualified and experienced naturopath at Your Wellness Centre.

Destination: Gut Regeneration!

Nothing can make you appreciate the value of good gut health like a bout of gastro! And with the help of a naturopath, you can score a one-way ticket back to living your life without the lingering effects of traveller’s diarrhoea.

Start by being proactive, getting a snapshot of your gut followed by taking steps to heal the gut in conjunction with a healthy diet, so you can get back to your wanderlusting adventures over at your next expedition!

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Can Gut Bacteria Cause Weight Gain

Gut Bacteria and Weight Gain.

We’ve all been there: We do what we can to lose weight but then sadly, don’t get the results we are after.

It is now known that the bacteria in your gut can be making you fat.
In other words, there could be a link between the bacteria in your gut and your weight gain.

You see, scientists fattened germ-free mice with ‘obese’ human gut microbes. Results confirmed that the gut microbiome plays a part in weight regulation.. 

Typically the human gut contains around 37 trillion microbes – and that’s a lot!

Most healthy individuals have their own unique combination of bacterial species,  known as their own microbiome. You can read more about the Microbiome here.

If there is a reduction or disturbance of this core bacteria, then it can change from a healthy gut bacterial balance or microbiome to dysbiosis.

(Dysbiosis is the term used to describe an unhealthy gut environment).

Constant low-grade inflammation then results, as well as a faulty barrier lining the gut.

What then happens is that unwanted molecules cross this barrier and get into the rest of our bodies. This is where the term ‘leaky gut’ comes from.

These actions can affect many body systems and gradually lead to a variety of diseases.

It has been found that obese patients tend to have a lower variety of microbes, which may interfere with important bacterial functions.

Why is a healthy gut bacterial balance (or healthy microbiome)  important? 

Because the gut microbiome is a balance of organisms that communicates far beyond the bowels to influence body composition, appetite, and feeling full.

Evidence is now revealing that your gut bacteria need to be healthy because it dictates how your body regulates and maintains its weight!

Your Healthy Gut Bacteria can cause Weight Loss 

The fact that Healthy Gut Bacteria can cause Weight Loss, is shown by clear trends show that the gut bacteria in a lean person is different from that in an overweight person.

A healthy gut microbiome in a lean individual is seen as having a diverse range of beneficial bacteria, with very few ‘bad’ bacteria to disrupt the health of the gut.

Once the gut microbiome is in this healthy state, these good bacteria send messages to the body to maintain its weight within a healthy range.

So it makes sense to learn how to increase good bacteria in the gut naturally, because
This improves your overall gut health and could prevent weight gain.

On the other hand, the gut bacteria in an overweight person is often shown to have less of these good bacteria and more of the bad bacteria.

When out of balance, gut bacteria begin to act differently.

They take more calories from food, store more energy as fat, and set off inflammation within the gut itself.

All of these factors lead to the body storing more fat, especially around the waist (this fat is known as visceral fat).

Confused because you can’t lose weight? then check your gut health!

Which Gut Bacteria cause weight loss?

Researchers found a specific strain of probiotic helped offset the effects of eating a high-fat diet, reducing weight gain.

They also found a reduction in toxins generated in the gut that can cross the gut barrier when it is ‘leaky’.

This means systemic inflammation is not an issue.

Of interest is that obesity and weight gain are strongly associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes.

These diseases have all been linked to dysbiosis.

Findings show the specific effects of specific strain of probiotic help normalize a healthy appetite and prevent insidious weight gain.

Besides this, the probiotic strains trialed in metabolic syndrome patients led to the benefits of mildly reduced body weight, significantly reduced inflammation,  improved total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

These findings point to the specific effects of the specific strain of probiotic in normalizing a healthy appetite and preventing weight gain.

A whole food diet encourages a healthy microbiome

Gut Microbiomes Love a Healthy Lifestyle!

More good news is that our microbiome responds positively to whole foods, regular sleep, and physical activity, all of which support healthy body weight regulation.

For instance, a plant-rich diet delivers prebiotic fibres.

Even though we do not use this for food, these prebiotic fibres which are non-soluble encourage bacterial diversity, resilience, and healthy symbiosis in the colon.

Prebiotic fibres also contribute to a healthy weight by helping us feel satisfied after eating.

Research demonstrates better weight loss and metabolic outcomes in type 2 diabetics when consuming diverse carbohydrates and fibres in the diet.

