Showing posts with label Mercury Toxicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercury Toxicity. Show all posts

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Immunoprotection of Bifidobacteria and Vaccine Injury: The Biological Plausibility of Microbial Predisposition, By Keith Bell (Green Med Info)

Source



Earlier I had posted a science-driven presentation by Dr Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D. on Natural Immunity and Vaccination. She reviewed the literature (scanty) on the efficacy of herd immunity and the fallacies of protection, specifically how mothers are not conferring full and complete immunity against rare, but devastating whooping cough and measles to their newborns when breastfeeding. This is not ancestral and may have consequences. Additionally she reviewed the potentials of vaccine injury, including gut dysbiosis and multiple food allergies (peanut, gluten, dairy).


Green Med Info just published an article written by the knowledgable and brilliant student of the gut, Mr Keith Bell: Vaccine Injury: The Biological Plausibility of Microbial Predisposition

Page 1 (GREEN MED INFO)

You may not have heard the news due to media censorship of the vaccine-autism debate, but apparently childhood vaccines can and do cause autism. Last month, a CDC Senior Scientist issued an apologetic press release admitting data omission from a 2004 study.  The ditched data suggested African American boys are at increased risk of autism when given the MMR vaccine.

CDC's Director of Immunization Safety, co-author of the fraudulent 2004 study, has also admittedvaccines can result in autism.  Moreover, autism is listed as side effect in the DTaP vaccinepackage insert.

Brian Hooker received the CDC confession directly from Senior Scientist, William Thompson. Hooker reanalyzed the data and found a 2.4x increased risk of autism in African American boys. The CDC states a lack of biological plausibility, but there's plenty.
Why would certain children be vulnerable to autism or any vaccine injury such as tic and seizure disorders? What makes them different from others who somehow escape injury?
First let's address gender inequality. Boys are up to five times more likely than girls to become autistic, perhaps because estrogen is crucial to immune response. Girls are primed at birth. But why African American boys? How tragic that over ten years ago the CDC decided this wasn't important enough to study further. How many African American boys have been damaged?

Other populations at risk of autism by vaccination include Koreans, Somali immigrants, perhaps much of Africa and Caucasians, too. Somali immigrants of Minneapolis and Sweden suffer high rates of autism when there is no word for "autism" in Somalia. In Sweden, they call it "Swedish disease."

Everyone on Earth is vulnerable to vaccine damage, but some populations appear especially at risk. These groups are different than others based on generations of dietary habits resulting in the underlying beauty of diversity: microbial predisposition. Their flora is naturally different!

Scientists have found gut microbiota play an important role in how well vaccines are absorbed. Imbalanced flora leads to vaccine failure. In sanitation-challenged, toxic nations such as Pakistan, for example, the polio vaccine can be ineffective due to compromised guts known asenvironmental enteropathy. How ironic that if we made sanitation and toxic pollution a priority, we could also reduce vaccination and its risk of injury. Instead, children suffer malabsorption syndrome misdiagnosed as malnutrition. They can't properly absorb nutrients or vaccines. Meanwhile, less than 2% of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation budget goes toward improving sanitation; the lion's share toward vaccination in concert with major pharmaceuticals andGAVI. The United Nations, UNICEF and the World Bank promote wastewater treatment without any priority on the real solution of dry toilet technology.

One of the differences is reduced or absent bifidobacteria.


According to a Bangladeshi microbiota study published last month, poor vaccine efficacy is associated with systemic inflammation due to gut dysbiosis. Bifidobacteria were found a key factor in improving vaccine responsiveness. There are many known strains of bifidobacteria, some considered better than others. Bifidobacteria levels in the USA vary widely among individuals. Studies report much lower levels of bifidobacteria in children with autism.

Vaccine scientists are focused on improving vaccine absorption, promoting probiotic adjuvants. Bifidobacteria appear to have a leading role as future adjuvant.  But this work may also reveal a mechanism of vaccine injury: lack of an important species. Bifidobacteria are known to attenuatesevere intestinal inflammation. One study found their numbers naturally multiply in magnesium deficiency to calm inflammation.
Many Africans are missing bifidobacteria. And so are Koreans where autism rates were founddouble those in the USA. The traditional diet of these populations doesn't include dairy, which feeds bifidobacteria. It should be noted not all Africans are reduced or absent in bifidobacteria. Onestudy found bifidobacteria far more dominant in Malawian than Finnish infants while another studyfinds eightfold autism increases in Finland. Another vulnerable group appears to be vegans and vegetarians, known significantly reduced in bifidobacteria.

Breastfeeding is another important clue about bifidobacteria and autism avoidance. Breast milk is known to contain 700 types of bacteria with bifidobacteria the star of the show. Gerber includes bifidobacteria in their infant formula for good reason as "they make up 80–90% of the total intestinal flora of breastfed infants." Several studies indicate breastfeeding deters autism. What's not commonly recognized is how microbes both produce and stimulate release of fatty acids in breast milk crucial to brain development. These lipids include endocannabinoids now making waves in the epilepsy community (seizure is a common feature in autism).

A new study reinforces what's known about the global C-section epidemic and neurodevelopmental problems including autism. A third of women give birth by C-section in the USA, exceeded by other nations such as China and Brazil. C-section is known to result indifferences in infant intestinal flora, but what are the actual differences and how might this relate to potential for vaccine injury? This group of scientists found significantly lower bifidobacteria counts in C-section babies than in vaginally delivered infants. The bifidobacteria, however, are thought to originate in the mother's intestines.


