Your trillions of ugly friends

The Microbiome in your body is approximately a 100-trillion strong

The microbiome consist of trillions of specific micro-organisms that are essential to ensure good health and the correct functioning of the human body. There are different microbiomes for the human body, plants, soil and more.

In the case of the human body, the 100-trillion or so micro-organisms are in- and on the body. If the micro-organisms in- and on our bodies are not functioning correctly, your body is not functioning correctly, non-communicable (chronic) diseases become part of your life and eventually – yes – you will die...

How these micro-organisms live, what they do, why and how they die, determines the state of our bodies – whether we are healthy or unhealthy. This microbiome have specific “metabolic and functional pathways” and functions.

When we have too little correct micro-organisms, we become unhealthy;

When we have an overgrowth of the wrong micro-organisms, we become unhealthy.

When we have enough of the correct micro-organisms in- and on our bodies, we will become healthier, since the microbiome pathways will function optimally.

Where are these ‘pathways’?

According to https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11234, [t]he most abundant of these ‘core’ pathways include the ribosome and translational machinery, nucleotide charging and ATP synthesis, and glycolysis, and reflect the basics of host-associated microbial life”. (in plain language the production of RNA, the energy cycle of the body, how energy is used and much, much more). Are these results in line with mouse study results? Not really. In an article reporting parallel studies on mice and humans (reported in 2018), it was found that there was a difference between mice microbiome and human microbiome.

This means that results from mouse-studies could be misleading if the results were extrapolated to humans. It also implies that many of the results and interpretation thereof used to direct decisions on human health may indeed be misleading or incorrect (https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)31102-4). Is this what happened when the taxes or levies on sugar were considered? Is this the type of research that will form part of the motivation and decision scheduled by the high level commission of the WHO and UN?

Can the microbiome improve our health?

Yes.

According to the Human Microbiome Project Consortium, “The diversity of microbes within a given body habitat can be defined as the number and abundance distribution of distinct types of organisms, which has been linked to several human diseases: low diversity in the gut to obesity and inflammatory bowel disease, for example, and high diversity in the vagina to bacterial vaginosis” (https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11234). The microbiome (microorganisms ‘working’ in the body) is found in most parts of the body, but predominantly in the intestinal tract. For more examples, access the slides by David N. Fredricks at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/129b/c80e0a8bc502c1054563aaf40b71339b0986.pdf

Prefer to watch a video? To know more about the microbiome and its influence on all chronic (non-communicable) diseases click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-8JEo_0bI and access the video by Conversation EDU. The latest thoughts on supplementation and its effect and detection in the body, can be found at https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)31102-4 .

The Intestinal microbiome and the food bolus (chewed and digested food leaving the stomach)

The intestinal micro-organisms are found from the uppermost part of the small intestine, and is more prevalent further along the intestinal tract, especially in the colon. In the intestine, the digested food (combined with all the required enzymes, hormones and other secretions at the correct acidity), is ready to travel through the intestine. It is from this point onward that the vitamins, minerals, sugars, moisture and more is readied and absorbed through villi (hair-like extensions of the inner wall of the intestine that absorb all nutrients sequentially), in the intestines (gut).

Although everything that is ingested usually move on through the intestinal tract, some components require special mention. It is essential in understanding the human intestinal microbiome and its importance in health and disease. Disease is not the consequence of one or two issues, but multiple ones. The solution to chronic disease and the curbing thereof is therefor also not simple – yet achievable. Where should we start?

We should start with the consequences

It is mentioned in more than one text that there should be more (of the correct or required) micro-organisms in the intestines (gut) than in the rest of the body. When the balance of these micro-organisms are disturbed, absorption will not be correct into the bloodstream (through diffusion and osmosis requiring specific minerals such as Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium and other chemicals or components to ensure permeability as required). The correct genes will not be activated, nutrients will not be absorbed correctly and most importantly, the signals going to the liver, brain and lungs will be incorrect and the biological clocks (circadian clocks) in the body will malfunction causing sleep disturbances, inadequate breathing, the incorrect oxygen-carbon dioxide transmittance in the brain and the blood-brain interface and more. Actually, a downward spiral and reduction in health occurs.

It is truly a case equated to ‘stacked dominoes that start to fall’, thus triggering a chain reaction of incredible proportions in the body. In every cell of our bodies the Mitochondria will not send the messages that allow the passage of vitamins and minerals (and glucose) into the cells that require them (also brain cells), disrupting the functioning of cells (damaging them). When this continues, the cells become inflamed or infected and this triggers the development of different non-communicable diseases depending on the part of the body where this inflammation occurs.

Do human organisms feel this taking place?

It is unlikely.

It can take years before the symptoms are observed and at this time it is unclear how the process (once it has reached such an advanced stage) can be terminated or reversed. For decades, research apparently focused on addressing symptoms, searching for cures and developing medication, rather than unraveling the causes and prevention of non-communicable (chronic) diseases. It is currently apparent, that specific nutrients, environmental conditions, psychological attitudes and more can play a very specific role in the outcome of non-communicable (chronic) diseases -- and in its correction or turnaround. Unfortunately, this is also a lengthy and complex discussion that will have to be addressed in a further document.