Like us, our microbes also need rest and routine!

Gut organisms exhibit daily rhythms influenced by feeding and produce measurable differences throughout the day.

For instance, microbes engage in digestion and metabolism during feeding, and between meals they repair, regenerate and detoxify.

Microbial molecular clocks are so sensitive to our feeding and sleeping rhythms that even common jet lag can induce dysbiosis.  This is enough to affect glucose intolerance and cause weight gain.

This points to the importance of regular sleep and eating patterns to maintain a healthy gut and waistline.

A good night’s sleep helps reduce weight-promoting inflammation.

Support Your Microbiome to help you lose weight

Now that you know your gut health can affect your weight, we can aim for healthy gut bacteria by:
– the use of strain-specific probiotic therapy,
– along with fewer calories,
– prebiotic-rich whole foods,
– enough sleep,
– as well as  exercise
These can all help minimize food cravings during weight loss.

Besides this, these strategies support gut microbiome resilience.

This helps protect against obesity and other inflammatory diseases, including depression and osteoarthritis.

Whilst obviously a complex topic, you don’t need to navigate this alone.

Talk to our Naturopath at Your Wellness Centre to find the best Weight Management Program.

One that provides a comprehensive solution that can be tailored to your personal needs.

A program that addresses all the elements that can help support a healthy gut microbiome, and lower your metabolic body weight set-point.

That way,  you can lose weight without feeling hungry and, most importantly, keep it off for the long term.

Meanwhile, you can start your journey toward better body composition today by following these guidelines.

5 Tips to Support Your Weight loss goals

Besides probiotics, employing key diet and lifestyle strategies are also important to maintaining ideal body composition:

1. Regular exercise

These can include various forms of movement including walking, yoga, swimming, and weights. This helps to burn fat for energy and can reduce high levels of hormones (such as adrenaline) that promote weight gain.

2. Eat a wholefood diet

Filling up on fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, and healthy fats helps to naturally regulate your appetite and curb cravings. As a bonus, high fibre foods are the favourite fuel source of your good bacteria!

3. Avoid processed sugar and processed fats

Excess calories from these sources are stored as fat, especially around your waistline. They also encourage dysbiosis within your digestive tract.

4. Hydration

Plenty of water actually increases your energy levels and metabolism and is vital for proper waste elimination.

5. Adequate sleep

Eight hours per night is needed for a reason!

It resets and balances the hormones required for a healthy metabolism and reduces weight-promoting inflammation.

With the best approach to weight management being a holistic one, consider your microbiome alongside a sustainable diet and lifestyle.

Include exercise and sleep to comprehensively prevent gaining unwanted fat by reducing cravings, losing fat, maintaining muscle mass, and increasing your metabolism!

Besides this, improving the health of your microbiome, will turn your gut into a weight management machine and help to keep your waistline healthy!

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Poor Gut Health could cause Inflammatory Health Conditions.

So Let’s look at Inflammatory health conditions.

The simple cold, depression, and hayfever are all inflammatory health conditions

However, there is something more unusual that connects the three.

Surprisingly enough,

All three are influenced by your gut microbiome, the microorganisms that call your digestive tract ‘home’.

You may be wondering how these tiny gut inhabitants could have any effect on your respiratory system or brain.

In this article, we will find out how your gut influences these seemingly unrelated areas, as well as how to prevent your gut from making you sick, sad, or inflamed.

Your Gut and Immune System Work Hand-in-Hand

Your immune system’s main job is to defend you from pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms).

Since pathogens are typically inhaled or swallowed, it makes sense for the immune system to concentrate on your respiratory and digestive tracts.

In fact, 70% of the immune system is housed in your gut.

It lies beneath the lining of your intestines, ready to spring into action if a pathogen enters your gut, to try to prevent you from getting sick.

By contrast, some bacteria have a positive influence on your immune system.

A healthy gut microbiome interacts with the intestinal immune system in ways that increase your body’s immune defenses.

A microbiome out of balance, which does not contain high amounts of beneficial bacteria, is less likely to help you resist infection, including colds and flu.

Fortunately, certain types of probiotic bacteria improve the bacterial balance in your gut, with beneficial flow-on effects for your immune system.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®), Lactobacillus paracasei (8700:2), and Lactobacillus plantarum (HEAL 9) all stimulate the immune system and improve resistance to infection.

