Alcohol & Leaky GUT

Australians have a reputation for our excessive alcohol drinking. It's within our culture to have an outdoor lifestyle, BBQ's, laid back attitude, scorching sun.....with a bevvy in our hands.The negative impacts of alcohol consumption is evident. I'm not about to start educating you about the physical and mental effects of alcohol. You can do so here.I see many people within my practice that have a leaky gut. A thorough health history is taken with all of my clients; and all usual suspects of a leaky gut are marked off:

• antibiotic use
• prescription medication
• post-infectious IBS
• stress
• operations
• reproductive health
• diet

But have you ever considered your alcohol intake?

Excessive alcohol intake (binge drinking), causes inflammation and creates gaps within our intestinal wall. Ethanol reduces good bacteria and increases unwanted endotoxins (bad bacteria). Alcohol is metabolised by the liver, and produces free radicals as a result. Which causes oxidative stress within our body.Increased inflammation travels to our brain, and increases depression, foggy thinking and 'sickness behaviour'.Alcohol impairs our nervous system and reduces nutrients such as zinc, Vit. D, folate and SAMe.Due to the intestinal permeability, conditions such as SIBO, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and some colon cancers can occur.

So what can you do to heal a leaky gut caused by over alcohol consumption?

Studies have that supplementing with the following have a positive impact in either inflammatory markers or intestinal permeability measures:

• Zinc supplementation- 50mg per day after a meal
• Vitamin D supplement
• SAMe supplementation
• Co-enzyme A supplementation
• Fish oil (anti-inflammatory)
• Vitamin C (anti-oxidant)
• Magnesium
• Glutamine

Probiotics:

• Lactobacillus LGG
• Bifidobacterium Infantis
• Bifidobacterium bifidum
• Lactobacillus plantarum
• Lactobacillus casei Shirota (yakult)

Prebiotics:

• Oats at 10gm per 1kg body weight.

Ways to reduce alcohol intake.....

• Stay within the 'drinking in moderation' guidelines
• Abstinence of alcohol- replace alcohol with a healthy habit.
• Swap to red wine. Studies have demonstrated that red wine contains polyphenols. Polyphenols are beneficial for gut bacteria.
• Identify the triggers of alcohol consumption. Avoid or reduce the triggers could lead to less alcohol intake.

Useful Resources:

Website- Hello Sunday MorningWebsite- Sexy SobrietySupport- Alcoholics AnonymousSupport- Drink WiseREFERENCESBarve, Shirish et. al. 'Development, Prevention & Treatment of Alcohol Induced Organ Injury: The Role of Nutrition, Alcohol Research, Vol. 28, No. 2 pg. 289-302Bishehsari, Faraz. et. al , Alcohol and GUT derived Inflammation', Alcohol Research, Vol. 38. No. 2 pg. 163-171Engen, Phillip A. et. al. 'The Gastrointestinal Microbiome- Alcohol effects on the composition of Intestinal Microbiota', Alcohol Research, Vol. 37, No.2Leclercq, S. Timory, P de. Delzeme, NM. Starket, P. (2017) 'The Link between inflammation, bugs, the intestine and the brain in alcohol dependence', Translational Psychiatry   

Why Short Chain Fatty Acids are the Key to Optimal Health

Short chain fatty acids (S.C.F.A's), sounds like something that you should be avoiding all together. But you couldn't be more further from the truth.https://www.facebook.com/Thenaturopathshop/videos/2196534210567444/?ref_page_id=1518149341739271&acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A5%2C%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%5C%22[]%5C%22%22%7D]%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D

So what are SCFA's?

SCFA's are made in your colon. They are produced by your gut bacteria, when you consume carbohydrates and I'm not taking about refined carbs either- more on this later). SCFA's are a 6 carbon chain (hence the name short) and can either be of 3 metabolites- butyrate, propionate, acetate (there are a couple of others but they only make up 5% of total SCFA's).Butyrate can be used instantly by some cells in your colon; while the rest can transported to your liver and enter the rest of your system by your blood.

The benefits of SCFA's..............

Studies have shown that SCFA's reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity (basically metabolic syndrome) and some colon cancers.Research has also shown that SCFA's are anti-inflammatory, and that people who had ulcerative colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), had lower than normal levels of SCFA's.

How Do I Increase my SCFA's Levels?

SCFA's are influenced by diet. Yes, the food you eat. As I mentioned before; SCFA's are made by your bacteria when they digest certain carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are mostly found in vegetables, fruit, wholegrains and legumes.All these foods also have one thing in common, they contain high amounts of fibre.

What FIBRE????

