WHAT IS GUT DYSBIOSIS?

Gut dysbiosis — this topic is the motherlode.  It’s one of the two core (in my opinion) reasons for the explosion of chronic childhood illnesses we see today.

Gut Dysbiosis:  A Common Link Among the Epidemic of Children’s Chronic Illnesses

First, let’s discuss the numbers behind this epidemic:  How many kids did you know when you were growing up that had autism, ADHD, acid reflux, allergies, asthma, developmental delays and/or mental health issues? 

I knew of only ONE child with any one of these in the whole time I went to school from elementary school to high school.  Now that I am a mom, I can tell you that it’s the rare child who does NOT have any chronic illnesses.  The statistics for today’s kids are staggering:

• 1 in 6 African-American children has asthma; 1 of every 8 children has it
• 1 in 5 children has allergic eczema
• 2-3 out of every 5 children have hay fever
• 1 in 3 children has a food intolerance; 1 in 12 under the age of 4 has a true food allergy
• 1 in 80 children has celiac disease
• 1 in 10 children is diagnosed with ADHD
• 1 in 50 children has autism
• 1 in 30 kids has severe mood dysregulation, such as bipolar disorder
• 1 of every 30 kids has depression
• 1 in 100 children has obsessive/compulsive disorder

Having any one of these conditions is “the new normal”.

And guess what?  All of these illnesses are related.  At their core, each and every one of these children with these illnesses has gut dysbiosis.

Beth Lambert and Victoria Kobliner, our non-profit’s founders, wrote about it in their recent book, “A Compromised Generation:  The Epidemic of Chronic Illnesses in America’s Children”.

Dr. Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth also wrote about it in their book, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics:  Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies:  The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders”.

I highly recommend both of these books, and I regularly lend them out to parents of chronically ill children.  I find that Beth Lambert’s book is better for explaining why this epidemic is happening while Dr. Bock’s book is better at explaining what to do if your child has a chronic illness.

Here’s a tip:  even if your child doesn’t have one of the “4-A disorders” but does have developmental delays, sensory processing disorder, chronic ear infections, digestive problems and/or mental health issues, he or she can still benefit from these books because, as I said, at their root, these kids have gut dysbiosis.

What Is Gut Dysbiosis?

So what is gut dysbiosis?  It’s where the balance of flora in the intestine is tipped towards having more “bad” bacteria, yeasts and parasites than “good”.  Many things can cause gut dysbiosis, among them:

• Inheriting it from your mother because she had gut dysbiosis when she gave birth to you
• Inheriting it from your mother because she received antibiotics while she was in labor with you
• Taking antibiotics
• Taking birth-control pills
• Taking cortisone or other anti-inflammatory drugs
• Drinking chlorinated water
• Using anti-bacterial soap or sanitizer
• Eating added sugar or even sweeteners such as honey
• Eating processed foods such as breads, cereals, crackers, cookies, pastries, cakes and candy because they essentially break down into sugar and/or have high levels of added sugar
• Eating too many fruits
• Eating too much high-glycemic fruit such as tropical fruits (bananas, mangos, pineapples, etc.) and dried fruits.  Dried fruits, like raisins and dates, have very high concentrations of sugar
• Eating vinegar and vinegar-brined foods
• Eating non-organic meats from animals that have been given antibiotics (remember, you eat what they eat)

The simplest way for me to think of gut dysbiosis is that it generally is caused by chronic and/or systemic yeast (usually candida albicans) overgrowth.

Yeast loves to eat sugar, so anything that breaks down too easily into sugar feeds the yeast and can cause it to grow to an unhealthy proportion.

Also, anything that kills off bacteria (such as antibiotics, chlorinated water and anti-inflammatory drugs) causes collateral damage by killing all the “good” bacteria, too.

Why Is Gut Dysbiosis Bad?

Why is gut dysbiosis such a bad thing?  It causes immune dysfunction.  Did you know that 70% of your immune system is actually in your gut?  If your gut isn’t working properly, neither is your immune system.

All of those pounds of flora, good and bad, in your gut are communicating with the immune-system cells in your gut and telling them whether or not to turn on certain genetic switches.

If you have the wrong kind of flora (bad bacteria, yeast overgrowth or parasitic invasion) telling your genes what to do, you’re going to end up in bad health.  It’s like having your kids hang out with the wrong crowd; you know they’re going to end up in trouble.

Dysbiosis can lead to a weakened immune system, which can make your body more hospitable to parasites and infectious invasion.

I should mention here that, in its proper proportion, Candida albicans is actually a helpful yeast because it aids in digestion and the absorption of nutrients.

It’s just that when it grows out of control that it can cause problems such as ear and sinus infections, yeast infections, fatigue, brain fog, and mood swings.

It can also cause a leaky gut because the yeast overgrowth props open the walls of the intestine, letting out undigested food.

This creates inflammation throughout the body in the form of allergies, arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, fatigue and brain fog.