In fact, the combination of 8700:2 and HEAL 9 has been shown to reduce the severity and duration of common cold symptoms.

If you struggle with frequent colds and flu, it is wise to find out How to Heal Your Gut. And so, working with a naturopath at Your Wellness Centre to strengthen your gut microbiome may help.

‘A healthy gut microbiome interacts with the intestinal immune system in ways that increase your body’s immune defenses.

However, a microbiome out of balance, which does not contain high levels of beneficial bacteria, is less likely to help you resist infection, including colds and flu (click here to read more about your gut microbiome).’

Where Does The Overactive Immune System fit in?

Another possible consequence of poor gut bacterial balance is inflammation, a key feature of autoimmune (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and allergic diseases (e.g. hayfever).

In these conditions, the immune system misidentifies harmless substances as threats and stimulates an immune response against them.

The resulting inflammation creates the symptoms you associate with allergy and autoimmunity, e.g. a blocked nose and watering eyes in hayfever, or joint pain and swelling in rheumatoid arthritis.

Fortunately, certain probiotic strains, namely LGG® and Lactobacillus paracasei (LP-33®), can stimulate your immune system to produce anti-inflammatory compounds, reducing inflammation and symptoms.

For example, research in hundreds of people has shown that LP-33® significantly improves hayfever symptoms.
Interestingly, LGG®, when taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding, can reduce the incidence of eczema (an inflammatory skin disease) in children, by supporting the healthy development of the gut microbiome and the immune system.

If your immune system is in overdrive, to reduce symptoms, find out How to Heal Your Gut. Making an appointment with a Naturopath at Your Wellness Centre for this, will help bring it back into line.

The Gut and Inflammation have been linked with depression.

You know the “butterflies” in the stomach or knots in the stomach feeling when you are nervous?
Well this has led researchers us to connect the gut and inflammation with depression.
And more and more, research is finding inflammation in the body as well as the brain as an unexpected cause of depression.  

Also, the interaction between bad gut bacteria and the immune system can cause inflammation.

We also now know that the inflammatory chemicals released in your gut can also cause an inflammatory response in your brain?

If gut inflammation can influence mood, you may be wondering if specific probiotics can improve mood or reduce the symptoms of depression.

While this is a hot topic in scientific research, we do not currently know which specific probiotic strains can influence mood.

However, a good start in supporting a healthy mood is taking steps to heal your gut and reduce inflammation in the body.

What we do know is maximising your gut health, e.g. eating plenty of fibre-rich whole foods (your gut bacteria’s preferred food), can also increase the numbers of good bacteria, which is the best way to influence your mood via your gut.

If your bacterial balance has become disrupted due to a stomach bug, antibiotics, or other causes, strains that support beneficial bacteria, such as LGG®,

Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (BB-12®) may help improve the composition of your gut microbiome.

Great Health Starts in the Gut

By interacting with your immune system, your gut bacteria influence your ability to resist infection, reduce inflammation, and maintain a healthy mood.

If you are wondering whether your gut may be making you sick, sad, or inflamed, make an appointment with a natural healthcare practitioner at Your Wellness Centre today.

Together, you can assess your bacterial balance, and make a plan to improve your specific symptoms.

 

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Pain in the Gut?

Are you struggling with pain in the gut that is getting you down and no matter what you try, it just won’t go away?

If so, this could be the most important piece of information you are about to read.

You see, I know what it’s like, I see so many people who describe their severe indigestion or their disturbed digestive difficulties.  Then there are others who have uncomfortable symptoms like bloating, wind, constipation, burping, abdominal pain, colic, nausea, acidity, and reflux.

IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common name given to this condition. And yes, it can be helped!

There are quite a variety of factors that can lead to this:

  • Pretty common is the use of antibiotics that kill the good and bad flora of the gut.
  • Others include stress, food intolerances, dieting, skipping meals, eating on the run, and eating too fast.
  • Parasites and other intestinal organisms flourish in the presence of an unhealthy microbiome.