Looking at the human microbiome, the question is what can cause a disruption to this very important part of human survival? A few causes seem to be:

?         communicable diseases (viruses, bacteria),

?         antibiotics,

?         medication,

?         a lack of balance in the diet,

?         eliminating foods from the diet that can restore the balance (for e.g. Yogurt or Kefir, Naturally soured milk such as Amahewu or Buttermilk and more), or

?         taking too many supplements.

When the diet cannot allow for dairy products, some vegetables may assist (such as sauerkraut) and pre- and pro-biotic supplements can be taken in moderation, although they may be insufficient or too limited in variety causing overgrowth of the microbiome which is also unacceptable.

Just to emphasize the importance of the microbiome -- it is stated that some micro-organisms are found only in the intestines (gut). Think about it this way – the micro-organisms that survive in the intestine, do so anaerobically (without oxygen) at a very small acidity range, in moist, dark circumstances, in a substance that is traveling through the intestine at an optimal rate (if it travels too fast, the microbiome is ‘flushed out’), just to mention a few of the survival criteria.

It is therefore important to note that the brain, microbiome and liver play a very important role in the development of apparently any non-communicable (chronic) diseases.

Brain efficiency and disease is indeed linked to the gut.

The effect of sugar, individual ingredients or food categories, pales in comparison when the causes of non-communicable diseases are viewed in this manner. In fact, eliminating specific foods from the diet may cause the very diseases that it strives to address.

The microbiome and pre- and probiotics

In normal functioning intestines, the microbiota or microbiome is in balance, and digestion, absorption of nutrients and glucose occurs efficiently. This is especially important when the development of obesity or diabetes is under discussion. The microbiome is as important in ensuring health as it is in preventing diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Lactic acid bacteria (found in a dairy food such as yoghurt, some vegetables, milk and more) play a significant role.

According to Mancuskova, T. et.al. (2018), “lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been attracting attention of food microbiologists for more than a hundred years. [The LAB’s have the] ability to influence human health, to preserve foods and to extend their shelf life. [The] LAB group includes a large number of different bacterial genera: Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus, Oenococcus, Aerococcus, Carnobacterium, Vagococcus, Weisella and Tetragenococcus.” Lactic acid bacteria can restore the intestinal balance of the flora in favour of beneficial microorganisms. The positive effects of lactic acid bacteria are also linked to the restoring of the intestinal balance in favour of beneficial microorganisms, and with improving the digestability of milk ingredients. These strains are known as probiotics. Probiotics, frequently found in food and nutrition supplements, “are isolated [for supplements] especially from gastrointestinal tract of humans and mammals, the vaginas of healthy women, breast- and cow milk or fruits and vegetables”. (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnf/2018/00000014/00000001/art00004 ).

The results obtained through the use of pro-biotics, are dependent on the strain(s), treatment dose and –time administered and/or required to take effect, as well as “specific subgroups of patients such as the immuno-compromised [such as HIV/AIDS or Tuberculosis sufferers], the elderly, and children”, whom should use it with caution. (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnf/2018/00000014/00000001/art00004 ).

Pro-biotic strains must fulfill the following requirements. They must :

?         “have a proven, positive effect on heath,

?         must be precisely identified and classified,

?         cannot be pathogenic,

?         must be able to survive in the digestive tract, and

?         must be stable during food processing”

(https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnf/2018/00000014/00000001/art00004 ).

The residue

What about the digested food and drink residue that is left in the intestine?

If the human organism ingested enough roughage such as digestive fiber (for example cellulose from vegetables or grains that is not digestible) and moisture, the residue will leave the body regularly and without complication. As humans grow older, the peristalsis in the colon (bowel) can however decrease or slow, causing the bowel to empty too slowly. When this occurs, the residue may start to ferment and even form toxins that may be absorbed through the walls of the bowel and can cause disease. When humans are dying or in distress, it is also possible for the bowel to become more permeable, allowing organisms such as E.coli to enter the body and cause further disease complications, even hastening death. It is therefore important that the diet should enhance the elimination of residue and limit its retention time in the body.

What happens when this process is ‘helped along’ for example by the use of laxatives or even liquid paraffin (at one time favored by the elderly)?

The microbiome is flushed out and in the case of the liquid paraffin, the villi in the intestine are covered and can therefore not absorb nutrients, leading to malnutrition in the elderly when they are usually already eating too little. Constantly taking laxatives (young adults trying to lose weight sometimes resort to this), will therefore have very negative consequences (sometimes years later when non-communicable- or chronic diseases become apparent).

What about taking in an abnormally large amount of dietary fiber?