Page 2 (GREEN MED INFO)

Are girls higher in bifidobacteria than boys? Might this be another way girls escape autism? Recent studies reveal another way to view gender differences. Men and women can eat the same diet, but have distinctly different gut microbiota.
In the Hazda people of Africa, bifidobacteria is absent and so is dairy, however, some forms of resistant starch and inulin may also feed bifidobacteria. The Hazda microbiome is more diverse, so they don't require bifidobacteria. Other microbes are doing the job for their healthy human hosts, but perhaps not if confronted with vaccination.
Then again, the Hazda immune system may be better able to withstand vaccination than African Americans. The immune system is reliant on flora balance where gut dysbiosis, such as high clostridia, and low bifidobacteria counts may predispose a newborn toward vaccine injury. Alternatively, high clostridia counts known in autism may be the result of vaccination. Vaccines may lead to such imbalances, similar to antibiotics known to cause C. difficile infections.

The fact is there are still no studies about how any of the childhood vaccines affect flora balance. Why not? Does anyone fear the results? Solving this mystery may require crowdfunding. There are many complexities to be unraveled. How are mercury and aluminum adjuvants affecting flora? How might vaccine-induced immune responses affect flora balance?

There are a sparse few studies approaching the subject such as this 2004 study from China showing significantly increased gram-negative bacteria caused by the cholera vaccine, not a good thing. This 2013 typhoid vaccine study states:
"However, to date, no comprehensive studies have been undertaken to examine the gastrointestinal microbiota in relation to vaccine administration and if there is a discernible alteration in the community following vaccine administration."
How would a shift in flora or absent bifidobacteria lead to autism? This falls under the category of gut-brain phenomenon and probably begins in the womb. Dozens of peer-reviewed studies impudently state colonization begins at birth, a fallacy without evidence akin to believing Earth is flat. The new paradigm points toward a fetal gastrointestinal tract teeming with life, developing long before the fetal brain, even driving brain development with polyunsaturated fatty acids of microbial origin. The maternal microbiome shifts toward a diabetic state in the third trimester while the fetal brain triples in weight.

Children are born colonized and then vaccinated within 12 hours of birth per cruel CDC schedule without any understanding of how this affects flora balance. The gut-brain connection is a two-way street where what happens in the gut may lead to an inflammatory reaction in the brain.Bifidobacteria may be a factor in helping to avoid this reaction. Indeed, probiotics of many types have been tested alongside vaccines to improve vaccine response because it's known microbiotainfluence immune response. Might probiotics also help to avoid extreme immune response resulting in autism? Too many parents of autistic children have witnessed the arched back and high-pitched scream of their infants post-vaccination, a condition signaling brain inflammation.

I suspect bifidobacteria will become biomarkers to help avoid vaccine injuries. Every child would have microbial DNA (PCR) stool testing to determine flora balance prior to vaccination. If bifidobacteria are low or absent, this may serve as warning not to vaccinate. This applies to all children because everyone is at risk. Children may be born compromised with imbalanced flora where vaccines add insult to injury.

We should begin the process of reducing CDC vaccine protocol, beginning the protocol much later in life to allow the immune system, reliant on flora, time to develop. This would reduce vaccine injuries while improving vaccine effectiveness. Or, we can choose not to vaccinate and concentrate on improving innate immunity. Many believe our natural immunity is waning due to vaccination, so we're seeing a comeback of childhood diseases such as measles and mumps.

Either way, we need to reduce heartbreaking injuries as well as consider the subtle, insidious possibility of widespread flora shift in the wrong direction. We're already seeing mysterious childhood type-1 diabetes and obesity epidemics along with eating disorders such as anorexia in very young children. Half our children suffer chronic disease, an unacceptable situation where everyone is vulnerable based on flora balance.
Florida Congressman, Bill Posey, is investigating CDC fraud amid an incestuous relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. Contact your Congressman to ask support for Posey's congressional hearings to learn more about extent of damage. The CDC "whistleblower" may receive immunityfrom prosecution so that underlying truth may finally be revealed, just as microbial genetic testing is taking us toward a new understanding of our place in the environment. 

Keith Bell is a 25 year veteran of the recycling industry with interest in sanitation and health. During the 1980s, he was a UNICEF radio spokesperson in Chicago for the annual release of State of the World's Children Report. He’s particularly interested in gut-brain connection including gut-origin of seizure, underdiagnosed in epilepsy. Sanitation is Sanity poster 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Dr Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D. - Natural Immunity and Vaccination





Dr Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D. - Natural Immunity and Vaccination

Ukrainian-born immunologist, Dr Obukhanych PhD is the author of Vaccine Illusion: How Vaccination Compromises Our Natural Immunity and What We Can Do to Regain Our Health. In her book, she presents a view on vaccination that is radically different from mainstream theories
Dr Tetyana Obukhanych, has studied immunology in has studied immunology in some of the world's most prestigious medical institutions. She earned her PhD in Immunology at the Rockefeller University in New York and did postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. and Stanford University in California.

She does talks for mom groups, practitioners and WAPF groups. I just saw her in SF on Sunday. She's absolutely wonderful and super brilliantly sharp!

Her view on the science is clear, concise and complete. Her intention is to illuminate the science, not perpetuate the public health fears. Facts v. fiction. The goal of the talk is to review: the facts, the theories, the choices.

