Gut Health and Upper Respiratory Infections
The gut microbiome is a diverse ecosystem of microbes that colonize the gastrointestinal tract. Our microbiome is vast, comprised of trillions of microorganisms, generally, outnumbering our cells 10 to 1. These microbes influence the function and health of our GI tract, but are also largely influential on systemic illness, inflammatory response, and long-term disease progression. As we move from cold and flu to allergy season, it’s important to understand the microbiome’s role in modulating immune response and how optimizing gut health can help keep you and your family health.
For many Americans, the word bacterium often has negative connotation, however, many of the bacteria in our GI-tract have tremendous health benefit. Our good bacteria, referred to as our keystone or commensal bacteria, play many pivotal roles, including but not limited to: maintenance of an appropriate GI mucosal barrier, modulating insulin sensitivity and caloric extraction from food, production of neurotransmitters, and production of short chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, that influence colon cell health. Our GI-tract may also contain a myriad of dysbiotic microbes, e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi/yeast, and parasites, that when overgrown can contribute to an array of health disparities. Dysbiosis, or a negative change in microbiota, is often characterized by an insufficiency of good bacteria, an overgrowth of bad bacteria, or a combination of both. Dysbiotic overgrowth microbes may produce large amounts of histamine, endotoxins, hydrogen sulfide or bio-film within the small intestine. When coupled with an insufficiency of good bacteria, patients often experience thinning of the GI mucosal barrier and development of intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut”, a phenomenon which allows the pro-inflammatory biproducts of these microbes to enter the blood stream.
Small intestinal bio-film production may be particularly problematic in regards to upper respiratory health. Bio-films are an extracellular matrix or sheath, formed by an overgrowth of microbes that stick together and adhere to cells or tissues. While bio-films are not uncommon in the entire body, some bio-films in the small intestine can become extremely problematic. Bio-films in the small intestine often cause the villi, the finger-like projection where most nutrient absorption occurs, to atrophy. This can cause digestive insufficiencies and nutrient robing effects. Bio-films from the bacteria Pseudomonas appear to potentiate symptoms and illness duration for those suffering from chronic upper respiratory issues and long COVID. Pseudomonas bio-film is particularly difficult to penetrate with normal anti-microbial intervention. In addition to causing villi atrophy, it’s bio-film also provides an ideal location for other viruses, bacteria, and parasites to hide and replicate, meaning patients may clear symptoms temporarily, but continue to harbor the infection causing pathogen. Chronic GI infections may result in abnormal patterns of mast cell activation as well. Mast cells are a specialized type of white blood cell that play a pivotal role in the regulation of the inflammatory cascade as response to injury or infection. In these instances, the combination of recurrent infection and abnormal activation of mast cells often results in frequent symptom recurrence and progressively worsening systemic inflammatory response to infection. These patients often report feelings of being chronically-ill or unable to clear infection, despite compliance with normal therapeutics and treatment protocols for upper-respiratory infections.
Patients hoping to boost immune function and protect themselves against upper-respiratory infection may benefit from undergoing a GI-MAP study. A GI-Map provides practioners with a comprehensive evaluation of the microbiome, digestive function, and immune markers. At Buckeye, we utilize the GI-MAP to build customized nutritional, supplement and nutraceutical intervention programs to correct disparities in the microbiome and improve long term health outcomes for our patients.
Author: Joseph Matovich