Your
gut microbiome is intimately related to your overall health, including
your emotions, energy level, mood, neurological conditions and allergies
New
research has identified how your gut microbiome may impact development
of chronic fatigue syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, two distinctly
different illnesses
Using
strategies to support your mitochondria, produce more energy and
support your gut microbiome may reduce your risk of illnesses such as
Parkinson’s disease and chronic fatigue syndrome
By Dr. Mercola
Hardly a week passes without another revelation of how your gut microbiome
is intimately related to your overall health. A complete understanding
of how a complex microbial community in your intestinal tract may be
related to your emotions, mood, energy and neurological condition — to
name just a few — is still out of reach.
However, science does know your gastrointestinal (GI) tract is home
to one of the most complex microbial ecosystems on the Earth. Your
microbial community is even more complex as it is unique to you, based
on your diet, geographical location, chemical exposure, hygiene and
other environmental factors.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a negative impact on your gut
flora from antibiotics, toxic chemicals, sugars and other toxic food
products is a primary risk factor in the rising rates of disease. In
fact, a modern lifestyle is depleting your gut microbiome and raising
your risk of developing long-term chronic or fatal illnesses.
Chronic Fatigue Changes Your Gut Microbiome
Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME)
usually causes debilitating symptoms. Sufferers may experience
unrelenting fatigue, no matter how much rest they get, along with pain
and inflammation throughout the body. Without an ability to pinpoint an
exact cause, many physicians in the past attributed the condition to a
psychological origin, leaving patients without real hope for
improvement.
It wasn't until the 1980s that the condition received an official
name, and only recently did researchers discover biological markers in
microbes through serial sequencing of bacterial RNA that indicate
differences between healthy individuals and those with CFS/ME.1
Researchers from Columbia University undertook the first study to
investigate a relationship between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and
CFS/ME, as up to 90 percent of people with CFS/ME have IBS.2
Fifty participants were recruited and matched with 50 healthy control
participants. Stool and blood samples were taken from each, looking for
bacterial species and immune molecules.3 The bacterial colonies in people who suffer from CFS/ME were distinctly different from healthy controls.4
The levels of different bacteria also changed based on the type and severity of symptoms experienced.5
The first study to link CFS/ME with IBS, it builds on a previous trial
that demonstrated 80 percent with CFS/ME could be diagnosed based on
their gut bacteria.6 When the species of gut bacteria were analyzed, the researchers found seven that were strongly associated with CFS/ME:
Faecalibacterium
Roseburia
Dorea
Coprococcus
Clostridium
Ruminococcus
Coprobacillus
According to Medical News Today, when an individual had other species
at different levels, it indicated the potential presence of IBS. The
top bacteria markers for CFS/ME with IBS were increased levels of
unclassified Alisteipes and decreased levels of Faecalibacterium.
Patients with CFS/ME and without IBS had increased levels of Bacteroides
and decreased Bacteroides vulgatus.7
Does Parkinson's Begin in Your Gut Too?
Your gut health is tied to more than energy production at the
cellular level and your immune system. Your gut microbiome may also play
a significant role in the development of some neurological disorders,
including Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's affects nearly a half-million
people in the U.S.8
It's a neurodegenerative disease that is unique to each individual.9 According to a new study released in Neurology, Parkinson's disease may start in the gut and travel to the brain via the vagus nerve.10
Your vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve and the longest nerve in
your body, extending through the neck and into your abdomen.11
It has the widest distribution of both sensory and motor fibers. The
study participants previously had a resection of their vagus nerve,
often performed in people who suffer from ulcers to reduce the amount of
acid secretion and the potential for peptic ulcers.12
Using the national registry in Sweden, researchers compared nearly
10,000 people who had a vagotomy against the records of over 375,000 who
had not undergone the surgery. Although the researchers did not find a
difference in the gross number of people who developed Parkinson's
between the groups, after delving further they discovered something
different.
People who had a truncal vagotomy, in which the trunk of the nerve is
fully resected, as opposed to a selective vagotomy, had a 40 percent
lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The scientists adjusted
for external factors, such as diabetes, arthritis, obstructive pulmonary
disease and other health conditions.
Your Vagus Nerve Tied to Disease and Treatment
According to study author and Ph.D. student Bojing Liu of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden:13
"These results provide preliminary evidence that Parkinson's
disease may start in the gut. Other evidence for this hypothesis is that
people with Parkinson's disease often have gastrointestinal problems
such as constipation that can start decades before they develop the
disease.
In addition, other studies have shown that people who will later
develop Parkinson's disease have a protein believed to play a key role
in Parkinson's disease in their gut. Much more research is needed to
test this theory and to help us understand the role this may play in the
development of Parkinson's."
As well as potentially triggering Parkinson's disease,
it appears that bacteria in your gut, specifically H. pylori, may also
affect the absorption of one of the primary drugs used to control muscle
fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's disease.14 Research identified H. pylori as a specific bacteria common to patients with the disease, and which impeded treatment.
Chronic Fatigue and Parkinson's Affect Your Whole Life
Each of these conditions exert extensive effects on your health and
your life. CFS/ME is usually a diagnosis of exclusion, or ruling out all
other illnesses that may mimic the symptoms of CFS/ME before suggesting
CFS/ME may be the issue. Symptoms of the condition affect your ability
to work, maintain your home and interact with family and friends.