"Facts without theory are nonsense. And theories without facts are b*llsh*t."
--Dr Obukhanych's favorite stat professor at Stanford



In her latest talk, she discusses some immunoprotective strategies and their mechanisms in health:
--vitamin C
--vitamin A (her favorite is WAPF supported, fermented CLO, cod liver oil)
--vitamin D
--probiotics
--raw dairy, cream, raw eggs
--breastmilk as a shield for the baby and why (AHS14 The first paleo food: Breastmilk and it's alive! Speaker: Dr Goscienski MD)


Saturday, November 9, 2013

How To Cure SIBO, Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth: Dr. BG's 7-Steps Paleo* Gastro IQ SIBO Protocol

Credit: Shaping the (auto)immune response in the gut: the role of intestinal immune
regulation in the prevention of type 1 diabetes
[RS fiber + NSP fiber + SBO probiotic] versus [SAD + antibiotics + parasites/pathogen enteric infections]



Dr. BG's 7-Steps Paleo* Gastro IQ SIBO Protocol

HOW TO CURE SIBO, SMALL BOWEL INTESTINAL OVERGROWTH


1. Fermented veggies made the ancient way with organic dirt-covered vegetables, ex. kraut, kvass, kim chee, kefir, etc. Read Sandor Katz. [read post]

2. Ancient heirloom potatoes, tubers, roots that are low glycemic index (or high if good insulin sensitivity) and ancient heirloom grains, legumes, lentils/dal that are low glycemic index (or high if good insulin sensitivity), prepared the ancient way (soaked, fermented, etc)  [read post]

3. Soil-based probiotic 1-2 daily if not severely immune compromised (Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium butyricum, Bifidobacteria longum BB536, Lactobacillus plantarum, etc)  [read post]

4. Three versions of 'bionic fiber' to heal the gut depending what your baseline composition  [read post]

  • VERSION A:  Inulin 1-2 TBS + Psyllium (if not allergic) 1 TBS + high ORAC green powder to taste (I like Amazing Grass, LOL) in 2 cups water
  • VERSION B [the 'FAT BURNING' BIONIC VERSION]:  Inulin 1-2 TBS + Acacia Gum 1 TBS + high ORAC green powder in 2 cups water

If no conditions that are contraindicated (see below 5 situations):
VERSION C:  Inulin 1 TBS + Psyllium (if not allergic) 1 TBS + Acacia Gum 1 TBS  + high ORAC green powder in 2 cups of plenty water [+ 1 to 3 tsp variable fiber]

5. Exercise low-moderate intensity one hour daily continuously (10,000 steps) to move the gut/peristalsis and overcome broken myenteric musculo-neuro junctions  [read post]

6. Avoid allergenic foods (corn, soy, gluten/wheat, dairy, nuts, egg whites, etc). Avoid GMO products and livestock/poultry fed GMO crops (corn, soy, etc).  [read post]

7. Heal hormones and immunity -- take adrenal support, liver support, antioxidants etc (I use biocurcumin and berberine to combine with anti-microbials/anti-parasitics). Adrenal care is particularly imperative for those with reactive hypoglycemia and BG crashes when they go longer than 3-4 hours between meals.  [read post]

Optional
8. If the above fail, then you have more fastidious overgrowths and require 2-3 rounds of anti-parasitics/anti-microbials/anti-fungals.  See what worked for my family and I HERE.  If the above still does not fix SIBO, then consider mercury toxicity. Mercury saturates and kills microvilli in the small intestines and also disables enzymes including digestive enzymes.

(*hominids ate SGG small grass grains in the Paleo times fyi ~see Middle to Late Paleolithic: Neanderthals Consumed Grains and Legumes)



CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR POTATO STARCH (RS2, RAW STARCH):

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Why We Are Sick and Fat: Calories In (SUPERORGANISM) = Calories Out (MICROBIOTA) + Calories Out (HUMAN) + HEAT*Fluxxx

Gut Permeability = Why We Are Sick and Fat?
Photo credit: Gravitz. Nature, 2012.


Microbial Influence

We co-evolved with the microbes in our gut to escape pathogens, parasites, predation and starvation (emo, nutritional, mental, etc), whilst hunting for palatable food, prey and partners.  (Isn't your partner palatable?) Simultaneously we enjoy all benefits that our co-existing gut microanimalia provide -- digestion of indigestible fibers/resistant starches, butyrate/short-chain-fatty-acids, neuroendocrine modulation, boosted immunity and tolerance, to name only a few.  They weigh 1-2 kg in our daily feces, contribute to massive biofilms (slime communities) in our guts and sinuses, and line every interface where human interiors meet exteriors.  The microbiota are not a small forgotten organ any longer.

It has been realized for decades that 70-80% of human immune cells are in the GI system; I believe however a large proportion (70-80%??) of our total immune system IS the gut microbiota. The # of genes collectively in a microbiome are 150 times larger than the genome of their host human. Besides digestion and metabolism, our microbiota perform far more than we perhaps currently understand in cross-talking with the immune system, its maturation and role in homeostasis and energy balance.


Dysbiosis and Intestinal Permeability as Origins of Disease


Emerging data like the study reviewed here showing the rodent T1DM disease model was averted by the presence of a soil based microbial strain known as SFB (segmented filamentous bacteria; genus Arthromitus) confirm and highlight the vital role played by commensal gut species in our immune system. I find it notable that the hearty and robust spore-forming ones that originate from dirt sources are producing some of the most interesting scientific findings since we co-evolved with ancient dirt for millenia.