Should you wish to get an idea of the extent of your Gut Problems, tick the relevant symptoms which apply to you:

Take the Gut Problems Test:

☐   Abdominal cramps
☐   Drowsiness after meals
☐   Diarrhoea
☐   Constipation
☐   Halitosis (bad breath)
☐   Flatulence
☐   Fatigue
☐   Failing memory
☐   Constant tiredness
☐   Candida infections
☐   Joint pain & muscle aches
☐   Poor appetite
☐   Depression or anxiety
☐   Mucous in stool
☐   Hemorrhoids
☐   Abdominal bloating

So just what do a collection of these symptoms mean?

Well, depending on the amount, these symptoms indicate that you may have a level of possible Gut Toxicity that could be helped.

  • If you have less than 4 ticks your toxic load could be a level 1
  • If you have 4 to 8 your toxic level is possibly 2
  • If 8 or higher it is a level 3, and in my experience, could indicate toxic overload!
  • Levels 2 and 3 are very significant and even at level 1 treatment is wise!

If you wish to reverse your gut toxicity level and rid yourself of symptoms that are a nuisance,
then make a booking at Your Wellness Centre today.

As a special offer, if you book a Naturopathic consultation before 30th October 2022, to address the extent of your gut toxicity, you will receive A FREE Live Blood Screening, normally valued at $125.00.
So take advantage of this today.

Normal initial consultation fees apply.

To restore your gut health naturally phone 9879 9596, make a booking online or email health@yourwellnesscentre.com.au

Guarantee:

Our guarantee to you is if you don’t understand the causes of your pain in the gut after one consultation and if after following our suggestions, your gut symptoms have not improved within 30 days we will continue treating you free of charge until they are.

That’s how confident we are in delivering our service to you.

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Good Gut Health in Weight Loss

Gut Bacteria and their Effect on your Weight

If you’ve been doing everything else to lose weight without the success, then it’s worth taking a look at your gut health.

We all know that exercise, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep are all needed for maintaining a healthy weight.

Fundamental to good gut health is Gut Bacteria. So let’s look further at their role in weight loss.

Besides this, evidence is now revealing that your gut bacteria also need to be healthy because it dictates how your body regulates and maintains its weight!

This collection of 37 trillion organisms (mainly bacteria) within your digestive tract is known as your microbiome or gut microbiota.

microbiome pictures

Your Microbiome: Fat Burning or Storing? 

While each person’s gut microbiota is unique, clear trends show the gut bacteria in a lean person is different from that in an overweight person.

Healthy gut microbiota in a lean individual is seen as having a diverse range of beneficial bugs, with very few ‘bad’ microbes that disrupt the health of the gut.

Once the gut microbiota is in this healthy state, these good bacteria send messages to the body to maintain its weight within a healthy range.

This means it could prevent weight gain.

Alternatively, the gut bacteria in an overweight person is often shown to have less of these good bacteria.

This imbalance in the gut is a condition known as “dysbiosis”.

In a state of dysbiosis, bacteria begin to act differently: extracting more calories from food, storing more energy as fat, and triggering inflammation within the gut itself.

All of these factors result in the body storing more fat, especially around the waist (known as visceral fat).

probiotic foods

Increasing Your Good Bugs

Therefore, supporting your microbiome to be as healthy, diverse, and free from bad bacteria as possible may be a crucial step in maintaining a healthy weight.

Probiotics are a potent way to positively influence the health of your microbiome, as they work by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria while reducing the growth of unwanted microbes.

However, it is very important to select the right probiotic strain for your needs, as different strains have different actions and health benefits.

A specific probiotic strain displaying benefit for the microbiome and body weight is Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (B420™).

Evidence shows it improves the health and diversity of the microbiome, decreases the inflammation caused by dysbiosis, and reduces energy uptake from food.

Which together results in overall reductions in weight gain – helping to keep your waist trim.

Your Trim and Terrific Toolkit

Beyond probiotics, employing key diet and lifestyle strategies is also imperative to maintaining ideal body composition:

Regular exercise: such as walking, yoga, swimming, and weights.

This helps to burn fat for energy and can reduce high levels of hormones such as adrenaline that promote weight gain.

Filling up on fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, and healthy fats helps to naturally regulate your appetite and curb cravings.

As a bonus, high fiber foods are the favorite fuel source of your good bacteria!

 

Take the step toward a healthier you!
Call 9879 9596 and book an appointment today!

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Ultimate Benefits of Good Gut Health

The Ultimate Benefits of Good Gut Health includes a Healthy Mood, Reduced Inflammation, and a Strong Immune System.

