All Disease Begins in the Gut: The role of the microbiome on your mental health, wellbeing & longevity

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates claimed that “all disease begins in the gut.” Growing up, I remember hearing this statement but never really understanding what it meant. However, when I faced severe gut issues and started feeling the impacts of poor gut health manifest on other areas of my physical and mental health, I remembered this saying - and it started making sense to me. Countless hours of research thereafter convinced me that most, if not all, disease really does begin in the gut. To this day, it still baffles me that Hippocrates made this statement without the use of modern technology. For me, this makes the statement even more powerful - because fast forward thousands of years later, and modern technology is proving this ancient piece of wisdom to be true.   

Our guts contain an ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome. These organisms include, but are not limited to, bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. The idea of these “bugs” living inside you might sound gross, but it’s actually a beautiful thing - because it’s the microbiome that plays an important role in the production of thousands of chemicals, enzymes, and vitamins; extraction of nutrients from food; and metabolic responses to food. 

So - we have all these bugs living in our guts, and they play an incredibly significant role in our overall health. But I want to circle back to a word I just used - ecosystem. The microbiome is an ecosystem in which different organisms live together and interact with their physical environment. And in any ecosystem, there can be both good residents and bad residents. Think of a city whose residents are 75% criminals and 25% non-criminals. What do you think would happen in that city? Bad things! What many of us don’t understand is that our microbiomes can become overrun with bad bacteria, fungi, and even parasites. And just like those criminals would wreak havoc on that city, those bad bugs wreak havoc on our guts and overall health as a result. We want to minimize the population of bad bugs and maximize the population of good bugs to maintain optimal health.    

So what exactly happens in the body when bad bugs outweigh good bugs? This state of imbalance is called dysbiosis, and it’s associated with intestinal inflammation and weakened gut lining that allows toxins to more easily enter the body. It also disrupts the gut-brain connection, a two-way communication system between the gut and the brain consisting of a complex network of nerves, chemicals, and the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is an integral piece of this system and can influence the production of neurotransmitters including serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), both of which affect emotional well-being. The gut microbiome, not the brain, produces most of the body’s serotonin, which is involved in digestion in the gut but more commonly known for its effects on mood and sleep in the brain. 

See how gut health can directly impact your mental health? When my gut issues first started, I noticed a profound shift in my mood and sleep patterns. I later learned that I had dysbiosis, and when I started to fix that dysbiosis, I noticed life-changing improvements in my mood, sleep, and overall well being. Beyond mental health, dysbiosis also leads to gut-related illnesses including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, and colon cancer. In addition dysbiosis has been shown to cause musculoskeletal illnesses (including frailty, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout); cardiometabolic illnesses (including obesity and diabetes); and nervous system illnesses (including Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and multiple sclerosis). This is why there’s so much validity to Hippocrates’ saying that “all disease begins in the gut.” Because research is now showing that so many of these diseases that have been plaguing our population  are linked directly to the gut! 

Now we know what dysbiosis is, and what it does. But what causes it? Did you know that diet can directly modify the composition of the gut microbiome within days. What we eat can significantly and quickly alter the composition of our microbiome. Some foods will feed the good bugs, and other foods will feed the bad bugs. And when we eat more of the bad than the good, we risk creating that imbalance that results in the gut health issues more and more people are facing today. Diverse diets consisting of minimally-processed, high-fiber, plant-based foods support the growth of good bacteria. On the other hand, diets lacking diversity and consisting of highly-processed foods support the growth of bad bacteria. Sugar also feeds bad bacteria. In a society with so many highly processed foods riddled with added sugar, it starts to make sense why many of us have started to experience gut issues. 

In addition to diet, pesticides are one of the largest contributors to dysbiosis. Roughly 70% of produce in the United States contains pesticide residue. Pesticides have been linked to neurological problems, respiratory disorders, infertility, and birth defects. However, their effect on gut health has only recently been discovered. Two of the most common pesticides include chlorpyrifos and glyphosate. Chlorpyrifos kills insects and worms by inhibiting an enzyme that disrupts normal function in their nervous systems. This disruption has also been identified in human children who have used bug sprays containing chlorpyrifos. Studies have shown that exposure to chlorpyrifos significantly alters composition of the gut microbiome by increasing the number of pathogenic (i.e. bad) bacteria in addition to bacteria linked with obesity. Glyphosate kills weeds and unwanted grass and is FDA-approved for use on corn, grains (including wheat), fruits, and vegetables. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Studies show glyphosate consumption significantly decreases the population of healthy bacteria in the gut, which can lead to increased anxiety and depression due to the gut-brain connection. 

Dysbiosis is real, and it can have profound effects on our health. The research is proving this, as is the growing number of individuals facing both physical and mental health issues. Attempting to resolve potential dysbiosis is a powerful way to start addressing gut health issues at their root cause. Here’s what you can do: 

• Cut down your sugar consumption, especially your added sugar consumption. Eating sugar in the form of fruits and vegetables is completely healthy because these foods also contain fiber, which feeds good bugs in your microbiome. However, added sugar increases our sugar consumption without the fiber and other nutrients contained in whole foods, feeding bad bacteria and helping them thrive. You can replace added sugar in some of your favorite foods and beverages with TruMonk™, which won’t feed bad bugs and has antioxidant properties to help you heal. 
• Cut down on inadvertent pesticide consumption by eating organic as much as possible, which will help reduce the number of bad bacteria in your microbiome. In the U.S., eating organic unfortunately means spending more money, which isn't always feasible. To get the most bang for your gut health buck, start with the “The Dirty Dozen” - the Environmental Working Group’s annual list of 12 fruits and vegetables that have the highest levels of pesticide residue. 
• Eat probiotic foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut or take a probiotic supplement. Probiotics contain good bacteria that help restore balance within the gut. The good bacteria will help crowd out bad bacteria over time, helping to restore a more optimal demographic within the microbiome. Probiotics can be supercharged when used in conjunction with changes in diet, including eating more fiber and cutting down on sugar since you’re just giving the good bugs more fuel to flourish!