Since the vast majority of microbial fermentation occurs in the caecum, appendix, and remainder of the large colon in humans, our small intestines are nearly sterile and absent of bacteria and fungi except at the end (ileum) where commensal species take residence.  Studies on TH17, one of the important arms of the immune system, show that no TH17 cells will appear in the small intestines until commensal microbes inhabit the area. Germ-free rodents will miss an entire arm of the immune system until colonization with introduction of a SFB-containing commensals.



Toxic and Germ-free Fetuses, Babies, Children and Adults

The collective status of our guts pretty much reflects the status of our current macroecological niche for humans I think... massively insolvent, blatantly bereft of vision, and irrevocably impoverished.  In China I read everyday of villages blighted with river and ground water poisoning by illegal corporate dumping of industrial waste.  Post-modern towns are plaqued with leagues of cadium or arsenic poisoned children. Even locally in our neighborhood Pudong, Shanghai, lead toxicity was detected in many children living near manufacturing plants called Johnson Controls International Battery Inc.  In the USA, coal burning which provides 30-50% of current energy demands has tainted the air/water/soil and caused mercury and arsenic accumulation in marshes and wetlands and the flora and fauna that reside there. Birds no long sing, woo, mate or care for their young appropriately.  Mercury-toxic birds are literally the canaries in our toxic macroecological niche.  What about human canaries, our children?  I think epidemic rises in toxin related diseases are accurate and reliable reflections because toxins disrupt the intestines and microbiotia:
--AUTISM (1:50 currently compared with 15 years ago 1:10,000)
--CELIAC DISEASE (6.4-fold increase in 20 yrs, Scotland)?
--OBESITY AND METABOLIC DISEASES

Our hyper-hygiene and dirt-avoidance culture extends to the over utilization of potent broad spectrum antibiotics piled into the feed of poultry, pigs, cattle dairy/egg production and in modern conventional healthcare.  In the a new study by Stanford researchers, the mechanism for why pathogenic gut strains invade after a single course of antiobiotics has been illuminated.  Pathogenic strains C. diff and S. typhi are shown to take advantage of the abundant sialic acid and fucose sugars that are left after antibiotic extermination of 'good' commensal gut flora.  The researchers also report in a model where C. diff and S. typhi were genetically altered to fail to utilize sialic acid, expansion by the pathogens was impaired.




Modern Obesity: Inflammation, Intestinal Permeability
Modified: GREER, MORGUN, AND SHULZHENKO, 2013

Toxins Delete the Good Microflora, Stimulate the Bad Microflora

When I had toxicity from gluten, oral birth control, antibiotic overutilization, thimerosal vaccines (tetanus, annual flu, blah blah blah), titanium and mercury amalgams, I had no idea that each and every one of these factors promote pathogenic gut flora, vitamin B12 deficiency, and kill or inhibit beneficial 'good' gut flora.

 Did these toxic factors make me fat?  Absolutely.

It was not [CALORIES IN = CALORIES OUT].

Fermented Fiber Produces SCFA Which Activate Immunomodulating G-Protein Receptors (GPRs): In pubmed studies, each of the above toxic factors are highly linked to gut dysbiosis and obesity.  Stopping or eliminating each of the above eliminated subsequent inflammation and obesity for me (combined with Asian paleo + exercise).  Understanding the human superorganism anatomy and physiology gives pause to recognize the role the gut flora had in the ups/downs of my health over the decades.  Recall about ~10% of total energy expenditures are estimated to be supplied by hindgut fermentation that occurs in the caecum and colon (versus 20-30% for other omnivores).  Production of SCFA, small chain fatty acids (acetate, proprionate, butyrate), and other downstream metabolite byproducts (succinate) bind receptors known as FFA2/FFA3 and SUCNR1, respectively, that control and regulate inflammation (TNF, interleukins, NFkB) and immune function.  Metabolite sensing occurs through these G-protein receptors much like how omega-3 EPA+DHA bind 'omega-3 receptors' GPR120 and elicit their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating actions.  FFA2 (GPR41) receptors are found in enteroendocrine cells, adipocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils and pancreatic islets; and FFA3 (GPR43), enteroendocrine cells, pancreatic islets and sympathetic ganglia.

I believe these effects on GPRs design a metabolic flux which tunes metabolism UP and DOWN based on the messages that our food, movement, minds, and microbiota co-create.  My new formula for comprehending energy balance might be...


     Calories In       = Calories Out (MICROBIOTA) + Calories Out (HUMAN) + [HEAT]*FLUXXX
(SUPERORGANISM)

Main pathways of energy metabolism for dietary fats, fiber and carbohydrates
Fermentation of indigestible fiber and resistant starch to SCFA
Photo credit: Nature Reviews



Diabesity:  Recall pesticides are highly associated with Diabesity.... Coming to China actually forced our family to go as much as we can 100% organic and non-GMO (although all labels are dubious).  In the States, when my in-laws cooked for our family I didn't have control (eg they were too cheap to buy organic).  In the USA, the organic label is also dubious to me but for the most part it's way way way better than in China.


