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Flora in Gut - What is it?
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May 10, 2013, 6:23:50 PM5/10/13
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Flora in Gut
The term, “flora in gut” has been used many times on this website.
It’s about time you guys learned exactly what gut flora is.
Your digestive system holds more than a trillion microorganisms. All
of these microorganisms work together to help the body function
correctly and is commonly referred to as gut flora, or intestinal
flora. In short, gut flora is a friendly bacteria that can help our
bodies in many different ways. We would have a hard time surviving
without this friendly bacteria. There are more than 400 species that
make up the good and bad bacteria within the gut. If you were to
weigh all of this bacteria, it would weigh a little over 4 lbs, or
2kg! Below are a few functions provided by intestinal flora.
Functions of Gut Flora
Intestinal flora helps your body carry out many functions such as:
Absorbing nutrients (Aiding digestion.)
Helps support the immune system. Gut flora is like an antibiotic.
(More on this later.)
Helps fight disease causing microorganisms by restoring balance.
Producing B and K2 vitamins.
Maintaining proper levels of vile acid (Too much bile can be toxic to
the cells of the liver and the intestines.)
Producing metabolites.
Helping your body to excrete inorganic substances, such as mercury and
lead.
Helping metabolize many medicines.
Unhealthy Gut Flora can be Bad News
When your gut flora isn’t healthy, a number or problems may occur. An
unhealthy gut flora happens when there are more bad microorganisms
than good. Once this happens, it’s an open invitation for more bad
bacteria and toxins to enter the body. This can lead to the infamous
“leaky gut syndrome”. Leaky gut syndrome is caused by an excess of
bad bacteria (unhealthy flora) “leaking” out of the digestive system
into the blood stream. This can cause many gastrointestinal problems
such as excessive gas, cramps and excessive bloating.
An Unhealthy Gut Can Cause the Following:
Cancer
Crohns Disease
IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome)
Osteoarthritis
Multiple Sclerosis
Chronic Fatigue
Constipation
Weight gain
Urinary issues
It has also been studied that an unhealthy gut flora can cause some
mental health issues as well. Depression, autism, anxiety and ADHD
are a few examples. Did you know that your gut produces more
serotonin (the “feel good” horimone) than your brain does? It
certainly makes sense that an unhealthy flora can cause mental health
issues.
Antibiotics Can Cause Unhealthy Gut Flora
The use of antibiotics has increased considerably in the last 10-15
years. Overuse of antibiotics can cause an entirely new set of
problems. Excessive use of antibiotics can actually destroy the
healthy flora of the gut. Many of my readers are on a daily
antibiotic regimen for their frequent urinary tract infections.
Digestive problems are the most common complaint from people that take
a lot of antibiotics. This is because the antibiotics are interfering
with the natural intestinal flora. The other most common complaint is
that the antibiotics stop working. This happens because antibiotics
become resistant if taken in excess. This is an entirely different
topic in itself.
An unhealthy gut flora can also be caused by a bad diet and excessive
stress.
How to Get a Healthy Flora
Obviously, stop taking all of those antibiotics. There are better
ways to stop urinary tract infections and you can find many articles
on this site about it.
Eat fermented foods. Fermented foods are foods such as: yogurt,
olives, pickles, cheese and wine.
Limit sugar consumption.
Reduce animal protein consumption.
Start taking a probiotic supplement.
It’s very important to look after your digestive tract. Many health
problems, both major and minor, can be avoided by having a healthy
intestinal flora. Don’t forget your probiotics and avoid antibiotics
as much as possible. I hope everyone now has a better understanding
of the “flora in gut” term that is often used on this site.
Related Articles
What is Escherichia coli?
Parts of the Urinary System
What is a Urinary Tract Infection?
Get the Healthy Urinary Tract You Crave
Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16819463
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1503548/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12182739
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Intestinal_Microflora_and_Antibiotic_Resistance
--
Flora in Gut - What is it? UrinaryTractInfection101
http://urinarytractinfection101.com/gut-flora/flora-in-gut/
The term, “flora in gut” has been used many times on this website.
