The Bidirectional Gut-Brain/ Brain-Gut Axis New Findings: Neuro/Microbiota Colloquy and Holistic Healing
FEATURE
Jack Tips
Research points directly to a new foundational health process that is specifically germane to chiropractic, and a fortuitous opportunity to broaden the scope of practice to provide deeper, more lasting patient health benefits. It’s the bidirectional relationship between the intestinal microbiota (all microbial inhabitants) and the neural regulatory network1. This “gut-brain/brain-gut connection” means that bacteria have an enormous influence over what we think, do, and feel by communicating directly with the brain2, and the brain must accurately act upon that information.
The reciprocal handshake to the gut-brain axis is the “braingut connection,” whereby the brain regulates gastrointestinal activity, such as peristalsis (motility), housekeeper wave contractions (migrating motor complexes), and provided oversight on immunological and hormonal processes3. If this bidirectional colloquy becomes disorganized as a result of antibiotic use,
trauma repression, opiate/antidepressant side effects, brain inflammation, aging, or disuse, then that disconnect often manifests as loss of tissue function. Gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) aie examples.
At best, it seems that humans hold 51% of the “voting authority” and the microbes hold 49%, making them a hugely significant partner in human health. We have harnessed “bacteria power” for our chemical life energy—mitochondrial ATP (adenosine triphosphate)1. Further, microbes help choose our life-partners and decide when an infant should be weaned as well as when puberty occurs. It’s fair to say that microscopic life is a vastly important part of our human experience. The Human Genome Study has expanded the human genome to include the microbial microbiome (DNA/RNA) that lives in or on the human body. The collective genetic material now defines a human being.
^ ^ More than just casual conversation, the gut microbiome plays a determining role in the entire body’s inflammation set point that, when elevated, leads to chronicdegenerative and autoimmune disease as well as anxiety and depression. 5 5
Bidirectional Hotline Communications.
Microbes in the intestines talk directly with the brain, and the brain monitors and communicates directly with the intestinal microbial colonies. More than just casual conversation, the gut microbiome plays a determining role in the entire body’s inflammation set point that, when elevated, leads to chronicdegenerative and autoimmune disease as well as anxiety and depression5. The enteric nervous system connects to the brain via the vagus nerve and thus gastrointestinal health or dis-ease directly impacts and mediates anxiety and depression6, and “neuro-amnesia7” that results from chronic cell membrane inflammation.
Origins of Microbiome Mutation.
Current research points to multiple potential causes of intestinal inflammation. Antibiotics as remedial drugs, as well as those imbedded in commercial meat products, encourage mutation of microbial biofilms toward more virulent forms8. Genetically modified foods (85 to 90% of commercial corn and soy products contain unlabeled genetically modified chromosomes) impart inflammatory glyphosate9(Roundup) pesticide now being found in breast milk and infants’ bodies10. Further, glyphosate is being investigated for mutating intestinal microbes to manufacture pesticides in vivo as well as disrupting intestinal absorption of minerals and amino acids11.
Wheat, a massively hybridized grain, has become highly inflammatory due to the additional chromosomes that increase gluten, agglutinin, and other proteins12. Refined carbohydrates and sugars (high-fructose corn sweetener, agave nectar) as well as synthetic sweeteners (aspartame) are clearly linked to increasing inflammatory activity in the intestines and obesity throughout the body13. Alcohol sugars (xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, etc.) are disruptive of the oral and intestinal microbiota14. Processed foods and lack of dietary fibers likewise are linked to inflammation via alteration of the intestinal microbiome15.
Chr onic, subclinical inflammation due to an altered intestinal
microbiome causes leaky gut syndrome, which forces a constant immunological response to the molecules that errantly pass into the bloodstream16.
Noting the multitude of causes of an altered gut-microbiome, it’s no longer a question of if a person has leaky gut, but it’s a question of how much of their intestinal endothelium is damaged, and how many tight junctions are leaking. Leaky gut means more inflammation, impaired liver function, and less nutritional uptake—a double whammy for human health, chronic fatigue syndrome17, and chronic pain syndrome18.
The higher inflammation set point is supported by the gutbrain/nerve communications as well as physiological food particles, bacterial wastes, microbial DNA, and messenger molecules. Inflammatory cytokines released in the intestines cross the blood/brain barrier and set off glial cell inflammation19, and thus brain cell membrane inflammation reinforces the inflammatory set point by encouraging and condoning a more hyper immunological “DefCon” ambiance20. In February 2002, the cover article for Time magazine, “Inflammation: The Silent Killer,” brought the inflammatory basis of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer to the forefront of public awareness.