Having a cold, feeling depressed, or having joint pains are all inflammatory conditions that are also influenced by your gut microbiome.

These tiny gut inhabitants influence seemingly unrelated areas such as your throat, joints, or your brain.

Your Gut Health and Immune System Work Hand-in-Hand

Your immune system’s main job is to protect you from disease-causing microorganisms.

Since these are mainly inhaled or swallowed, the immune system needs to be most active in your respiratory and digestive tracts.

Some bacteria have a positive influence on your immune system

On the other hand, some bacteria have a positive influence on your immune system.

Fortunately, certain strains of probiotic bacteria improve the bacterial balance in your gut, with beneficial flow-on effects for your immune system.

And so have been shown to reduce the severity and duration of common cold symptoms.

If you struggle with frequent colds and flu, working with a natural healthcare practitioner to strengthen your gut microbiome can help.

A healthy gut microbiome interacts with the intestinal immune system in ways that increase your body’s immune defenses.

However, a microbiome out of balance, which does not contain high levels of beneficial bacteria, is less likely to help you resist infection, including colds and flu (click here to read more about what might upset your gut microbiome).’

How Gut Bacteria Causes Inflammation

Another possible consequence of poor gut bacterial balance is inflammation.

This is a key feature in autoimmune and allergic conditions.

In these conditions, the immune system sees harmless substances as threats and stimulates an immune response against them.

Allergy Autoimmunity - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Fortunately, certain probiotic strains, namely LGG® and Lactobacillus paracasei (LP-33®), can stimulate your immune system to produce anti-inflammatory compounds, reducing inflammation and symptoms.

For example, research in hundreds of people has shown that LP-33® significantly improves hayfever symptoms.

Interestingly, LGG®, when taken during pregnancy and breastfeeding, can reduce the incidence of eczema (an inflammatory skin disease) in children, by supporting the healthy development of the gut microbiome and the immune system.

If your immune system is in overdrive, make an appointment with a natural healthcare practitioner at Your Wellness Centre to help bring it back into line.

How Gut Bacteria Affects Your Mood

More and more research is finding that inflammation is an unexpected cause of depression.

Inflammation throughout the body, and even inflammation of the brain, may contribute to depression.

If gut inflammation can influence mood, you may be wondering if specific probiotics can improve mood or reduce the symptoms of depression.

While this is a hot topic in scientific research, we do not currently know which specific probiotic strains can influence mood.

For example, maximizing your gut health by eating plenty of fiber-rich wholes (your gut bacteria’s preferred food), can increase the number of good bacteria.

This is the best way to influence your mood via your gut.

If your bacterial balance has become disrupted due to a stomach bug, antibiotics, or other causes, then strains that support beneficial bacteria, may help improve the composition of your gut microbiome.

Great Health Starts in the Gut

By interacting with your immune system, your gut bacteria influence your ability to resist infection, reduce inflammation, and maintain a healthy mood.

If you are wondering whether your gut may be making you sick, sad, or inflamed, make an appointment with a natural healthcare practitioner at Your Wellness Centre today.

Together, you can assess your bacterial balance, and make a plan to improve your specific symptoms.

 

You Can Read more about Microbiome Testing here:

Introducing the Metabiome™ Test

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Bloating, Flatulence, Constipation, and Diarrhoea

Bloating, Flatulence, Constipation, and Diarrhoea? Need Help?

Your stomach is one of the hardest working systems in your body.

Meal after meal, it hustles to digest your food and extract the nutrients required to sustain you.

Despite its solid work ethic, your belly can experience occasional performance hiccups, leading to digestive symptoms.

While many of these are normal, others may indicate something more serious.

Read on to discover what your symptoms say about your stomach function and ways to improve them.

Bloating Flatulence Constipation Diarrhoea - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Normal, Everyday Symptoms: Transient Belly Bloating

What is it?
Short-lived abdominal swelling due to trapped gas.

What causes it?
During and after meals, your gut produces enzymes and acids that break down food, creating gas during this process.

While bloating isn’t considered normal, it commonly occurs if you deviate from your standard diets, such as eating larger portions, high-fat meals or foods that are more difficult to break down, including excess carbohydrates and fibre.

These place more burden on your digestive processes, subsequently increasing gas production and bloating.

How do you improve it?
While mild bloating generally passes with time, chewing your food thoroughly, consuming smaller meals and spacing out your carbohydrate and fibre intake can help.