In fact, the symptoms can be so overwhelming that many patients find it difficult to function. Beginning with pervasive chronic fatigue,
you may also experience cognitive issues such as short attention span,
trouble finding words and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms may
affect your ability to work productively and interact with your family.
Intermittent flu-like symptoms and irritable bowel-like symptoms
contribute to general feelings of malaise, making each day a challenge.
Parkinson's disease is a neurological condition that usually starts
with motor or movement problems, such as uncontrollable tremors in your
hand when it is at rest. As the symptoms progress you may notice
slowness and stiffness coupled with a soft voice and fewer facial
expressions.15
Over time, other symptoms become evident as the disease progresses.
These may include balance and gait unsteadiness resulting in falls,
difficulty swallowing, cognitive loss and thinking/memory/behavior
changes. Individuals may also find the benefits from medication wear off
more quickly.
Although unrelated, CFS/ME and Parkinson's are both linked to the
complex bacterial community residing in your gut, and a key link between
the two conditions may be leaky gut, resulting from bacteria entering the blood as the intestinal walls become more permeable.
Your diet plays a crucial role here. Research has demonstrated that
gluten stimulates a protein in your gut called zonulin, which triggers
the opening of these cellular junctures, in essence making your gut
permeable enough for food particles and foreign molecules to enter your
bloodstream, where they can trigger inflammation and immune reactions,
increasing your risk for a variety of autoimmune disorders.
Boosting Energy Production May Help Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
In this interview, I discuss the importance of your mitochondria to
your health and how it may impact your symptoms of chronic illnesses
like CFS/ME. On February 10, 2015, the Institute of Medicine released a
landmark report16
with diagnostic and treatment recommendations for CFS, including the
suggestion to change the name from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to Systemic
Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID).
That name has not yet been formally adopted by world and federal
health agencies, but you may see it more in the future. Researchers
continue to struggle to understand the mechanisms that trigger such a
wide range of symptoms, but it appears clear that an impaired immune
system and/or mitochondrial dysfunction may be involved.
While a number of different infectious organisms have been linked to
CFS/ME, definitive evidence that symptoms are caused by a lingering
infection is slim. Instead, symptoms may be the result of damage caused
by an initial infection.
Supporting energy synthesis and mitochondrial function, in
combination with healing your gut microbiome, may help to alleviate some
of the symptoms. Treatment for CFS/ME requires a multipronged approach
you may read more about in my previous article, "Energy Boosting Strategies That May Help Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." Important treatment strategies include:
Exercising according to your ability, with a focus on increasing the
amount of exercise you can handle. Research shows that a combination of
aerobic activity and strength training can improve pain and fatigue
symptoms. Gentle exercise such as yoga can also be an excellent part of
your program, and yoga benefits your mind as well as your body
Supplement with nutrients important for cellular energy synthesis, such as ubiquinol,
the reduced form of CoQ10; one of the strongest antioxidants known that
is produced within your own body, and D-ribose, a core building block
of ATP
Eat foods rich in glutathione precursors, sulfur and selenium to
encourage glutathione production. Glutathione is one of your body's most
important antioxidants and a natural detoxification agent. Also make a
conscious effort to avoid toxic exposures
Intermittent fasting,
making sure your last meal is taken at least three hours before
bedtime. The rationale for avoiding late night eating is directly tied
to the way your body produces energy
Addressing your mental outlook. In addition to talk therapy, I would recommend trying the Emotional Freedom Techniques
(EFT) to help normalize your bioenergetic circuitry. Emotionally
traumatic events can leave "energy blockages" for many years, which then
interfere with your overall health, including immune function. There
are many different techniques that can be used, but EFT is my favorite,
and it's easy to learn and apply
Are You Chronically Tired?
Although one of the primary symptoms of CFS/ME is chronic fatigue,
there are other reasons you may feel chronically tired. A YouGov.com
poll found two-fifths of Americans feel poorly rested at least four days
of the week.17
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found 15
percent of woman and 10 percent of men felt tired or exhausted most
days, or every day.18
Before jumping to the conclusion you may have a significant health
condition, consider you may not be getting enough quality sleep each
night. According to the CDC, 33 percent of adults in the U.S. do not get
at least seven hours of sleep a night.19 If you are a woman with children, each child increases your risk of insufficient sleep by 50 percent; but not so for men.20
You may be able to reduce your feelings of exhaustion or of being
tired by paying close attention to your sleep hygiene. For a long list
of tips to improve your sleep quality, see "Want a Good Night's Sleep? Then Never Do These Things Before Bed."
It is important to differentiate between being sleepy or not having
the energy to move around during the day. Each of these symptoms may
indicate something different. Other health conditions that include
feelings of sleepiness, being tired or too exhausted to move or exercise
may include:21,22,23,24
Understanding and practical modification of your gut microbiome is an
important part of the future of medicine. Nearly 15 years ago
scientists believed that the Human Genome Project would find information
necessary to create gene-based therapies to produce cures for most
health conditions.
Many years later, science has learned that genetics are responsible
for only 10 percent of all human disease, while the remaining 90 percent
are triggered by environmental factors.25
With further research and study, science is now coming to realize your
gut microbiome is actually driving genetic expression, turning genes on
and off depending upon which microbes are present in your gut.
You can improve the health of your gut microbiome, and thus may make
significant changes to your health, by making small lifestyle changes.
For a list of changes you may undertake to optimize your microbiome and
reduce your potential for disease, see my article, "How Your Gut Microbiome Influences Your Mental and Physical Health."
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