Autism and The Gut Microbiota

The national debate on autism is vigorous. Why are we now seeing so much of this entity? Are we just looking harder for the diagnosis? I don’t think so. Parents are up in arms. Pediatricians are tuned in more than ever. The media covers the story extensively. Here are the theories on the suspected causes:

• Vaccines
• Genetics
• Environmental Factors
• Diet

There may be one more to consider:

• The Gut Bacteria, or the Microbiota

We in gastroenterology have seen an explosion of interest and research in the bacteria in the gut and how they relate to health and disease. A recent research study reports a possible connection between autism and bad gut bacteria. See Autism and the Gut Bacteria or Microbiota for the complete article.

Oprah's O Magazine features an article on Gut Microbiota

I have been promoting the use of prebiotics for quite a few years. It is rewarding to see it go mainstream. Well done, and to the point. Making a well stated recommendation for prebiotic supplementation could have added to the message. Here are some excerpts. Follow to read the entire article.

Many types of bacteria are fighting it out in your digestive tract, and the winners can determine your risk for a range of health problems. Here's how to get the right mix.

Your belly is a popular place: As many as 100 trillion microbes call it home. Many of them are beneficial bacteria that process hard-to-digest foods, produce nutrients, and—as we're now learning—guard against disease. Yet your gut is also filled with "bad" bacteria that release toxins and are increasingly associated with a range of health problems. So how do you cultivate beneficial bacteria and force the harmful ones out? Here's where new research says to start.

Feed the good bugs.
Intestinal bacteria need to eat, and mounting evidence indicates that beneficial bugs prefer nutrients called prebiotics, which are primarily found in high-fiber foods including onions, garlic, bananas, artichokes, many greens and (supplements.)

Pick the right probiotics.
You can also tilt your balance toward good bugs simply by eating more of them—in the form of probiotics, which are live bacteria contained in foods and supplements.

Avoid bacteria-harming drugs.
The antibiotics we take to kill pathogens also lay waste to the bacteria in our digestive tract. Research from Stanford University published last September found that taking two courses of antibiotics, spaced six months apart, changed the composition of good and bad intestinal bugs, disrupting the overall balance.

Valentine’s Day, Prebiotics and Heart Disease Prevention

What could be more appropriate than caring for the heart at Valentine's Day, both your own and the one that belongs to someone special. We now know so much about how this can be done. Let's talk about specifics:

CORONARY HEART DISEASE

If you already have Coronary Heart Disease, you know the imperatives that need to be followed:

• low fat diet
• weight control
• no smoking
• exercise, and
• less stress

However, cholesterol control remains an imperative as well. Medications such as the statins are a main stay for many people. We now know that certain supplements can also be helpful in controlling cholesterol. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has allowed a cholesterol claim for the supplement psyllium in a dose of 7 grams a day. Oat bran, like wise, will lower the cholesterol.

But is there a connection to cholesterol and the bacterial balance in our gut?

Perhaps. There is increasing evidence that there is a direct connection to Metabolic Syndrome, which has as one of its characteristicsatherogenic dyslipidemia. In other words, blood fat disorders that foster plaque buildups in artery walls such as high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol.

WHAT IS METABOLIC SYNDROME?

Many people have this problem and prebiotics are a major and significant part of the treatment. This condition consists of the following:

• tendency toward or actual coronary heart disease
• overweight (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
• high blood pressure
• pre-diabetes or actual type 2 diabetes, and
• blood fat disorders

People with the metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease and other diseases related to plaque buildups in artery walls (e.g., stroke and peripheral vascular disease) and type 2 diabetes. The metabolic syndrome has become increasingly common in the United States. It’s estimated that over 50 million Americans have it.

A significant recent finding is that the bacterial makeup of the colon in people with metabolic syndrome is bad. There is a major shift from good to bad bacteria. This, in turn leads to inflammation and leakiness of the colon wall. This condition aggravates the metabolic syndrome.

Prebiotics are plant fibers of a very specific type that nourish the good bacteria in the colon. When these good bacteria thrive, they push out the bads ones and in so doing return the bowel wall to normal. Daily consumption of prebiotic rich food or a supplement can help correct this bacterial imbalance in those people with this condition.

HEALTHY HEART NORMALS

For those of us who do not have coronary heart disease or metabolic syndrome and want to keep it that way, a shift towards a more “plant-based diet” may be necessary. Meat, poultry and fish are great but they should get an equal part of the dinner plate and not the larger portion that we grew up on. Plant based foods provide nutrients to the good bacteria in the colon that are just not present in meats, poultry and fish. What is important to remember is that a significant portion of the plants that we ingest are those that contain the natural prebiotics, oligofructose and inulin. What is the takeaway from this article? Prebiotics need to become a regular part of your nutrition. Our Prebiotin supplements give you the assurance that your intestinal balance is strengthened in a very active way. And for added assistance with cholesterol control Prebiotin-Heart Health is available. This formula contains a healthy blend of both psyllium and oat bran as well as the very best prebiotic, oligofructose enriched inulin.

So this valentines day, stay heart healthy by increasing your ingestion of prebiotics.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20640165

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4756

Prebiotics and Ulcerative Colitis / Crohn’s Disease

Prophylactic use of dietary prebiotics such as Prebiotin could benefit patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, based on data from preliminary but promising studies, said Dr. Leo Dieleman of the division of gastroenterology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton.

In contrast to probiotics, which are live microorganisms that benefit their hosts, prebiotics are nondigestible fermentable dietary oligosaccharides that affect the growth and activity of certain types of protective bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract.

Previous studies of probiotics have shown that adding probiotic bacteria to the diets of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) improved their symptoms, Dr. Dieleman said. Certain types of probiotics such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria species, when added to the diet, can be protective against IBD, he added.

Heidi Splete “Prebiotics show promise in Crohn’s and colitis“. Internal Medicine News. FindArticles.com. 12 Nov, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4365/is_4_41/ai_n29432944/

Why Daily Supplementation with Prebiotic Fiber

The discovery of prebiotics in the 1990s within the foods we have been eating for thousands of years ushered in a tremendous amount of research. We now know that we should be ingesting about 8 grams or more of these inulin type of prebiotics to maintain a positive digestive balance in the gut.

We also know that while these prebiotics are widely scattered throughout the plant world, they are fairly restricted in the plants that we eat. Inulin and oligofructose, the two key prebiotic fibers, are present in wheat, leeks, asparagus, root Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, onions, bananas and a few others. Wheat alone supplies 70-80% of these prebiotic fibers.

In total, the average American diet only supplies about 1-4 grams of these beneficial prebiotic fiber daily. This is why a supplement will likely improve the intestinal balance for just about everyone.

Simply put, it is difficult to maintain a regular high level of these inulin type prebiotics from diet alone. This is why the tested formula of Prebiotin can be so helpful. It provides a generous portion of both inulin and oligofructose, the perfect formula for a strong digestive balance.