Flatulence

What is it?
Farting.

What causes it?
Gas is produced by normal digestive processes, and ‘passed’ at regular intervals.

Additionally, increased fibre, fat or sugar intake can create gas. Your microbiome (gut bacteria) also influences the amount of gas produced as they ferment food to help with your digestion.

How do you improve it?
It is normal to pass wind around 15 times per day. Additionally, the odd smelly fart is no big deal, particularly if caused by an increase in refined, processed foods (who can say no to the occasional slice of pizza?).

However, if you would like to reduce flatulence, moderate your intake of these foods.

Health Caution - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Symptoms That Require Attention: Chronic Constipation

What is it?
The infrequent passage of hard poop (less than once daily), is often accompanied by straining, a sense of incompletely emptying the bowel and discomfort.

What causes it?
Insufficient fibre or reduced fluid intake can slow your transit time (the time it takes for your food to travel from your mouth through to the other end), making you less ‘regular’.

Dysbiosis (an imbalance in the types and levels of gut bacteria) can also influence digestive processes and reduce your transit time.

Additionally, chronic constipation is associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that affects the function of the bowel.

How do you improve it?
Consume more fibre-rich foods, including fruit and vegetables, and drink enough water.

Prebiotic and probiotic supplements, such as the Metagenics Ultra Flora GI Regulate, may also support bowel regularity and provide relief for symptoms of medically diagnosed IBS.

Diarrhoea

What is it?
Soft, loose or watery stool that occurs more than three times daily.

What causes it?
Diarrhoea may be a symptom of a bacterial or viral infection, such as gastroenteritis, or be related to certain medications, particularly antibiotics.

Additionally, IBS and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a condition involving inflammation of the digestive tract, may cause diarrhoea.

How do you improve it?
IBS and IBD are serious conditions that require a professional diagnosis and care from a Health Practitioner.

However, if your symptoms are associated with antibiotic use, Metagenics Ultra Flora Intensive Care may help to restore healthy intestinal bacteria and relieve diarrhoea.

Malodorous Gas

What is it?
Farts that clear a room.

What causes it?
Your microbiome consists of a range of bacteria (38 trillion microbes!) that help digestion by fermenting your food, particularly fibre.

Imbalances in the levels of different bacterial species can lead to increased gas production with a pungent odour.

How do you improve it?
Metagenics Ultra Flora Intensive Care provides three specific probiotic strains (types of bacteria), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG®), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (boulardii) and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp lactis (BB-12®), which have been shown to help restore a healthy balance of bacteria within your microbiome.

Gut Pain - Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy

Abdominal Pain

What is it?
Sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, or twisting pain in your abdomen. Most people experience occasional gut discomfort, however severe gut pain that is episodic, regular or continuous requires assessment, particularly if accompanied by other symptoms such as fever, changes to your poop, nausea and/or vomiting.

What causes it?
Abdominal pain has many potential causes, the most common being gas pain, food intolerances or allergies, or indigestion. However, abdominal pain can also be a sign of something more serious, including appendicitis, gallstones, ulcers, infections, kidney stones, and many other conditions.

How do you improve it?
If gut pain has become a pattern rather than a one-off incident, seek guidance from a healthcare professional.

Ditch the Gut Glitches

Don’t let your gut feelings bum you out! Instead, switch up your diet and lifestyle habits and rid yourself of symptoms such as bloating, gurgles and gas.

If you regularly experience one or more problematic symptoms, particularly if they’re new or getting worse, consult with a Natural Health Practitioner at Your Wellness Centre for further investigation to devise an individualized comprehensive plan of attack that is suitable for you.

Our healthcare practitioners have a suite of testing available to investigate the driver behind your symptoms.

A stool analysis test enables us to identify all of the bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit your gut and how they contribute to your gut function and digestive symptoms.

You can read more about MetaBiome™ testing here.

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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What is the Microbiome?

With the ‘Microbiome’ being a hot topic right now for anyone interested in health, it’s worth Understanding the Gut Microbiome,  taking a closer look at what it is and what affects it.

Your gut is home to an ecosystem of microorganisms, and this internal community, known as the gut microbiome, plays a crucial role in your well-being.
It is made up of a massive 38 trillion microbes that includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, and more.

