Gut Bacteria: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Mention the word “Bacteria” and most people associate it with sickness and disease.  Yet the fact of the matter is that if it were not for bacteria, we would not be able to function.  Believe it or not, everyone of us carries in our gut around 1,000 species of bacteria.  They do everything from help us digest food, to regulating blood sugar, to keeping our heart healthy.  In fact, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that a person’s health is in large part determined by the health of their body’s gut bacteria.

The Microbiome and Me

Our skin, gut, and organs support a range of bacterial colonies that work like little factories to perform complex chemical interactions that are vital to the functioning of the body as a whole.  These communities of symbiotic, pathogenic microorganisms are referred to as the microbiome.  Everything from your nose to your toes harbors bacteria.  The trillions of bacteria supported by the body don’t take up much space since each one is much smaller than a human cell.  If you took all the bacteria in an adult’s body and balled it up, its total weight would be less than 3 pounds.

The funny thing is that something so small should have such a large effect on health.  In fact, these organisms are like alien invaders, since when humans are in the womb, they are literally, bacteria-free.   Our first bacteria find their way to us at birth by our mother. The manner by which we are born introduces the first bacteria we receive.   

After that, and for the rest of our lives, we have a relationship with bacteria that waxes and wanes due to environmental factors.  Everything we eat, everywhere we go and how we deal with sickness and health determines the overall wellbeing of our microbial companions.  In turn, everything from obesity and diabetes, to ulcers, psoriasis, and even heart disease is intimately connected from the cradle to the grave to our microbiome.

Good Bacteria

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Most people realize that there are good and bad bacteria.  But those in the know recognize that there this is too simplistic a term.  Many times our health doesn’t just come down to the kinds of bacteria we harbor but is the result of a complex balancing act between them.  For instance, H pylori, a type of bacteria that lives in the stomach and has been known to increase the risk for ulcers, is also associated with a reduction in the incidence of acid reflux and asthma. 

The problem is that even some good bacteria can turn bad, particularly if they are helped along.  One of the biggest insults to our microbiome can come from an overreliance on antibiotics.  While antibiotics can help us when we are ill, many times the cure can almost be as bad as the sickness, since most antibiotics don’t discriminate between good and bad bacteria.  Even worse, today there are antibiotics in everything from household cleaners to soap and food.  Livestock that we eat are regularly dosed with antibiotics.  There is a growing body of evidence that connects the indiscriminate intake of antibiotics when we are well with the overall reduction in the effectiveness of our microbiome.

Bad Bacteria

While it’s true that there are certain kinds of bad bacteria, like E Coli, the truth of the matter is that we all have E. coli in our intestinal tract.  The real source of many of the problems that plague us are caused by an imbalance of the bacteria in the stomach and intestinal tract.  The reasons for this are many, including everything from relying on a High-sugar, high-fat diet, to an overreliance on antibiotics.

For more than half a century, it’s been known that feeding antibiotics to farm animals enhances the animal’s ability to gain weight.  What’s “good” for farm animals isn’t necessarily good for people, since there is a direct correlation between a reduced exposure to microorganisms and an increased incidence of obesity and autoimmune diseases.  There is also a growing body of evidence that childhood viral and bacterial exposure affect the development of Type 1 diabetes.

The Ugly Truth about Gut Bacteria

The ugly truth is that we not only need gut bacteria, but we need to feed them as well.  Studies have shown that beneficial bacteria need to consume prebiotics that are found in high fiber foods.  High-sugar, high-fat diets, like those typically found in the US, are the preferred snack food of bad bacteria.  While a radical change in diet is one solution, when you realize that less than 3% of Americans eat the recommended amount of daily fiber, this is neither the best nor the only solution.

Image courtesy of MicrobeFiber.com

Soluble dietary fiber supplements are a practical solution to the problem, provided that you avoid those that are adulterated with fillers or sweeteners such as Aspartame.  All dietary fiber is not created equal.  Many brands of fiber employ a chemical process to separate the fiber from the host vegetables.  Some also rely on genetically modified organisms (GMO) as their source.  This process imparts a bitter taste to the finished product, requiring the addition of a sweetener to make it palatable.  Since bad bacteria that live in the gut feeds on sugars, the last thing you want to do is encourage their growth.  Therefore, you need to rely on fiber supplements that are chemical and sweetener-free.  While they may cost a little more, the end result is a product that is better for you and the good gut flora you're trying to help.  

Don’t confuse prebiotics with probiotics.  Prebiotics are designed to nourish a healthy gut flora.  Probiotics are intended to reintroduce bacteria to a digestive tract that has been depleted of beneficial bacteria.  Commonly caused by broad-spectrum antibiotics, the symptoms of a depleted digestive tract include everything from bad breath and bloating to persistent diarrhea. You may even be feeling tired and get sick too often because of a gut flora imbalance. 

The bottom line is you want to keep feeding your body with healthy food. However, you also can't ignore feeding your good bacteria buddies the prebiotic fiber it needs as well.  The benefits of a healthy microbiome are good digestion, a stronger immune system, more energy and a host of other benefits. It's like having your cake and eating it too.

Alex White, MD is the Clinical Research Director of MicrobeFiber™.