Recent research demonstrated that glyphosate (Round-Up Ready) allows growth of pathogens and kills the friendlies in studies of intestinal microecology in chickens.  EWP studies show babies and people's toxomes contain on average 200-300 known carcinogens, chemicals, heavy metals and pesticides. 100% of all participants (n=9) in the EWG #1 Commonweal Study had metabolites of organophosphate pesticides, and 55% -- organochlorine pesticides.   Do pesticides in our food and contaminating our water/soil disrupting our gut? I would say emphatically yes.  In China, Round Up Ready sweet corn is mega popular.  China imports that and millions of metric tons of GMO cotton, soy beans, corn, rapeseed and sugar beet.

For several years now, commercialized GM cotton, papaya, sweet pepper, tomato, poplar, and petunia have been grown without public awareness.  One journalist reports that 90% of China grown cotton is GMO cotton (2008).   The report also found 40 billion tons of soybeans were imported  in 2009.  GMO Soy likely goes into thousands of Chinese products here -- (rancid) cooking oil, animal/poultry/aquaculture feed, tofu, soy milk, soy sauce, etc. 40 BILLION TONS OF GMO. Asians love their soy OY OY OY... It's truly the land of sarcopenia and soy, no? Is this behind the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in China among children, adults and elderly alike?

Chinese companies offer a ton of Glyphosate (Round Up Ready)
Source: Alibaba


Horizontal Gene Transfer.  Does horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between DNA from consumed GMO corn and corn products to our gut microbiota occur? Another emphatic YES.  How do you reverse it if your microbiota is transformed? I wish I knew... Bacteria and fungi live in biofilms and exchange DNA within the matrix.  Like a meme gone viral.  Evidence for both DNA and lectin proteins from GMO Bt corn has been found in animals and humans that consume Bt corn. The DNA was found to survive and persist for a long time in the gut/rumen.

Photo credit: Heritage J. Nature, 2004.


I talked about Bt corn previously here: 50 Shades of F*ckd and Cancer.  Every pesticide corporation has a GMO Bt corn brand.  Bt is a lectin (like gluten) and disrupts intestinal epithelium in susceptible victims which can lead to gut dysbiosis and/or death.  It was very effective pesticide in the beginning.

Rootworms and other pests have rapidly shown field resistance to nearly every brand -- Syngenta's Agrisure and Monsatan's YieldGuard.  Dupont/Dow's Herculex has not as much, therefore Monsatan has reported they are planning to incorporate Herculex to synthesize TWO TOXINS into their new SmartStax corn -- in an attempt to overcome inherent field resistance. GMO is brilliant, no?

Unfortunately significant Bt lectin protein has been detected in fetus, pregnant women and non-pregnant women in already one clinical trial. Can we look forward to double the toxins next?  Can we afford to because we are kinda 50 Shades of F*ckd already...




Boobies and Breastmilk Microbiota

Symbionts Are Everywhere:  Our microvilli produce siliac acid and fucose (9- and 6-carbon sugars) at the tips for commensal gut flora to feast and graze on. I call it 'pharming the gut'.  Again, like much of life on earth -- hominids, insects, fish, frogs, mammals -- we have evolved with gut symbionts, encouraging them to take residence and producing incentives for their maintenance.  We should strive to avoid screwing our symbionts...

The baby-mother relationship is another example of the ultimate symbiosis.

Babies receive everything from mom -- life, love, heat, immunity (IgM), food, and water.  It's one of the most symbiotic relationships on earth outside of pair-bonded couples and tight knit families and communities. The baby is born sterile with no immune system, relying on mother's immunoglobulins to handle environmental viral or microbial assaults.  If advanced hominids and other mammals outsourced 70-80% of its immune system to gut microbiota, what does the timeline for acquisition of gut flora look like in babies?

Photo credit: Fernandez L et al, 2013.


Initially breastmilk was considered sterile but like many things in science, this was inaccurate. Colostrum contains over 700 live organisms (European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility: Gut Microbiota Worldwatch). Are these important? Why? Lysates of strains such as Lactobacillus and Bifodobacter have been shown to tighten up the intestinal tight junctions. Several strains in probiotics have been shown to be associated reduced mortality in NICU settings and against often fatal necrotizing enteric colitis.

Although babies are born with leaky guts to accomodate mothers' large proteins direct access into blood and lymph circulation  (immunoglobulins, IgM), they appear to get a lot of help from natural commensals to switch and develop intestinal impermeability.

Photo credit: Cabrera-Rubio et al, 2012.

Where does mammary microflora originate from? Some researchers hypothesize there is a special conduit that transfers gut flora to the mammary glands, an 'entero-mammary pathway'.  Lymph circulation? It is unknown and not entirely elucidated.  Researchers looked at microbiota in breast milk (at 0 mon/colostrum, 1mon and 6 months), different areas of the mother's body and compared flora between elective C-section and vaginal/non-elective C-sections. Breastmilk from C-section moms resembles mouth/oral and skin flora; whereas, breastmilk from moms who went through vaginal birth or some modicum of vaginal delivery that ended in non-elective C-section (that was me) showed flora that matched the gut and feces. Birth does something to make proper milk.  "The fact that the milk microbiome of mothers who gave birth by nonelective cesarean section had a normal microbial composition that was comparable to that of breast milk from mothers who delivered vaginally suggests that physiologic (eg, hormonal) changes produced in the mother during the labor process may influence the composition of the bacterial community."

Another finding from this study was 'Milk from obese mothers tended to contain a different and less diverse bacterial community compared with milk from normal weight mothers.'

