What is Your Gut Trying to Tell You?
We have all become a little snack-happy at a party, eaten too much cake and a few too many wines, and had to loosen our belt to make room for the food baby. However, if you feel and look bloated regularly without overindulging, your gut microbiome be trying to tell you something!
A healthy gut microbiome is a flourishing and diverse ecosystem containing a vast array of beneficial bacteria and microorganisms, with minimal opportunistic or challenging “bad” bacteria. When the microbiome is balanced, you can create and absorb important vitamins and minerals, your immune system functions optimally, and you can clear waste products effectively (yes, I mean poo!). However, if your gut microbiome is a little (or a very) out of balance, life and your belt buckle may be quite uncomfortable.
Gut Bacteria Out of Balance
An imbalance in your gut microbiome is known as ‘dysbiosis’, which is a fancy way of saying that the bacteria in our gut is out of balance and/or good bacteria is reduced. Dysbiosis disrupts the healthy functioning of our digestive system, leading to a plethora of uncomfortable symptoms, including constipation, diarrhoea, digestive pain, bloating, nutritional deficiencies, or even a compromised immune system.[1]
What causes it? High intake of processed foods, inadequate fibrous foods such as fruit and vegetables, frequent antibiotic use, a lack of exercise, high stress or hormonal imbalance.
Dysbiosis and bloating have also been linked with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). SIBO is an infection in which bacteria that usually live in the large bowel reproduce in large numbers and migrate to the small intestine, somewhere they shouldn’t be.[2] This can cause excessive bloating, flatulence, burping, reflux and digestive pain.[3],[4] If you suffer from a digestive disorder or simply have bloating or inconsistent bowel motions, you could have an imbalance in your gut microbiome that needs addressing.
Meet the Methanogens
If you have dysbiosis, ‘methanogens’ may be lurking and residing in your digestive tract. These bacteria release methane gas as they break down fibre from your food, which can cause bloating, sluggish digestion, slow transit time, constipation, flatulence and overall pain and discomfort. As excess methane production relates to chronic constipation, it may be worth finding out if methanogens are making you feel a bit clogged up.
Bad Bugs Take You For A Ride
By disrupting your internal gut microbiome, dysbiosis can create an environment where disease-causing organisms can grow and flourish. We pick up little gut hitchhikers in the way of potentially harmful bacteria and yeasts in our day to day activities. If our gut microbiome is fighting fit, it can kill off and dispose of these critters very effectively, however, if our gut microbiome is out of balance, disease-causing bugs can take over and have a party!
Can you trace your digestive issues back to a nasty bout of gastro or even Bali belly? Lingering symptoms can include bloating, bouts of nausea, digestive pain, loose bowels, constipation (or both), brain fog and even changes to our weight. Even after an infection is identified and successfully treated, dysbiosis can persist, leaving you vulnerable to further infection.
There are multiple reasons why you could be experiencing bloating, digestive pain, recurrent infections, or changes to our bowel habits, so how do you find out what’s going on in your gut? The best way is to test! 😊
Introducing the Metabiome™ Test
Based on cutting-edge science, the Metabiome™ stool test uses innovative, accurate and comprehensive testing methods to provide you with an in-depth understanding of your gut microbiome. It also measures how well your microbiome can function to keep you healthy, for example by helping you create vitamins and minerals and digest your food.
The test can identify all the microorganisms living in your gut, good and bad, showing you the types and amounts of beneficial bugs and the functions they are able to perform for you. It also measures the type and number of potentially harmful microorganisms and bacteria (including methanogens) in your gut, and how they may lead to your bloating, constipation or other digestive symptoms. Once we have the ‘why’, we can begin to address the cause of your issue and improve your symptoms.
If you’re curious to know how your gut measures up, the Metabiome™ test also scores your microbiome out of 100, based on 11 key signs of a healthy microbiome. The closer your score is to 100, the happier your gut microbiome is, and the greater your potential for abundant health.
The stool sample is easily collected in the comfort of your own home and can be mailed in the supplied reply-paid envelope. There is no awkward, tiny sample jar; all that’s needed is a swab from your toilet paper after wiping. It couldn’t be easier!
It’s Best to Test
If your skinny jeans have not seen the light of day for a while and your microbiome is yelling at you with symptoms of bloating, discomfort, pain, changes in bowel habits, recurrent infections, weight changes and gas and belching, dysbiosis may be the cause. The results of the Metabiome™ test can help you bring balance back to your gut microbiome and reduce those uncomfortable gut symptoms. Make an appointment with Tiaan today to access this simple test and get the answers we need to get your gut healthy again!
[1] Cao H, Liu X, An Y, Zhou G, Liu Y, Xu M, et al. Dysbiosis contributes to chronic constipation development via regulation of serotonin transporter in the intestine. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 4;7(1):10322. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-10835-8.
[2] Triantafyllou K, Chang C, Pimentel M. Methanogens, methane and gastrointestinal motility. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014 Jan;20(1):31-40. doi: 10.5056/jnm.2014.20.1.31.
[3]Manabe N, Wong BS, Camilleri M, Burton D, McKinzie S, Zinsmeister AR. Lower functional gastrointestinal disorders: evidence of abnormal colonic transit in a 287 patient cohort. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2010 Mar;22(3):293-e82. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2982.2009.01442.x.
[4] Bohm M, Siwiec RM, Wo JM. Diagnosis and management of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Nutr Clin Pract. 2013 Jun;28(3):289-99. doi: 10.1177/0884533613485882.
