Gut Dysbiosis… Don’t Let the “Bad Guys” Get You


By Dr. Rudy Mueller T


hroughout our lives we have many different relationships; some are good and can foster growth, connection and bal- ance, some are bad and can cause us stress, harsh feelings


and imbalance, some we can choose like our friends and significant others and some we can’t choose like family. Relationships are all around us whether it is with people, with our environment, with pets or even with microbes.


One of the most, if not the most important relationships you


are involved in constantly, knowing or unknowingly, is that with the microbes that are on, in and around your body. The microbes consist of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungus/yeast.


This relationship begins when you are first born. Bacteria from


your mother will be passed to you through the birthing process and through breast milk. As you are exposed to the environment differ- ent microbes will begin to colonize in your digestive tract, on your skin, in your nasal passages and in your mouth. As we grow older we will continue to be exposed to more and more microbes, both good and bad. In fact our body has more bacteria then human cells and has more bacterial genes present then human genes.


Our body relies on these microbes for protection, digestion, production of nutrients, and to be in harmony with one another and with our immune system. We are in a very intimate relationship with these microbes and as is with any relationship it can bring bal- ance and connection or imbalance and stress.


Microbial Imbalance: Dysbiosis A common term utilized for the imbalance of microbes is


dysbiosis. Upon dissecting this term the prefix “dys-“ means bad or unbalanced and suffix “–biosis” means mode of life, combined to mean unbalanced life. Dysbiosis is an indication that the microbial population is unbalanced and therefore can be creating a disrup- tive relationship, with you the host and between your different microbes.


Dysbiosis can occur when we have “bad guys” present such as bad bacteria, yeast, parasite or virus. The microbes, which are meant to work in concert with one another and promote balance,


22 Essential Living Maine ~ March/April 2015


Where Can Dysbiosis Occur? Dysbiosis can occur in many different locations in, on and


around your body. The most discussed and probably the most researched up to this point has been dysbiosis occurring in the gastrointestinal tract. I want you, the reader, to not only understand that this can occur in the GI tract but also in other areas. I have provided a list of areas where dysbiosis can occur and in paren- thesis I have supplied some potential examples of some conditions that dysbiosis may contribute to based specifically on the location. Dysbiosis can occur along any mucosal membrane (Numbers 1-5) or in our tissue and environment.


when disrupted can promote imbalance and inflammation. This oc- curs when the protector of the body, the immune system, is stimu- lated due to the presences of bad guys and therefore triggers an inflammatory reaction geared to eradicate the offending infectious microbe. In some cases our immune system can handle the attack on its own and in other cases it may need some assistance from other microbes and/or medications or supplements. Either way this inflammatory reaction can contribute to numerous symptoms and disorders.


Immune System Dysfunction


Dysbiosis, unbalanced life, can be due to an infectious mi- crobe but it can also be due to a dysfunctional immune system. If the immune system is dysfunctional it can contribute to dysbiosis by mistakenly attacking the “good guys” thinking they are “bad guys”. This dysbiosis secondary to immune system dysfunction can be a contributing factor in many different conditions including psoriasis, eczema, fibromyalgia, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid or reactive arthritis and more. This is certainly not an all-inclusive list but it is important to note that when the immune system is not being fueled or properly managed it can mistake not only our own tissue as bad (auto-immune disease) but it can also mistake good microbes as bad and trigger an inflammatory response.


Dysbiosis can occur because of an imbalance of bad guys to good guys or it can occur because our protecting system mistakenly attacks the good guys thinking they’re bad.


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