It must be remembered that moisture is required by the body to survive and it is therefore absorbed from the intestinal tract. The fiber causes irritation and stimulates peristalsis in the bowel if there is enough moisture. When there is not enough moisture left to keep the fiber moving, the dry fiber will allow the residue to compact and become firm, creating a blockage that the peristalsis find very difficult to move and eliminate from the body. Once again, as the movement through the bowel slows, breakdown of the residue continue and the unwanted chemicals are absorbed by the body, causing disease.

What does this mean?

Simply, that the body requires balance in all things to function optimally.

Any deviation that becomes chronic, forms a cornerstone for the development of non-communicable diseases.

This is where the chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry of the body becomes important.

For example:

Too much sodium will damage the liver and kidneys; Too little sodium will cause heart disease and malabsorption of nutrients in the brain and heart.

What about sugar?

According to an article published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases and summarized in Science Daily of 27 August 2018, it is stated that the author challenges the latest dietary recommendations from the WHO and some people in the medical fraternity since evidence from multiple domains indicate that a person’s diet is “a necessary but trivial factor in metabolic health.... Anti-sugar rhetoric is simply diet-centric disease-mongering engendered by physiologic illiteracy," he wrote: "My position is that dietary sugars are not responsible for obesity or metabolic diseases and that the consumption of simple sugars and sugar-polymers (e.g., starches) up to 75 percent of total daily caloric intake is innocuous in healthy individuals." He argues that Biological life depends on sugar in its many forms, for example, sugars and sugar-polymers are major nutritive constituents of many foods and beverages including breast milk, dairy products, fruit, fruit juices, honey, sucrose (i.e., table sugar; a disaccharide of glucose, and fructose), sugar-sweetened beverages, rice, beans, potatoes, wheat, corn, quinoa, and other cereal grains.

• ·                  Sugars and sugar-polymers have played critical roles in both human evolution and dietary history and were the major sources of nutrient-energy (calories) for most of the global population throughout human history.
• ·                   "Diet-centric" researchers often ignore the fact that physical activity, not diet, is the major modifiable determinant of metabolic health.
• ·                   The consumption of dietary sugars up to 80 percent of total energy intake is entirely innocuous in active populations.
• ·                   There is strong, positive association between sugar availability/consumption and health.
• ·                   Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are not diet-related diseases but are metabolic conditions caused by the positive energy balance (i.e., over-nutrition) driven by physical inactivity in past and current generations.

Despite strong criticism from two scientists, he insisted in his rebuttal that “obesity and metabolic diseases are caused by the confluence of physical inactivity and non-genetic evolutionary processes over many generations”. He pointed out that by the late 1940s, both the life- and health-spans in the USA had increased dramatically despite half of all infants being reared on infant formula -- a 100 percent artificial/synthetic product containing around 40 percent of calories from added sugars (e.g., lactose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, and/or corn syrup). He concludes: "It is time for the medical and scientific communities to return to their roots, eschew magical and miraculous thinking, and demonstrate a modicum of skepticism by refuting the illiterate nonsense and puritanical proscriptions engendered by diet-centrism." His view is mirrored by that of another scientist quoted in the same article https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180827110730.htm ; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033062018300847?via%3Dihub.

This implies that the activism and court cases in different parts of the world to place warnings on sugar-containing beverages or drinks or the requests for severe bans on the advertising of such products, is highly questionable. The ban on infant nutrition is now extended in New Zealand (https://www.einnews.com/article_detail/459976299/iyHpSAeEJxFtKpui?n=2&code=na2TvCeSPGXjgExL&utm_source=NewsletterNews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing+Advertising+Children+Search+Results&utm_content=article). What will be next?

What is required is effective education using an understandable ‘language’ suited to different levels of society and starting at an early age to promote balance in all things – whether it is diet, lifestyle, stress, relaxation or exercise. This will only be successful if the children are provided with balanced meals at home, every day. That is currently not necessarily happening everywhere.

Strengthening the argument fór sugar (not against sugar or other ingredients or product categories as implied by additional taxes / ‘health levies’, traffic light labeling, and bans), is the effect that (for example) acidity has on the body and the role it plays in the occurrence of non-communicable (chronic) disease. For example:

• ·       If the body is too acidic, it can cause chronic diseases or acidic crystalline ‘stones’ formed by high levels of uric acid in the kidneys or it can form crystals and inflamation generally known as ‘gout’ in joints;
• ·       If the body is too alkaline, it can also do the same and result in calcium kidney stones, and so forth.

It is currently argued that some human bodies have progressively become too acidic due to an unhealthy lifestyle, work-environment, stress, pollution, and more, and that many chronic diseases can be addressed by correcting the pH of the body (muscles and –blood), which should be neutral. It is interesting that the acids found in fruit and fruit juice becomes alkaline in the body and is used to naturally correct high acidity levels (lowering the acid levels and making it more alkaline) in many instances. These ‘organic’ acids such as those in lemon juice or citrus fruit, are different from mineral or ‘metal’ acids which cause higher acidity (for example vinegar made from acetic acid, not grapes or apples).

This is enough for now?

More about you, your body and your health in an article published later on LinkedIn.

Source list available on request.

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