Since we have lived in symbiosis with certain bacteria from the beginning of time, we are downright dependent on their existence in and on us. This mainly concerns the oral flora, the intestinal and vaginal flora as well as the flora on the skin. If this bacterial flora changes in an undesirable way, this is referred to as dysbiosis.
Good and bad bacteria
Microorganisms are often divided into good and bad: those microorganisms that bring us and our health a noticeable advantage, such as lactic acid bacteria (lactobacteria) or bifidobacteria, are called good and friendly.
Evil or pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms, on the other hand, are held responsible for malaise and illness, e.g. the putrefactive bacteria (e.g. E. coli).
Dysbiosis and disease: an inseparable team
And indeed: if you compare the intestinal flora of a healthy person with that of a sick person, you quickly realize that there is usually a clear difference here.
While the friendly intestinal bacteria predominate in the former, the bad or pathogenic bacteria often dominate in the sick. Illness is practically impossible without dysbiosis and so there are usually two of them.
Yes, it is often not even possible to be overweight without dysbiosis. Because we know that overweight people have a different intestinal flora than people of normal weight.
Who came first: dysbiosis or disease?
As always, the question now is who came first: the dysbiosis that led to the disease or the disease that automatically led to a dysbiosis?
Truth be told, the intestinal flora, the vaginal flora or the flora of the skin does not lose their natural balance out of the blue. So what is the cause of dysbiosis and thus a disease?
Cause of dysbiosis
Each bacterial species has very specific expectations of its environment and habitat.
Just as a fish thrives far better in water than in the desert, just as a frog loves a warm marshland better than the polar sea, and just as a snake’s lifespan would be extremely limited if it were to feed on cereal, there are different strains of bacteria with very different preferences and requirements.
Some bacteria love a high pH value, others a low one. Some like an oxygen-rich environment, others an oxygen-poor one. Some like fibre-rich food, and others love protein-rich food. Depending on the environment in your intestines, in your vagina or on your skin, one or the other bacteria will predominate there.
But who is responsible for your personal physical environment? You yourself, of course.
Your personal way of life and diet leads to a certain milieu and there – depending on what is available (pH value, oxygen content, food, etc.) – either predominantly good or bad bacteria develop.
Emergency of dysbiosis
In the case of dysbiosis, the friendly bacteria (e.g. lactobacteria and bifidobacteria) retreat in favour of the harmful putrefactive bacteria. The milieu no longer appeals to the former. You don’t feel good anymore.
Since the friendly bacteria live in symbiosis with us, so we are dependent on them and their work, their disappearance automatically has a negative effect on our well-being.
But we don’t just get sick because the friendly bacteria get less, but also because we now have to contend with the presence of harmful E. coli bacteria and their toxic excretions.
While the good bacteria do many important things for us, e.g. support digestion, strengthen the immune system, protect the intestinal mucosa, protect against pathogens or toxins, etc., E. coli and other harmful bacterial strains produce a number of toxic degradation products.
These degradation products put a strain on the organism. At the same time, the positive effects of good bacteria are missing. This unfavourable combination can now contribute to a wide variety of diseases, strengthen existing diseases or prevent them from being cured.
The intestinal mucosa becomes permeable
If dysbiosis persists for weeks or months, the intestinal mucosa changes. Normally, the intestinal mucosa is permeable to important nutrients and micronutrients, but it should be impermeable to undigested particles or toxins.
In the case of the so-called leaky gut syndrome, however, the intestinal walls suddenly become permeable due to the dysbiosis that harmful or insufficiently digested particles can also pass through and enter the bloodstream and from there into the tissues and organs.
There is now a chronic poisoning of the entire metabolism, which in turn can result in allergies, food intolerance and chronic inflammatory processes ( 1 ) of the tissue.
The latter is the prerequisite for many chronic diseases, ranging from rheumatism and arteriosclerosis to diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
Dysbiosis toxins poison the body
If too many harmful and waste products get into the body system, they are deposited in the tissue fluid between the individual cells, among other things.
Here, a distinction is usually made between what is allowed into the cell and what should be discharged from the cell. However, if the space between cells is full of waste, healthy metabolic processes are impaired.
The cells can no longer be adequately supplied with vital building blocks and pollutants remain in the cells at the same time and can no longer be fully discharged. A gradual poisoning process takes its course.
The kidneys and the liver, as our main detoxification organs, have to do extra work and are often severely overwhelmed.
