Dysbiosis (Bacterial Imbalance)

Celiac disease is a complex inherited digestive disorder that affects I in 100 persons worldwide. This condition involves a unique immune response within the digestive tract to gluten, a protein found in the grains of wheat, barley, rye and oats.  All persons with celiac disease, regardless of age, race or gender, are susceptible to intestinal damage when they eat food containing gluten or its derivatives. The treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet that stops damage and allows recovery.  Probiotics and prebiotics should be incorporated into the diet to improve the quality and balance of intestinal bacteria that inhabit the colon.

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Proteins produced from partial breakdown of microorganisms are often recognized by the body’s immune system as foreign antigens triggering production of antibodies that may be detected in the blood.

Such antibodies include proteins from the cell walls (outer membranes) or flagella of the bacteria Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s or Brewer’s yeast) that are found in Crohn’s disease. Stimulation of the immune system by these proteins can also confuse the body into thinking that it needs to continue fighting an ongoing battle against an invader. Read More »

Editors’ note: This animal study investigating the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, a strain of probiotic bacteria, on ulcers of the stomach lining of rats demonstrated that bacteria placed directly into the stomach significantly and according to dose reduced gastric ulcer size.  If the results of this animal research are reproduced in humans, it would demonstrate that probiotics may hasten recovery for people suffering from stomach ulcers.  The bacteria did not affect the function of normal gastric mucosa but normalized those with abnormal changes during ulceration.

“Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG enhances gastric ulcer healing in rats.”

Lam EK, et. al.

Department of Pharmacology, The University of Hong Kong, China.

European Journal of Pharmacology. 2007 Jun 22;565(1-3):171-9.

Background: Probiotics are widely used as functional foods which have been advocated for the maintenance of gastrointestinal microflora equilibrium and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. However, studying the role of probiotics in peptic ulcer disease is limited. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of a probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG on gastric ulcer and to elucidate the mechanisms involved.

Methods: Gastric kissing ulcers were induced in rats by acetic acid (60% v/v). L. rhamnosus GG was given intragastrically (directly into the stomach) at 10(8) cfu/day or 10(9) cfu/day for three consecutive days after ulcer induction. L. rhamnosus GG successfully colonized in the gastric mucosa especially at the ulcer margin. It also significantly and dose-dependently reduced gastric ulcer area.

Results: L. rhamnosus GG successfully colonized in the gastric mucosa especially at the ulcer margin. It also significantly and dose-dependently reduced gastric ulcer area. Cell apoptosis to cell proliferation ratio was strongly decreased and accompanied by significant up-regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein expression at the ulcer margin. Angiogenesis was also significantly stimulated together with the induction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. Furthermore, L. rhamnosus GG up-regulated the phosphorylation level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF receptor) without altering the total EGF receptor expression.

Conclusions: These findings suggested that L. rhamnosus GG enhanced gastric ulcer healing via the attenuation of cell apoptosis to cell proliferation ratio and increase in angiogenesis. Regulators of these processes such as ODC, Bcl-2, VEGF and EGF receptor are likely to be involved in the healing action of L. rhamnosus GG for gastric ulcer.

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Author Information: Cleo Libonati, RN, BSN
Cleo Libonati is president/CEO and co-Founder of Gluten Free Works, Inc. She is the author of Recognizing Celiac Disease and the Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide.

Celiac Disease (CD) is not curable, but it is manageable by eating a strict gluten free diet.  That may not be enough.

Many suffering from CD still feel ill even after being faithful to a gluten free diet.  Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease which causes your body to attack and destroy the microvilli and villi in your small intestines.  These are key to the absorption of nutrients from food and are also where many enzymes used in digestion are made.  When these are destroyed, the ability to absorb nutrients decreases and can lead to malnutrition.

This is not all that happens in a damaged intestine.  Gluten can cause the tight junctions, spaces between cells lining the intestines, to be damaged or destroyed allowing larger molecules such as proteins and even microorganisms to pass into the blood stream.

Under normal circumstances, the intestinal wall only permits small particles to pass through the intestinal wall and into the blood stream. When these larger molecules make it through into the blood stream our bodies do not recognize these  larger molecules and an autoimmune response begins.  It is these autoimmune responses that may be the cause of you still feeling ill.  What needs to happen to feel well again, is to heal the gut.

Probiotics are friendly bacteria that live in our intestines. When our level of bad bacteria overbalance the good bacteria, we get a condition called dysbiosis.

The following video describes three probiotics that decrease inflammation and make certain vitamins we need for energy metabolism, mood and a number of other functions!

Ready to get healthy? REALLY healthy? Check out our Gluten Free Works Treatment Guide where we show you how to treat and correct over 300 symptoms. Standard medical treatment doesn’t account for nutrient deficiencies, medicine interactions or supplements. The Treatment Guide does!

Low stomach acid is common in celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.  It is also common in the general population, as well, affecting 50% of people age 60 years and about 80% by age 85 years.  Nevertheless, low stomach acid is not generally looked for as a cause of acute and chronic disorders that rob health with far-reaching effects.

Is Low Stomach Acid New?

No. Low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria), has been well investigated much of the past century in both the general population and those with gluten sensitivity. For example, a 1985 study investigating gastric acid secretion in 116 subjects with dermatitis herpetiformis found that 41% had low stomach acid and 26% were achlorhydric (no acid). Of those older than 50 years, 47% were achlorhydric. When compared to subjects with celiac disease, the frequency of achlorhydria was significantly higher in those with dermatitis herpetiformis than in those with coeliac disease. There was no correlation between achlorhydria and small intestinal villous atrophy (damage).

Why Is Low Stomach Acid Overlooked?

Failure to understand nutrition and malabsorption…an area of science that is barely taught in medical schools is a big factor. Also, Read More »