Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

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orphansparrow
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by orphansparrow »

1eye wrote:
orphansparrow wrote:Hi all. I was just reading Ann Boroch's book, where she talks a lot about gut bacteria being one of the root causes of MS. (In her opinion). She recommends those with MS taking Nystatin for 1-2 years. What do you all think? Or do you know of further reading I could do on this? Thanks.
I don't like the idea of killing off my existing gut microbiome, unbalanced though it may be. Nobody is going to stop me eating fruits and vegetables either. inner tonight was vegetables grown by my father in law.
Thats a good point.

What do you mean about the fruit and vegetables though? I don't see anywhere where she says not to eat them. I think she says to limit some of the more sugary fruits at first though.
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NHE
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by NHE »

1eye wrote:
ElliotB wrote:"I just think if you want to re-balance your microbial gut population, raw, high-fiber fruit and vegetables will get you there sooner than just about anything"


It is my understanding that probiotic supplements and fermented foods can help repopulate your gut with beneficial bacteria. I have done a lot of research on the this as I am following a high 'good' bacteria protocol and I have never read that raw fruit and vegetables can as well. Frankly, I have never read that foods high in fiber have any impact on but bacteria. Can you please provide a link to where you read this?
You could google "gut bacteria fiber". I think it was the Hadza people I read about having a high fiber diet which makes sense if you are hunting and gathering. The hunting yielded only a sporadic but very varied amount of meat.
The BBC ran a program hosted by Dr. Michael Mosley called "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j9gny

One of the episodes in season one discussed probiotics and dietary fiber. They ran an experiment and found that probiotics were effective, but only as for as long as you kept taking them. Dietary fiber, specifically from oats, was found to improve gut biota and was also more cost effective than probiotics.
ElliotB
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by ElliotB »

"I don't like the idea of killing off my existing gut microbiome".

The beauty of repopulating the gut is that you don't have to kill off anything - you just have to add beneficial bacteria and the gut balances itself.


"Nobody is going to stop me eating fruits and vegetables either. inner tonight was vegetables grown by my father in law."

I too eat some vegetables but I grow them myself indoors hydroponically and they are 100% pesticide free. I consume a small amount of fermented fruits in the kefir water I drink, but only fruit know to be low in pesticide reside (limited berries and fresh squeezed lemon juice_. And have just discovered blueberries that are certified pesticide free.

I have mentioned this before and feel it is important to mention it again. Organic fruits and vegetables are not pesticide free.

Are the vegetables grown by my father in law totally pesticide free?


Probiotics are reasily available and are relatively inexpensive. And since they do appear to work, should be IMHO taken by pretty much everyone, especially those of us with chronic illnesses.
grandsons4
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by grandsons4 »

Research "resistance starch" (fiber-like if not exactly fiber) and its importance to gut health.
ElliotB
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by ElliotB »

Correct me if I am wrong but "resistance starch" does not directly help repopulate the gut with beneficial bacteria, and seems to be more related to weight loss. Certainly an interesting topic on its own.
Last edited by ElliotB on Thu Jul 28, 2016 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
grandsons4
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

Post by grandsons4 »

It does not re-introduce bacteria that is completely lacking, but it does feed and repopulate beneficial bacteria that still resides in the lower intestines.
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1eye
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Re: Gut bacteria linked to Multiple Sclerosis

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Gut Microbiota Is Growing Focus of Multiple Sclerosis Research


Gut microbiota is increasingly being seen an important environmental risk factor for multiple sclerosis, and strategies to correct an imbalance in intestinal flora, also known as microbial dysbiosis, are being encouraged as ways to potentially help in the treatment of MS.

Four research articles published in the last year support the idea that gut microbiota — the ecological community of microorganisms that live in the gut — may play a role in the development of MS.

The first study, “Multiple sclerosis patients have a distinct gut microbiota compared to healthy controls,” published in Scientific Reports, found that people with relapsing-remitting MS have altered fecal microbiota and may have microbial dysbiosis. According to the team of researchers led by Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, this could be due to factors such as stress, food habits, an overly sterile environment, sunlight, smoking, or certain infections.

“These factors could lead to an increase in harmful bacteria or a decrease in beneficial bacteria,” Mangalam told Neurology Advisor. “Any one of these factors – either alone or in combination – might be the reason for altered microbiota in MS.”

Similar results were found in children with MS, where the researchers observed disruptions in the composition of the gut microbiota. They reported their findings in the study, “Gut microbiota in early pediatric multiple sclerosis: a case-control study,” published in the European Journal of Neurology.

The third study, “Dysbiosis in the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, with a Striking Depletion of Species Belonging to Clostridia XIVa and IV Clusters,” published in PLOS One, analyzed the gut microbiota of Japanese patients with relapsing-remitting MS and compared it to microbiota of healthy volunteers.

These researchers found significant differences between the two groups of samples in the abundance of 21 different bacteria species, primarily belonging to the Clostridia clusters XIVa and IV and Bacteroidetes. Because the clostridial species that were reduced in the gut microbiota of MS patients did not overlap with species thought to be involved in autoimmune diseases or allergies, the authors concluded that “many of the clostridial species associated with MS might be distinct from those broadly associated with autoimmune conditions.”

The fourth study, “Type I interferons and microbial metabolites of tryptophan modulate astrocyte activity and central nervous system inflammation via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor,” conducted by an international team of researchers led by Dr. Francisco J. Quintana and published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, showed that people with MS had reduced levels of a protein called aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) circulating in their blood.

AHR is involved in many biological processes, including inflammation. The researchers found that gut microbiota play a role in turning tryptophan, and amino acid found in food, into AHR agonists, which act on cells of the nervous system called astrocytes and limit inflammation of the central nervous system. Low levels of AHR in MS patients may explain how microbial dysbiosis could be causing the condition.

All together, these results suggest that treatments targeting gut microbiota may help people with multiple sclerosis. However, research in this area is in its infancy and there are currently no such treatments available.

“Early-life maintenance of a normal microbiome could play a role in disease prevention, though it is not clear how to achieve this in an effective and sustainable way,” said Dr. Dean Wingerchuk, a professor of neurology and director of the Division of MS and Autoimmune Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Gut bacteria-based drugs – or Brugs – may be available in the near future to restore normal gut flora in the treatment of MS patients,” Mangalam said.

Gut microbiota play important roles in helping us digest and draw energy from food, as well as help in the development of a healthy immune system. Microbial dysbiosis is involved in many diseases, from diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis and from cardiovascular disease to colorectal cancer.
Poisonally, I think there is something to this. Any results from that doctor who had FMT?
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