Yes! Here's the glitch.....you might be currently following a low FODMAP, SIBO, or a High FAT/Low Carb diet. All of these diets dramatically reduce your intake of natural fibre. You can avoid this by really focusing on the vegetables you can eat, so this doesn't happen. This is why long term Low FODMAP diets aren't recommended for long periods.This can be the hardest part when you are healing your gut. Especially if you have IBS/SIBO and feel like you bloat even from water. This is because your gut lining is hyper-sensitive and you need to go extremely slowly when you are starting to re-introduce regular foods.Legumes are a fantastic source of fibre, but many people just can't tolerate them. So after you have done adequate healing of your gut (can be different for everyone). You can start with brown lentils, drain the can, and freeze them into ice cube trays. This way you are just introducing a tiny amount daily.There are many types of fibre, but some fibres in food are also called 'prebiotics'. This term is used a lot more these days. The way I like to explain it is that prebiotics are 'feeding' your gut bacteria, which will make them grow big and strong. This method is excellent when you have low numbers in a beneficial bacteria (all you need to do is eat the right foods to build them up again). The end result will be that you have built up your gut ecosystem naturally with foods.

Foods That Feed Your Gut Microbiome

Listed below is a snap shot of foods that feed your healthy gut bugs - these foods contain either inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides.Jerusalem artichoke, yacon tubers burdock roots, chicory roots, dandelion roots, garlic, onion, leeks, asparagus, globe artichoke.Legumes, Brassica-family, vegetables, fresh beans, rye sourdough, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, LSA mix.Polyphenols also feed your gut bugs. Polyphenol foods are:black elderberries, black currants, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, plums, raspberries, apples, black grapesFlaxseed meal, chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, purple carrots, red carrots, purple potatoes, red cabbage, spinach, red onions, broccoli, carrots, red lettuceRed rice, black rice, red and white quinoa, whole grain, rye brad, olives and olive oil

How Do I Measure SCFA's?

This can be done only by stool testing. There are quite a few on the market that give you varying results. But you can easily find more about your SCFA's levels by completing a CDSA (Comprehensive Diagnostic Stool Analysis) or by a UBIOME test.If you would like to know more about SCFA's or specific stool tests; fill out the contact form below and I will get back to you.[contact_bank form_id="2" form_title="show" form_description="show"][/contact_bank]REFERENCESCheng et. al. (2017) Effects of Functional Oligosaccharides and ordinary dietary fibre on intestinal microbiota diversity, Frontiers in Microbiology, 1-11Edwards et. al. (2017) Polyphenols and Health- interactions between fibre, plant polyphenols and the gut microbiota, Nutrition Bulletin, 42, 356-360Ros-Covian et. al. (2016) Intestinal short chain fatty acids and their link with diet and human health, Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol.7, Article 185, pg.1-9Singh et. al. Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health, (2017), Journal of Translational Medicine, 15:73, 1-17      

How food impacts your mood

We have all seen the classic scenario of when kids are given birthday cake; and within 5 minutes they are running around going crazy!Then 1-2 hours later, it's all about the post party come down. Tears, inconsolable, melt downs and unreasonable are the nicer terms of when your child has hit their sugar low.Fast forward 30 years or so, and does it get any different for us as adults?Fortunately we might be able to contain our selves when we eat a little cake here and there. But how often do we rely on what we out in our mouth for a short pick me up?Coffee would be the first one that comes to my mind.I'm sure you have heard.....

Talk to me after I've had my coffee.

How about the snack draw in the office to appease the afternoon lull?There's nothing wrong with having a coffee or a quick little pick me up here and there......it's how often, and what with that can be the problem.Traditionally, food  can bring families, friends and communities together. It can involve joy, celebrations and connection. Food gives us energy and provides us with essential nutrients so we can function on a daily basis. But unfortunately in Western society, the abundance of choice and variety of food can often contain 'empty nutrients' that don't serve our bodies or mind.The over consumption of sugar has impacted the health of many people, causing obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, migraines and brain fog.Alcohol is a depressant.Wheat consumption can also lead to brain fog.Additives & preservatives can impact behaviour.So we need to start thinking of the LONG term effect of how food and drink impacts not just our physical being, but our mental being.There is enough evidence now that we know that the brain and gut speak to each other via the vagus nerve and autonomic nervous system. And that the gut sends it's own messages via the enteric nervous system.We also know how high sugars can make our blood sugar levels go high and then crash not long after. If we keep feeding into this loop of quick fixes, the long term impact can effect your health in more ways than one.90% of serotonin (feel good hormone) and 50% of dopamine (your motivation hormone) are derived from your gut. So it would be fair to say that if your gut health is in poor shape, then these 2 neurotransmitters will be too.Making the right food choices can not only keep your blood sugar levels in check. But what if you were eating something on a regular basis and had no idea how it could be sending you down the road to poor physical and mental health?My tip for you is to keep a food and mood diary (and poo if your super keen). This way you can track what your have eaten, and see if there is any connection to your mood. I have a template that you can use here... Food_Mood_Poo_Diary.If you feel the food is effecting your mood, please get in touch below.[contact_bank form_id="2" form_title="show" form_description="show"][/contact_bank]

REFERENCES

Lerner et. al, The GUT microbiome feelings of the brain: A perspective for non-microbioligists, Microrganisims, 2017, 5, 66 pg. 1-24