In short, your microbiome is a flourishing and diverse ecosystem containing a wide variety of beneficial bacteria and microorganisms.

Why would you need a Healthy Microbiome?

When your microbiome is healthy and balanced, it has hardly any potentially harmful or disease-producing bacteria and has wide-reaching beneficial health effects. Here are some of it’s critical functions.

  • Digestion:  Gut bacteria help break down and digest food. In doing so, nutrients are more accessible to your body.
  • Immune System Support: A healthy gut microbiome can strengthen your immune system, helping you fight off infections and diseases. And you get rid of waste products effectively.
  • Mood and Brain Health: Your gut health can affect your mood and mental well-being.
  • Metabolism: The microbiome can influence your metabolism and even play a role in weight management.
  • Inflammation: A balanced gut microbiome can help reduce inflammation in the body, which is linked to various chronic diseases.

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Leaky GutBut, if your gut microbiome (or gut ecosystem) is not as good as it could be and needs a little attention, life in general and even your waistline may be quite uncomfortable.

“You might find that If you feel and look bloated regularly without overindulging, your gut microbiome might be trying to tell you something!”

This brings us to looking more closely at something called Dysbiosis, a term used when our gut Bugs are Out of Balance.

So let’s look more closely at this term, Dysbiosis

Disruption to your internal microbial community can create an environment where pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms are able to grow and flourish.

This means there is a reduction in both the number and/or diversity of the beneficial microorganisms in your gut.

This imbalance in your gut microbiome is termed ‘dysbiosis’ and can lead to a number of negative health effects.

This can be digestive complaints, nutrient deficiencies and a compromised immune system which can lead to allergies and/or frequent illness.

Put plainly, dysbiosis disrupts the healthy functioning of your gut.

When this happens you could experience some uncomfortable symptoms like digestive pain and bloat.

It could also lead to nutritional deficiencies or even a compromised immune system.

Five ways you can upset your microbiome and cause Dysbiosis

  1. Eating a low fibre diet: as your gut microbes rely on the fibre in your food for fuel, a low fibre diet leads to a reduction in the diversity of your microbiome.
  2. Alcohol intake: the consumption of alcohol can result in dysbiotic changes in your intestinal microbiome.
    It also triggers gastrointestinal inflammation. So, If you’re consuming more than one standard drink per day, your microbiome’s probably keen for you to abstain a bit more often!
  3. Unmanaged stress: when you are stressed, the release of the stress hormone cortisol, and adrenaline sensitise your body to inflammation, including gut inflammation. This disrupts the gut environment, compromising the conditions your beneficial microbes need to flourish.
  4. Leading a sedentary lifestyle: lack of exercise has also been linked to reduced microbial diversity in the gut – another reason to get moving!
  5. Antibiotic use: a round of antibiotics does lead to some loss of core commensal organisms (antibiotics are supposed to kill off bacteria however in this instance the good stuff goes too). This leaves the gut susceptible to microbiome imbalances and dysfunction. Due to this disruption, up to 10% of people experience gastrointestinal side effects5 from antibiotic use, referred to as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD).

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Gut Benefits of ProbioticsDysbiosis and bloating have also been linked with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).

SIBO is a type of chronic infection in which bacteria that usually live in the large bowel reproduce in large numbers and travel to the small intestine, somewhere they should not be.

This can cause excessive bloating, flatulence and digestive discomfort.

“If you suffer from a digestive disorder, you could have an imbalance in your gut microbiome that needs addressing.”

Gut Bacteria that release methane gas

Some of the bacteria involved in dysbiosis, release methane gas.

If you have dysbiosis, these gut bacteria, also known as ‘methanogens’ may well be lurking in your gut.

When they break down fibre from your food, these bacteria release methane gas.

This can cause bloating, sluggish digestion, slow transit time (the amount of time food takes to travel from your mouth, through your gut, and out the other end), constipation, bloating, flatulence and gut discomfort.

Because excess methane production is connected with chronic constipation, it may be worth finding out if methanogens are making you feel stopped up.

Gut Discomfort - Your Wellness Centre NaturopathyIn short, Bad Bugs cause disruption!

By disrupting your internal gut microbiome, dysbiosis can create an environment where disease-causing organisms have the opportunity to flourish.

How do we get these disease-causing organisms?

Well, we simply pick up potentially harmful bacteria and stubborn yeasts in our daily activities!