It’s about time you guys learned exactly what gut flora is.
Your digestive system holds more than a trillion microorganisms. All
of these microorganisms work together to help the body function
correctly and is commonly referred to as gut flora, or intestinal
flora. In short, gut flora is a friendly bacteria that can help our
bodies in many different ways. We would have a hard time surviving
without this friendly bacteria. There are more than 400 species that
make up the good and bad bacteria within the gut. If you were to
weigh all of this bacteria, it would weigh a little over 4 lbs, or
2kg! Below are a few functions provided by intestinal flora.
Functions of Gut Flora
Intestinal flora helps your body carry out many functions such as:
Absorbing nutrients (Aiding digestion.)
Helps support the immune system. Gut flora is like an antibiotic.
Helps fight disease causing microorganisms by restoring balance.
Producing B and K2 vitamins.
Maintaining proper levels of vile acid (Too much bile can be toxic to
the cells of the liver and the intestines.)
Producing metabolites.
Helping your body to excrete inorganic substances, such as mercury and
lead.
Helping metabolize many medicines.
Unhealthy Gut Flora can be Bad News
When your gut flora isn’t healthy, a number or problems may occur. An
unhealthy gut flora happens when there are more bad microorganisms
than good. Once this happens, it’s an open invitation for more bad
bacteria and toxins to enter the body. This can lead to the infamous
“leaky gut syndrome”. Leaky gut syndrome is caused by an excess of
bad bacteria (unhealthy flora) “leaking” out of the digestive system
into the blood stream. This can cause many gastrointestinal problems
such as excessive gas, cramps and excessive bloating.
An Unhealthy Gut Can Cause the Following:
Cancer
Crohns Disease
IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome)
Osteoarthritis
Multiple Sclerosis
Chronic Fatigue
Constipation
Weight gain
Urinary issues
It has also been studied that an unhealthy gut flora can cause some
mental health issues as well. Depression, autism, anxiety and ADHD
are a few examples. Did you know that your gut produces more
serotonin (the “feel good” horimone) than your brain does? It
certainly makes sense that an unhealthy flora can cause mental health
issues.
Antibiotics Can Cause Unhealthy Gut Flora
The use of antibiotics has increased considerably in the last 10-15
years. Overuse of antibiotics can cause an entirely new set of
problems. Excessive use of antibiotics can actually destroy the
healthy flora of the gut. Many of my readers are on a daily
antibiotic regimen for their frequent urinary tract infections.
Digestive problems are the most common complaint from people that take
a lot of antibiotics. This is because the antibiotics are interfering
with the natural intestinal flora. The other most common complaint is
that the antibiotics stop working. This happens because antibiotics
become resistant if taken in excess. This is an entirely different
topic in itself.
An unhealthy gut flora can also be caused by a bad diet and excessive
stress.
How to Get a Healthy Flora
Obviously, stop taking all of those antibiotics. There are better
ways to stop urinary tract infections and you can find many articles
on this site about it.
Eat fermented foods. Fermented foods are foods such as: yogurt,
olives, pickles, cheese and wine.
Limit sugar consumption.
Reduce animal protein consumption.
Start taking a probiotic supplement.
It’s very important to look after your digestive tract. Many health
problems, both major and minor, can be avoided by having a healthy
intestinal flora. Don’t forget your probiotics and avoid antibiotics
as much as possible. I hope everyone now has a better understanding
of the “flora in gut” term that is often used on this site.
Related Articles
What is Escherichia coli?
Parts of the Urinary System
What is a Urinary Tract Infection?
Get the Healthy Urinary Tract You Crave
Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16819463
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1503548/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12182739
http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Intestinal_Microflora_and_Antibiotic_Resistance
--
Flora in Gut - What is it? UrinaryTractInfection101
http://urinarytractinfection101.com/gut-flora/flora-in-gut/
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