^ ^ Leaky gut means more inflammation, impaired liver function, and less nutritional uptake—a double whammy for human health, chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic pain syndrome J J
Immune responses often inflame the cell membranes— plasma, mitochondrial, and nuclear. When this happens, the cells (and organs) become dysfunctional because their hormone receptors don’t work well. Membrane inflammation is the real cause behind hormonal imbalances including insulin (the inflammatory basis for diabetes), and estrogen/progesterone/testosterone (the basis for premenstrual syndrome and troublesome menopause/ andropause), and thyroid dysrégulation concerns.
Inexpensive “Window-Peek” Lab Tests.
Available to clinicians is a $4, in-office/at-home urine test that measures cellular inflammation via the molecule, lipid peroxidase21. It’s very handy to show patients their potential level of cell membrane inflammation. Another inexpensive in-office/at-home test is a $35 dysbiosis test that measures hydrogen sulfide, a SIBO pathogen metabolite, in the urine, thus revealing a potential basis of inflammation and the need for intestinal microbiome rejuvenation22.
The intestinal microbiome imprints the body’s immunological and physiological systems shortly after birth, and
it continues to influence inflammation and cellular metabolism throughout life. The presence of pathogens and pathogenic biofilms in the intestines activates brain stem nuclei and becomes a basis of neurological, chronic-degenerative, and autoimmune concerns23. A simple-drawn conclusion is that we need to correct our intestinal microbiome health to improve our overall health. Actually, it’s imperative. A corollary to this is that we also must correct “neuro-amnesia” by improving brain performance. Chiropractic adjustment, neuroactivation techniques, and botanical nutrition provide a tandem approach that can help the body “correct the cause” rather than fall short into the trap of shortsighted, exogenously derived symptom-suppression methods.
Research demonstrates that improving the intestinal microbiome with probiotic therapy helps patients with irritable bowel syndrome24. Crohn’s disease is now regarded as a “disruption in the immunological accommodation of the intestinal microbiome,” and studies reveal differences in the microbiome DNA profile between patients with bowel disease and controls that have no disease25.
New research elevates the importance of the intestinal mi-
^ ^ Simply put, anything that affects the intestinal microbiome affects the whole body and mind, and anything that affects the body and mind, affects the microbiome. 5 J
crobiome’s influence in baseline human health26. This is particularly true of neurological health and thus is critically important for helping patients with neurological symptoms, and not just for brain concerns but also for joint inflammation, pain, disc, and spinal issues. The entire body is affected by an elevated inflammation set point via enteric-vagus-central-peripheral nervous systems’ influence over immunological responses.
Here we find validation and strengthening of the natural health “holistic” model where compartmentalization of symptoms is viewed as “limited thinking.” The premise of “anything that affects one part of the body, affects the whole person” becomes an obvious truth. The intestinal microbiome is actually an organ on par with the liver and brain27. Simply put, anything that affects the intestinal microbiome affects the whole body and mind, and anything that affects the body and mind, affects the microbiome. An example of that reciprocity occurs when the body releases stress hormones—the microbiome changes and becomes more inflammatory28. This further strengthens the bodymind connection and becomes the body-microbiome-mind connection. Simply put, influence one and you influence the other—that’s what “holistic” means.
Correction of an altered microbiome is more than tossing some probiotics down the hatch or eating some pasteurized commercial yogurt. It involves a strategy that accomplishes four things: 1) reduction of pathogenic species and their biofilms; 2) recolonization of beneficial species; 3) reinforcement of beneficial species and their biofilms with prebiotic fibers and probiotic species; and 4) assurance that the brain’s selfand body-regulatory processes are fully engaged and not experiencing neuro-amnesia.
Natural health is all about “correct the cause.” More causative than applying anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplements is microbiome and brain rejuvenation. Lowering the inflammatory set point, opening neuropathways, and freeing the body’s innate vitality to correct symptoms is the epitome of natural health practice.
References:
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2. Carpenter, Dr. Siri, That gut feeling, American Psychological Association, Sep 2012, Vol 43, No. 8, With a sophisticated neural network transmitting messages from trillions of bacteria, the brain in your gut exerts a powerful influence over the one in your head, new research suggests.