As mentioned above, This could be from our dietary choices, some antibiotic use, a lack of exercise or unmanaged stress.

If our gut microbiome is really good, it is able to kill off and dispose of these critters very effectively.

On the other hand, if our gut microbiome is struggling, disease-causing bugs can take over.

Perhaps you have had a bout of gastro?

This brings us to when you first noticed your gut issues.

Perhaps it coincided with a nasty bout of gastro or if you’ve been overseas where you had a bad case of Bali’s belly!

Now such an infection even though successfully treated, can leave you with dysbiosis that can persist. What this can do is leave you vulnerable to further infection.

It’s not unusual to find that after traditional treatment, you have lingering symptoms that can include bouts of nausea, gut pain, loose bowels, constipation, brain fog and severe bloating.

Find the reason for your Chronic Bloating! We now understand that there are multiple reasons why you could be chronically bloated.

So let’s look at the best way to find out what’s going on in your gut. This is by taking a microbiome test.

The results of the Metabiome™ test can help you bring balance back to your gut microbiome and reduce those uncomfortable gut symptoms.

You can read more about Microbiome Testing Here.

It’s Best to Test

Many of our patients with gut issues, have an obviously distorted belly and explain how they can’t tie their belt…

If you sometimes feel like they do, it might well be your microbiome showing these symptoms of bloating, discomfort or dysbiosis.

The results of the Metabiome™ test can highlight what needs to be done to bring balance back to your gut microbiome and reduce those uncomfortable gut symptoms.

Make an appointment with us to have this simple test and get some answers.

 

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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Leaky Gut and Gut Health

Since gut pain, bloating, gastric discomfort and other digestive problems may also have underlying leaky gut problems, I thought you might like to have a read of this information on Leaky Gut.

Leaky Gut

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Leaky GutPut simply, Leaky Gut syndrome happens when large spaces (or holes) develop in the gut wall.

This allows bacteria, toxins, and food particles to leak into the bloodstream from the gut… hence its name “Leaky Gut”.

The definition of Leaky Gut Syndrome is an “increase in permeability of the intestinal mucosa to bigger molecules, antigens, and toxins associated with inflammatory degenerative and or atrophic mucosa or lining.”

Let’s look at the Digestive Tract

The digestive tract is an elaborate system that involves organs from the mouth to the colon.

The small intestine performs an essential barrier function in keeping the body free from allergies.

The intestine’s membrane acts as a wall separating undigested food and the bloodstream.

When intact and healthy, the digestive tract organs break down food into smaller, usable molecules, which then are sent through the bloodstream to nourish the body’s tissues.

Some amount of wall permeability is common.

In people with a normal, intact gut, up to 20 percent of undigested protein can pass through the mucous membranes.

Excessively permeability causes problems

But when there is inflammation in the gastrointestinal mucosa, the intestinal wall becomes excessively permeable (lots of little gaps or holes form)– a condition called ‘leaky gut syndrome.

If bits of food has not been properly broken down due to imbalances in the digestive tract, food molecules, which are usually too large to pass through the intestinal barrier, slip through the gaps in the gut wall and enter the bloodstream.

When this happens, the immune system treats these foreign substances as antigens (antigens can cause food intolerance and/or allergies).

This sets off an allergic response in which antibodies are secreted in the bloodstream to bind with these foreign substances.

Leaky Gut Syndrome may cause the intestinal lining to become inflamed and the microvilli become damaged or altered.

The damaged microvilli cannot then produce the enzymes and secretions that are essential for healthy digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

Leaky Gut Syndrome is a very common problem in modern society.

Common causes of both Leaky Gut

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy - Gut Benefits of Probiotics

Common causes of both leaky gut and digestive dysfunction are antibiotics, certain drugs, enzyme deficiencies, parasites, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses, toxins, mercury, alcohol, stress, and certain food intolerances.

And of course, we all at some time or other have been prescribed necessary antibiotics or even non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

They both damage the natural balance of good microbiota that the bowel requires to operate at its best.

And over time we may start getting the overt symptoms of Leaky Gut.

Of course, there are natural ways to effectively treat this.

If you would like more information, simply let us know by contacting us here. 

 

Take the step toward a healthier you!
Call 9879 9596 and book an appointment today!

Your Wellness Centre Naturopathy Melbourne

 

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