Are Toxins + Early Post-Natal Gluten Exposure J*cking Us?  Gluten peptides also traverse and are dispensed to the baby during lactation from a gluten-eating moms.  Does this contribute to the gargantuan rise in celiac and autism?  Babies are born sterile but breastmilk has over 700 organisms to colonize and modulate intestinal permeability. If babies are born under circumstances where mom doesn't provide the needed commensal gut bacteria (overweight/obese mom (me, again), elective C-section, antibiotics at birth), it could be plausible IMHO that peptides like gluten in mother's milk will cross directly into the baby's blood circulation without the 'blockage' or junction tightening effect from missing commensals.  Gluten on its own also opens zonulin, further impairing, I suspect, a baby's gut permeability.

We may need commensal gut critters not only for immunity but also for chelation and elimination of modern, industrial heavy metals.  Studies show several soil-based bacteria microbes chelate and bind toxic metals.






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Sunday, September 15, 2013

My n=1 Pre- and Post-Microbiome, Digestion, SCFA, Fat Malabsorption, Pancreatic Insufficiency, Leanness F:B Ratio, and How I Healed SIBO and the Gut-HPA-Gonad Axis


Functional Lab Testing: GI Effects Stool Test (GI Fx)

There are several tests I think everyone should get if they are suffering from any chronic conditions, cancer, or inflammatory condition. One is the Metametrix/GDX GI Fx Stool test.  This is one of the most advanced tests that accurately, reliably and thoroughly evaluates the entire intestinal tract and the gut microbiota.

Using PCR sequencing on the 16S ribosome of microbial species and parasites, it accurately assesses both our microbiome (genetics) and those of any parasites.  The old 200-year technology of O&P x3 (ova and parasite) from 3 samplings of stool should be over; to achieve a positive identification, one must rely on the luck and fortune of the microbiologist viewing the smear on the slide to observe a parasite glide by or tiny ova like needles in a haystack.  I believe stool cultures are equally primitive technology and unreliable. Over 80-90% of stool microbes are obligate anaerobes and/or symbionts which are difficult or impossible to grow in culture or without their neighboring microbes necessary to sustain life.

***Read the Metametrix/GDX Interpretative Guide for the GI Fx Stool Test: HERE.




Example of a Super Super-Organism: B. Pottenger

My m=1 Microbiome: Data for Epimicrobiomics Thinkering

Brent Pottenger is not only hawwt, lean, muscular, sexxxy and smart... so is his poo.

Characteristics of excellent health and excellent poo:
(a) Pancreatic Enzyme Digestion:  Elastase 1, marker for pancreatic enzymes (greater than 300 = decent; greater than 500 or immeasurable = PALEO AWESOMENESS).  No deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, fat malabsorption, undigested plant fibers, undigested fats
(b) No microbial overgrowths detected. Stunning gradient of Bacteroides/Prevotella. Exceptionally robust Prevotella populations detected
(c) No yeast overgrowths detected
(d) No parasites, worms, flukes, protozoa or pathogenic overgrowths detected
(e) No gut inflammation, anti-gliadin sIgA (current gluten reactions) detected
(f) No excessive or missing SCFA (products of microbial fermentation -- both good and bad flora)
(g) Excellent adiposity ratio of Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes (leanness) and correlates with Mr.Pottenger's BF (~~ 7-9% I estimate).




Digestion, Fermentation 101

Here's a primer on the gastrointestinal tract, digestion and fore/hindgut fermentation in humans.   I co-lectured with Tim Gerstmar ND at the inaugural Ancestral Health Symposium in 2011 at UCLA.
Ironically, I was ill at AHS and suffering from chronic fatigue (CFS).  Leanness was difficult to achieve, brain fog massive, and immune tolerances extreme (gluten, dairy, fiber, FODMAPS). It had all started immediately after a titanium dental implant, lasting from 2010 until summer of 2012 when I had it removed.  Nothing worked (yes, I tried everything). Finally, last summer, all the titanium, mercury amalgams, and gold crowns were extracted, and almost within 10 minutes I lost 5 lbs of peripheral edema and gained clear headedness.  Gradually signs and symptoms of metal toxicity, adrenal dysregulation and gut dysbiosis mostly disappeared.  A few months ago, I started dreaming again. Off/on I've been lucky to have leanness but it wouldn't last long.  Gluten actually was no big issue for me after Paleo, but dairy/nut intolerances became very problematic causing ankle swelling, mild joint achiness, and bloating.

Follow up is based on the latest labs below and Dx: bacterial/amoeba overgrowth. Starting to feel already even better and digestion improved.  Here are snapshots of AFTER v. BEFORE treatment.



(a) Pancreatic Enzymes (SIBO)
In 2011, my gut was not digesting. Enzymes were not produced at either the brush border (microvilli/small intestine) or apparently secreted in adequate amounts by the pancreas. Why? Gut stress, immune dysregulation from both microbial overgrowth and metal toxicity/suppression. With undigested carbs, fermentation occurs producing volative SCFA (small chain fatty acids) where it's not supposed: the small intestine. Undigested fats are delivered to the large intestine causing sometimes greasy, floating stools. I never had this, but the GI Fx test was positive. Undigested proteins (vegetable, meat) ferment into volatile SCFA, polyamines and stinky compounds (sulfur groups are stinky, like rotten eggs). Together, these further damage the small intestinal mucosal surface and induces SIBO (small intestine bowel overgrowth). Good protective flora are lost and both good and pathogenic flora overgrow, in the wrong place. Undigested fats and plant fibers make it intact to the feces. After treatment (surgery, Hg removal, diet, exercise, lifestyle, supps), this imbalance all reversed.  See AFTER, 2013. No red zones.



