Gut Health - The Master Switch
The bacteria that live in your colon (about 90 trillion of them) are a master switch that regulates your health. There is a saying in Functional Medicine that old age and death begin in the colon. At a time when the majority of our senior citizens end up with diverticular disease (herniations of the digestive tract), the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis test from Genova Diagnostics is one of the most beneficial lab tests you can do.
The Gold Standard in Stool Tests
This advanced stool test tells you the following:
Is your pancreas working well enough to help you digest your foods?
Do you have any trouble digesting fats? (This will affect your cholesterol, Vitamin D, E, A, K and Omega 3 fatty acid levels, which will in turn affect your mood, brain and general wellbeing).
Do you have signs of inflammatory gut disease?
Do you have signs of gut infection?
Do you have signs of upper fermenting gut? (This is where bugs get into the upper gut and ferment your food instead of you digesting it - the bugs will obviously need to be encouraged to vacate their warm and cosy home!)
Can you get rid of toxins efficiently when you poo or are they just being sent back up to your overworked liver? (Toxins include heavy metals, viruses, bacteria, parasites, spent hormones and more).
Do you have signs of ‘leaky gut’? If so, you may have ‘leaky brain’ too. A previous Newsletter deals with the topic of the ‘inflamed brain.’
What bacteria make up the majority of your personal gut microbiome? Are there more good guys than bad guys?
Do you have enough of the substances in your gut that do the daily housekeeping and also help to keep cancer cells away?
Is your colon infected with parasites, bacteria or yeasts? These play a critical role in chronic illness and cancer. If present, the stool test provides a panel of both conventional and natural antimicrobial medications shown to inhibit your particular infections.
Akkermansia muciniphila
I want to talk about a particular set of gut bacteria found on this stool test - Akkermansia muciniphila. Low levels are linked to poor health, diabetes type 2, insulin resistance, inflammation, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, obesity and leaky gut.
The gut lining sandwich
If you are healthy, your gut wall has a lining. You are born without one but mother’s milk contains a production kit of Immunoglobulin A and the necessary bacteria to build it after birth. Your gut wall and gut lining form a sandwich in which infections are detected and at least 70% of your immune response occurs. On your inner gut lining is a layer of mucous. Akkermansia muciniphila lives there growing its colony numbers if conditions are correct.
The gut lining sandwich prevents microbes, viruses, parasites and other undesirables from crossing into your bloodstream and triggering inflammation which could then trick your immune system into attacking its own tissues (autoimmune conditions). Loss of this good bacteria equals increase in infections. That is why taking a probiotic pill alone is unlikely to fix the mess.
Akkermansia - a controller of gut health
Why is it worth restoring your Akermansia muciniphila?
It improves the barrier between your gut and bloodstream.
It helps lower obesity and improve insulin response.
It helps your weight remain stable via better blood sugar control.
In the medical literature, higher levels are linked to better outcomes with cancer therapies.
Levels decline with age; that is why it is called the anti-aging bacterium.
Whenever I see low levels of Akkermansia in the Genova stool test, I know we are looking at a potentially leaky gut and compromised gut (and possibly brain) immunity. The way forward means eating the right fibre and foods to increase the mucous layer and using the right bacteria and gut superfood to stimulate Akkermansia growth.
If you would like to find out more about your gut health and doing the Genova stool test, please email me on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com or ring on 07836 552936.