3. Collins SM, Bereik P. The relationship between intestinal microbiota and the central nervous system in normal gastrointestinal function and disease. Gastroenterology. 2009;136:2003-14.
4. Gray, Michael. Mitochondrial Evolution. Cold Spring Harbor
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7. Neuro-amnesia - the reduction or loss of a facet of the brain’s regulation of autonomic nerve function.
8. Whitehead WE, Palsson O, Jones KR. Systematic review of the comorbidity of irritable bowel syndrome with other disorders: What are the causes and implications? Gastroenterology. 2002;122:1140-56.
9. Mesnage, R.; Defarge, N.; Spirouxde Vendômois, J.; SéralinfGE. Major pesticides are more toxic to human cells than their declared active principles. BioMed Research International. 2014, 2014:179691. doi: 10.1155/2014/179691. Epub 2014 Feb 26.
10. Pusztai, Action Bioscience, American Institute of Biological Sciences. Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health?
11. Kurenbach, B; Marjoshi, D; Amabile-Cuevas, C; Ferguson, G; Godsoe, W; Gibson, P; Heinemann, J; Sublethal Exposure to Commercial Formulations of the Herbicides Dicamba, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid, and Glyphosate Cause Changes in Antibiotic Susceptibility inEscherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium; American Society for Microbiology doi: 10.1128/mBio.00009-1524 March 2015 mBio vol. 6 no. 2e00009-15
12. Wheat Belly, Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by Dr. William David, MD.
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Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes, A Meta Analysis; American Diabetes Association 2010, doi: 10.2337/dcl0-1079
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15. Kuo, S-M; The Interplay Between Fiber and the Intestinal Microbiome in the Inflammatory Response; Advances in Nutrition, An IntT Review Journal, doi: 10.3945/an.ll2.003046Adv Nutr. January 2013 Adv Nutr vol. 4: 16-28, 2013
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17. Rao AV, Bested AC, Beaulne TM et al. A randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled pilot study of a probiotic in emotional symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. Gut Pathog. 2009; 1:6.
18. Amaral FA, Sachs D, Costa VV et al. Commensal microbiota is fundamental for the development of inflammatory pain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008;105:2193-7.
19. Ek, M; Enbblom, D; Saha, S: Blomqvist, A; Jakobsson, PJ; Ericsson-Dahistrand, A; Inflammatory response: Pathway across the blood-brain barrier. Nature 410, 430-431 (22 March 2001) I doi: 10.1038/35068632
20. Tracey, K: The Inflammatory Reflex, Nature 420, 853-859, Dec, 2002 I doi: 10.1038/nature01321
21. More info at www.wellnesswiz.com (author does not receive compensation for this test)
22.Ibid.
23. Dobbs, RJ; Charlett, A; Dobbs, S; Weller, C; Ibrahim, M; Iguodala, O; Smee, C; Plant, JM; Lawson, A; Taylor, D’ Bjar-
nason, I; Leukocyte-subset counts in idiopathic parkinsonism provide clues to a pathogenic pathway involving small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. A surveillance study. J of Gut Pathogens 2012, 4:12 doi:10.1186/1757-4749-4-12
24. Verdu EF, Bereik P, Verma-Gandhu M et al. Specific probiotic therapy attenuates antibiotic induced visceral hypersensitivity in mice. Gut. 2006;55:182-90.
25. Fasano, Zonulin and Its Regulation of Intestinal Barrier Function: The Biological Door to Inflammation, Autoimmunity, and Cancer. American Physiological Society, Physiological Reviews, doi: 10. 1152/ physrev. 00003. 2008 Physiol Rev January 1, 2011 vol. 91
26. Wikoff WR, Anfora AT, Liu J et al. Metabolomics analysis reveals large effects of gut microflora on mammalian blood metabolites. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2009;106:3698-703.
27. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome, Nature 486, 207-214 (14 June 2012) doi: 10.1038/ nature 1123 4.
28. Freestone PP, Sandrini SM, Haigh RD et al. Microbial endocrinology: How stress influences susceptibility to infection. Trends Microbiol. 2008;16:55-64.
years clinical Wellness nutritionist of experience, Wiz Jack (New as Tips York), well [Phd, is as a a researcher, CCN], clinician registered Math author, 30 and developer of clinical programs that address the challenges of life in the twenty-first century His discourses on the intestinal microbiome are posted at
www. appleadaypress. com.
For more information, visitwww.welhiessMnz.com.
