Quantum
HEALTH
Issue 11 April 2011
that “you don’t want to treat one disease and introduce another.” Still, the results so far are extremely encouraging and research is full speed ahead.
What’s Going on in Your Gut? There are several ways that researchers think gut bacteria are related to disease. For instance, with Parkinson’s there is evidence that bacteria or some other infectious agent may be escaping through the intestinal mucosal barrier, entering the central nervous system via the vagus nerve, and migrating from the lower brain stem into other regions of the brain and thus effecting the nervous system. They have preliminary evidence that in at least some Parkinson’s patients administering an antibiotic to kill off intestinal bacteria and then introducing healthy bacteria via a fecal transplant–yes, a fecal transplant; I’ll get to that in a moment–can restore the balance of flora in the intestines. The offshoot effect is the diminishing of symptoms or the remission of Parkinson’s. This may not be the only cause of Parkinson’s, researchers caution, but it appears to be one possible cause. Other diseases may be fuelled by a similar process.
Another way that gut flora can cause problems, especially autoimmune disorders, is that a colon infection may cause the release of antigens, which then circulate in the bloodstream, stimulating an immune response. An overly aggressive immune response can then trigger inflammation, which may in turn express as an autoimmune disease. The link between gut flora and autoimmune disease is becoming increasingly clear. As Kaser says, research is showing that “intestinal microbiota has a dramatic effect on
58 Quantum Health
[what] we currently consider as autoimmune disease.”
In terms of obesity, researchers at Washington University, in Missouri, have revealed that there are stark differences between the gut environment of obese and non-obese people. They found that microbes in the guts of obese people release nutrients from foods that are indigestible in slim people. In studies with mice, when these microbes were transplanted from obese mice into lean ones, the lean mice began to gain weight. Experiments to alter the digestive environment in obese people are about to begin. In one trial, microbes from stools from healthy people of normal weight will be introduced into the colon of obese people to try to reset the balance of their colon flora. It is hoped that such a fecal transplant, as it is called, will help restore balance to the obese individuals’ colons and that they will begin to process foods differently and shed pounds.
Diabetes is another illness that may spill some of its secrets to bacteria researchers. A Chinese research team, led by Wang Jun, is leading the way in exploring the link between the biosphere of the gut and the causes of type 1 diabetes. There may also be a bacterial link between obesity and diabetes. As reported by Reuters, Jun said, “There are four groups: obese diabetics, obese non-diabetics, lean diabetics and lean non- diabetics. And we found some interesting bugs related to each type of diabetes.” Researchers at the University of Florida announced in 2010 that they have discovered a robust link between the variety of flora found in children’s digestive tracts and their likelihood of developing type 1
www.quantumhealthmagazine.com
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