(b) Microbial Overgrowth (SIBO, Caecum/Appendix, Large Colon)

Overgrowth of 'good' flora occurred: Clostridias, Fusobacteria, E.coli.  A spike in SCFA propionate increased correspondingly.  I lost good species -- carb-eating Bacteroides, Prevotella, and huge populations of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacter. In his NYT article on the gut microbiota, Michael Pollan talks about how he lost his brawny Prevotella spike and developed a 'creepy E.coli bloom' after only one round of oral antibiotics, HERE.  He appears to eat a metric ton of fermented foods, so no doubt he has regained his Prevotella by now.  I'm so grateful that my gut did!  In fact the little tube became enriched by most of what seemed to be lost --Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Prevotella, Lactobacillus --- except some Bifido.  Prevotella is considered one of the best ecological microbiome metrics for neurotypical and healthy guts. In a recent study of autistic v. neurotypical children, it was found that the main 'core' genus missing was Prevotella by B Kang and James B Adams, PLoS, 2013.  In the enterotypes of neuroatypical autistic children, Prevotella was entirely absent.  The researchers also noted that a gradient of both abundant Bacteroides and Prevotella appeared optimal. Prevotella is also one of the top 3 genera observed to line our GI tract from mouth to anus. Its primary role in the large intestines is digestion of human-indigestible plant polysaccharides from cellulose, xylan, glycan, resistant starch, pectin, plants, shoots/roots/tubers, fruits, legumes/lentils, seeds/nuts, and whole grains.   Children in Burkino Faso have the most stellar Prevotella spikes (53% of total B + F) on earth -- they eat little meat (or gluten grains) but obtain protein from both (1) consumption of termites and (2) I hypothesize... microbiota-N2-fixation (amino acid byproducts from air (N2) + cellulose fermentation... ??incl carnitine, etc) from Prevotella, Bacteroidetes and N2-fixing symbionts from the termite gut microbiota.

For more info, read Dr. Leo Galland: Intestinal Permeability, aka Leaky Gut.  Once gut imbalance occurs, SIBO can take over and wreak havoc. Recall the gut epithelial layer tis one single cell layer thick. Undigested food and enteric bacteria, yeasts and parasites can quickly breach a damaged gut-barrier and proceed straight into blood circulation.  They can translocate to other organs and induce food allergies (soy, corn, nuts, eggs, citrus, dairy, wheat, oats, etc).  When the immune system tries to eradicate these perceived invaders with antibodies, then auto-immune diseases unfold. Muscles/joints, body fat and organs start to dysfunction when the immune-complexes (antigen+antibody) junk up joints, receptors, tissues and blood/lymph vessels.


(c) Yeast/Fungi Overgrowth (SIBO, Caecum/Appendix, Large Colon)
Normal is 'zero' yeast. Except for Mr. Pottenger's, I've never seen a report where yeast is less than 2. NEVER.  (I've never seen parasite-free/overgrowth-free result either.)  I run the GI Fx on nearly every client. Everyone shows fungal overgrowth and  it's indicative of dysbiosis.  Yeast is opportunistic and quite literally a bugger.  For over one year, I was on oral fluconazole 1-2x/month (I h**te pharmaceuticals especially liver-damaging ones). Nothing else controlled the yeast and in fact I had to dose escalate for only marginal control. When I returned to the U.S. my sister introduced me to Natren, and with immense gratitude, it worked in 24hrs (despite titanium/mercury).  Later, Natren, Prescript Assist, FloraMend and FloraBalance all helped to restore balance and minimize out-of-control fungi and allowed me to 100% discontinue Rx fluconazole.




(d) Parasites Are Not Paleo (generally speaking)

Overgrowth of pathogens, parasites and worms do not cause problems for everyone when the gut is anti-fragile, robust and resilient.  In fact, these stressors can even improve gut health and stability by stimulating the immune system.

However for the great majority of individuals sadly this isn't the case in my clinical experience. Perhaps, people's toxome is too excessive. When parasites or pathogenic overgrowth are found in the context of dysbiosis symptoms, IMHO it is best to treat.  Test, not guess... Or treat empirically like you would treat a dog/cat/pet. There are many sources of parasites in the USA and third world countries (like China).  They are overlooked, underdiagnosed, and ultra prevalent. The CDC reports more than 60 million men, women and children carry the Toxoplasmo gondii parasite. Salads, fresh fruit and vegetables, pet dogs, pet cats, tap water, cash $$, electronics, work computers, open bodies of water, licking doorknobs, camping, etc. are all common sources of parasites.  Read Dr. Leo Galland: Parasites.

D*mn, can't get lean. Though I gradually appeared to regain health and hormones, I couldn't achieve leanness. Somewhere between 2010 and now, I picked up an amoeba growth (Endolimax nana, see above) and opportunistic bacteria Morganella morganii.  Both are relatively easy to treat with 2-3 rounds of combination botanicals which have anti-microbial/anti-parasitic/anti-candidal spectrums (berberine, wormwood/artemisinin, oregano oil, curcumin, black walnut, herbs/garlic/ginger/biopiperine, etc). Sometimes these overgrowths can be benign. I have no symptoms except inability to achieve desired leanness and mild (but annoying) residual food intolerances.  Being compromised by metal toxicity, CFS and adrenal exhaustion may also have been factors for the inability to 'crowd' out overgrowth. In countries, like South America, anti-parasitics are sold over-the-counter. Several excellent botanical formulations are at iherb, my favorite international farmacy: Para-Shield, Thorne Berberine-500, Curcumin +BiopiperineTricyline, Paradex, Scram, Vermi-Purge, Paracid Forte, etc. I've used Metagenics Parex before, but it appears no longer made in the US. Metagenics Candibactin-BR is also excellent but no longer at iherb.