In the case of children (and adults!) with autism and ADHD, the undigested proteins gluten and casein travel through the bloodstream into the brain and cause a morphine-like effect.

That’s why when foods containing them (wheat, barley, rye, gluten-contaminated oats, and dairy) are removed from their diets, many children are able to focus and communicate more clearly; it’s almost as if they were on drugs before.

People with asthma, allergies, eczema, and other auto-immune diseases might also reduce inflammation throughout their bodies by removing gluten- and casein-containing foods.  Some people have allergic reactions to other foods, such as corn, soy and eggs, and do well by trying an elimination/challenge diet to see if symptoms improve.

Gut dysbiosis can also cause mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive/compulsive disorder.

This may not make much sense to you until you understand that a lot of serotonin (the neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy) is produced in the gut.

So, again, when the gut’s function is impaired, such as by gut dysbiosis, it’s going to affect whether or not you feel good.  Vicki Kobliner, co-author of “A Compromised Generation” and a registered dietitian, recommends a trial period of cutting out gluten completely for those with mental health issues to see if its avoidance helps.

To save you the trouble of looking up the symptoms of gut dysbiosis on our Epidemic Answers’ website, I’ve swiped the list and pasted it here for your perusal.  See if you or your children have any of these symptoms:

Signs of Possible Gut Dysbiosis

Signs of gut dysbiosis:

• One or two red cheeks after eating
• Red or hot ears after eating
• Chronic runny nose or cough
• Chronic mouth breathing
• Recurrent ear infections
• Chronic or recurrent sinus infections
• Chronic or recurrent strep infections
• Periodic Fever Syndrome
• Patches of red, dry, scaly skin (eczema) on face, hands, elbows, knees or other parts of the skin
• Frequent diaper rashes in babies, especially red rings around the anus or redness of the vaginal area
• Cradle cap or excessive scaling and dandruff on the scalp
• Thinning hair or hairloss
• Cavities and excessive tartar, or bad breath despite proper dental hygiene
• Frequent day-time accidents in an already potty-trained child
• Nighttime bedwetting well into the grade school years
• Nocturia, frequent waking to go to the bathroom
• Dark circles or bags surrounding the eyes, “droopy” eyes
• Excessive drooling in children too old to drool
• Colic, excessive crying or irritability in babies
• Frequent temper tantrums (multiple times a day)
• Frequent crying, sadness, anger (multiple times a day)
• Esophageal reflux, babies who chronically ‘spit up’ or regurgitate after eating
• White coating on the tongue
• Chronic thrush infections
• Unusual fingernail or toenail formation
• Frequent loose stools, diarrhea
• Undigested food found routinely in stools
• Constipation, infrequent stooling, (only going once every few days, or straining with a bowel movement)
• Excessive gas, flatulence
• Chronically discolored stools: white, yellow, or black.
• Floating stools, or dry stools (“rabbit pellets”)
• “Tummy aches”
• Distended “pot belly”
• Persistent toe-walking (always walking on tip-toes)
• Delays in crawling, walking, talking
• Large motor delays—difficulties completing age-appropriate physical tasks (e.g., jumping or climbing)
• Sideways glancing—looking out of the sides of the eyes instead of making direct eye contact
• Sensory-defensiveness: covering the ears from everyday sounds like vacuum cleaners or telephone rings; shielding the eyes from bright lights; sensitivity or revulsion to common smells; avoidance of certain textures like sand, wetness, certain fabrics; over sensitivity or emotional reaction to tags in clothing, seams in socks, hairbrushing; avoidance of kisses, hugs, or other forms of affection
• Sensory-seeking behaviors: always looking to “crash” into people, objects
• Pressure-seeking behavior:  trying to push the belly against objects, the floor, tables
• Head-banging
• Tongue hanging out of the mouth
• Failure to thrive, growth delays
• Arm flapping
• Low muscle tone
• Extreme or abnormal fatigue
• Difficulty waking
• Excessive sweating (night or daytime) or inability to regulate temperature
• Excessive hyperactivity
• Chronically swollen lymph nodes
• Obsessive or compulsive type behaviors—constant hoarding of toys, possessions
• Lining up toys, or other repetitive behaviors
• Persistent aggressive behavior
• Persistent non-compliant or oppositional behavior
• Tics (verbal or physical)
• Recurrent urinary tract infections
• Chronic vaginal infections
• Chronic athletes foot, ring worm or other fungal skin infections

My older son had a far longer list of these symptoms than my younger one:  recurrent ear infections, eczema, cradle cap, allergic shiners, frequent temper tantrums, acid reflux, constipation, a delay in walking (he was TWENTY months old!), large motor delays, sensory defensiveness, failure to thrive, low muscle tone, and extreme fatigue.

My younger son had a shorter list:  eczema, bloody diaper rashes, acid reflux, and a delay in walking (he was 16 months old).

I didn’t even start to realize until my older son was 4 years old and my younger son was 2 what was going on with them.