Trouble losing weight? High blood pressure? Insulin resistant? Pre-diabetic? Diabetic? A probiotic may be what your functional practitioner ordered!
According to Bischoff et. al, intestinal permeability is now accepted to be of major relevance for the development of metabolic diseases including type II diabetes (Bischoff et al., 2014). A number of studies indicate that high fat and high processed carbohydrate diets can affect the composition of the gut microbiota and intestinal permeability. In fact, the condition is being termed dietary endotoxemia. According to the literature, dietary endotoxemia affects about 1/3 of individuals living in Western society (McFarlin, Henning, Bowman, Gary, & Carbajal, 2017). “Dietary or metabolic endotoxemia occurs when one’s dietary consumption causes disruption in either GI permeability, the microbiota profile, or both” (McFarlin et al., 2017). It is characterized by increased serum endotoxins during the first 5 hours following a fast food meal high in fat and calories, and it can transiently increase systemic inflammation. The study by McFarlin was specifically evaluating spore forming probiotics such as Bacillus subtilis. Interestingly, the spore based probiotics were associated with a 42% reduction in serum endotoxins at 5 hour post-prandial (McFarlin et al., 2017). This was compared to a 36% increase in the placebo at the same point!
“Considering these mechanisms it is tempting to speculate that probiotics and prebiotics might have beneficial effects in chronic metabolic disorders”(Bischoff et al., 2014). It is plausible that dietary factors promote increased intestinal permeability and subsequent translocation of bacteria that can result in inflammatory reactions that trigger conditions like metabolic diseases and insulin resistance(Bischoff et al., 2014). “This pathophysiological cascade is now accepted to be of major relevance for the development of metabolic diseases including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(Bischoff et al., 2014). The composition of commensal microbiota has been associated with predictive outcomes of obesity is susceptible populations, so optimizing those ratios can be worth exploring.
It may be worth looking into probiotics since the addition is rather simple, compared to some of the other dietary measures that may be difficult to implement. Another supplement that may be helpful is the addition of psyllium husks. It has the double benefit of assisting with his constipation, but acts as potent prebiotic, food for the microbiome (Mercola, 2014).
Order Megaspore here and start your way to healing your gut and metabolism.