The result of this is a further weakening of the entire metabolism and the immune system. Not least because the liver, for example, is not only responsible for detoxifying a chronically poisoned body, but also has many other tasks. Ultimately, however, she can no longer perceive this due to her excessive commitment to detoxification.
The body has to set priorities. He can no longer take care of everything that is necessary and neglects some areas. A dysbiosis can therefore have extremely far-reaching and usually completely underestimated consequences.
Yes, almost every physical problem can point to dysbiosis and is a sign to finally take action to remedy the dysbiosis. However, in order to know how to get rid of dysbiosis, one must first understand why it arose in the first place.
Dysbiosis caused by antibiotics
Dysbiosis can be triggered or promoted by many different factors.
However, a particularly great danger for the intestinal and vaginal flora and thus for our health lies in the antibiotics that are often used today ( 2 ).
Antibiotic therapies are designed to kill bacteria – all of them, good and bad.
It doesn’t matter whether your antibiotic therapy is to curb a dental history, a sinus infection or a bladder infection. In any case, the intestinal flora has to believe in it – at least to some extent.
So if you (have to) take antibiotics, you automatically change the composition of your intestinal and vaginal flora.
Unfortunately, since the bacteria that are unfavourable to us, regenerate and resettle much faster than, for example, lactobacteria, antibiotic therapy only rarely does not lead to a dysbiosis
Nine other triggers for a dysbiosis
However, antibiotics are not the only cause of dysbiosis. Many other factors in daily life – which we have already presented here – can destroy the balanced composition of the intestinal, skin and vaginal flora.
These include e.g.
- the birth control pill and other hormone preparations
- In addition to the antibiotics mentioned, many other drugs
- Chlorine in tap water
- Fluorides in salt and toothpaste (particularly harmful to oral flora )
- chronic stress ( 3 )
- a diet high in sugar and fat and at the same time low in vital substances
- a mineral deficiency
- artificial food additives or even
- Pesticide residues in conventionally produced food.
In addition to largely avoiding these risk factors (as far as possible), a targeted build-up of the intestinal flora can remedy dysbiosis.
The intestinal flora test – do you have dysbiosis?
In particular, after or during antibiotic therapy, it should be considered to build up the intestinal flora in order not to become a victim of the negative side effects of a dysbiosis.
Unfortunately, after the prescription of an antibiotic or other drugs that are harmful to the intestinal flora, the development of the intestinal flora is still far too rarely thought of.
You can use an intestinal flora test to find out whether you have dysbiosis and whether the intestinal flora needs to be built up. It doesn’t even require a doctor’s visit. You can order the test kit online Microba – microbiome testing and send the required stool sample to the specified laboratory. After a few days, you will receive the analysis result by email at home.
Structure of the intestinal flora
The intestinal flora structure now consists of two large areas:
- From an at least temporary change in diet, since an acceptable intestinal environment for friendly intestinal bacteria can only be created with a healthy alkaline-excessive diet.
- From taking high-quality probiotics ( 4 ). Probiotics are preparations or foods that contain a particularly large number of beneficial bacterial strains.
Point 2 is implemented as follows:
The intestinal environment is first prepared and optimized with a liquid probiotic (e.g. Probioform). It provides both the first lactic acid bacteria and the right food for them.
In addition, it provides natural vitamins, minerals, trace elements and a variety of antioxidant secondary plant substances.
With all these ingredients, the liquid probiotic can improve the intestinal environment, accelerate the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa, help eliminate toxins, regulate digestion and prepare the intestine for the arrival of beneficial intestinal bacteria.
The intestinal flora is then built up with a capsule probiotic (e.g. Floratrex).
Probiotics of this type deliver a large number of living bacterial cultures in gastric juice-resistant capsules, which, due to the gastric-juice-resistant capsules, actually arrive 100 percent alive in the intestine – and some of them do not perish in the stomach acid.
Make sure that the probiotic you choose contains not only the usual Lactobacillus and Bifido strains, but also other important bacterial strains e.g. Lactobacillus reuteri (for dental health and especially for expectant and breastfeeding mothers) and Lactobacillus helveticus (protects against harmful bacteria and bladder infections, vaginal thrush and candida infections).
In this way, your intestinal flora receives the required variety of basic probiotics and can now develop into a balanced and healthy intestinal flora that can protect you from diseases of almost all kinds. The risk of dysbiosis is averted.