(f) Gut Inflammation, Anti-Gliadin sIgA
Gut inflammation all normalized after treatment. I had been gluten-free for months prior to the initial GI Fx test but we had gone to France and Germany for Thanksgiving six months earlier and ate hordes-of-irresistible-gluten (e.g.buttery croissants). The positive anti-gliadin sIgA shows that the immune system was apparently still reacting. Depending on the person, antibodies may require 6-24 months or longer to clear.



(f) Volatile SCFA (products of microbial fermentation)
With gut dysbiosis, butyrate and SCFA were all disrupted and low.  Propionate spiked -- likely due to excessive fermentation in the small intestines by overgrowth of supposedly 'good' gut flora (Clostridias, Fuso and E coli).  After treatment, this trend flipped.  Butyrate and total SCFA were all up to upper-normal ranges. This indeed matches my overall health -- less food intolerances, better digestion, far less bloating/distention, improved sleep, resumption of REM/brain-dreaming, adrenal tolerance, good adrenal hormones, great gonadal hormones, regained ability to do endurance training.


(g) Adiposity Profile: Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio
Too much of either Firmicutes or Bacteroidetes is not ideal. Both help in extracting energy from chemical bonds in food. SCFA are metabolites of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes fermentation in the caecum/appendix and large intestine. Partly the way they work is that the SCFA end products bind to G-proteins (GPR41) to control inflammation, brain-gut-gonad axis (cortisol/heart rate/etc), immunity and fatness. Just as omega-3 EPA + DHA increase lean muscle, reduce body fat and improve insulin sensitivity and inflammation, SCFA appear to do the same. Approx 55/45 to 60/40 may appear ideal.




Urine Organic Acids, Oxidative Stress, Toxin Evaluation:  2013

The urine organic acids (ONE=optimal nutrition eval) confirms that the gut dysbiosis was not severe.  No yeast dysbiosis was detected outside of normal range (very happy about the lack of brain fog/aldehydes/mycotoxins, too). In fact, vitamins, minerals, adrenal function, mitochondrial energy production and fat burning were all decent or exceptional.  It did point out that I'm a little low on detox nutrients -- vitamin A, all the B vitamins (being COMT (+/-) heterozygous), tocopherols, glycine, glutamine, magnesium and zinc.

The O.N.E. shows toxins -- alpha-ketophenylacetic acid (from my #*$&@ iPhone cover, styrene, synthetic rubber, resins, polyesters (sports bras, workout outfits), plastics, Saran wrap) and a-hydroxyisobutyric acid (from MTBE, gasoline additive meant to help gas burn 'clean' now major contaminant in California drinking water despite banning in 2003). Apparently mod-high levels of both are being excreted in the urine (after having spent 2mon in Cali 'detoxing' LOL aha). These are endocrine disruptors and damage DNA.

My kids and I have the GSTT1 deletion (glutathione S-transferase T1), and do not detox many xenobiotics well. Studies are finding oxidative, DNA damaging, and hormonal effects with even low exposures of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, pollution, benzene, acrylonitrile (gloves, plastics)styrene, gasoline, mercury (thimerisol sensitization -- eye drops, vaccines), mercury (low birthweight babies), mercury (compromised urine detox-elimination), mercury in medical students (increased mercury body burden), and countless other chemicals/metals in GSTT1 null individuals.  This genotype is even linked to whacked gender ratios of their offspring when chemically exposed... Dr. Mark Hyman MD reports he has the GSTM1 deletion and its effects, here.




SIBO Treatment, Healing the Gut-Brain-HPAT-Gonad Axis, and Followup

How did this SIBO &!amp;#$@ mess get fixed? Functional medicine labs, diagnostics, and treatment provided all the tools that were needed to finally reclaim my prior health, leanness, and brain-gut-gonad axis.  I am thankful for the opportunities to interact with several practitioners, my brilliant sister 'M', functional medicine doctors, and WAPF leaders over the last few years -- some very briefly -- they gave me the insight that I needed.

The root cause and antecedent event was the titanium implant which appeared to trigger some immune compromised reaction. There are implant failures (not me -- purrrfect, excellent ossification) but not many test Ig-positive on traditional or functional testing (MELISA, Clifford) at this time. Clifford CCR testing showed reactions to all mercury amalgam and nickel, but nothing for gold or titanium. After it and all metal were removed, the typical integrative medicine strategies all worked -- probiotics, raw fermented vegetables, exercise (earlier too fatigued to do any workouts), naps, yoga, laughter/friends, spiritual support, digestive enzymes, omega-3, mag/zinc/minerals, adrenal adaptogens, adrenal protocols (carb+protein+fat, every 4 hrs, sea salt 1/4 tsp daily), pycnogenol, gut support (marshmallow, slippery elm), betonite clay, charcoal, ghee, organic lard, rainbow vegetables, pastured pork and egg yolks, frequent bone broths, etc.  For followup, I hope the next phase will yield further insights.



SHOW ME

Share and show me your GI Fx tests or integrative medicine lab testing results... I'd love to see it!