In my book of wholistic approach, I place emphasis on the role of microbiome and
overall health. I even joked that someday instead of prescribing various medicines we
may end up transporting poop..YIKES!
So far scientists have shown how diversity of the microbiome in our intestinal walls and
in our body in general, play a very important role in metabolism, inflammation, and our
mood, including anxiety level and depression. It also plays an important role in obesity
and many other complex issues. Unfortunately, as we get older or if we always eat se
types of food this diversity gets lost and hence more diseases.
We know microbiome such as s lactobacillus plantarum, lactobacillus and Rhamnous,
and bacillus mycoites produce and release brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin,
GABA, dopamine and oxytocin. Consequently, our mood and happiness can be varied
by such microbiomes. When we are emotionally happy and content, we experience pain
less intensely.
In chapter 9 of my book of holistic approaches to autoimmune disease, I especially try
to describe the mechanisms that has impacts in reducing our pain level. Once we
understand how things work in our body, we tend to follow the direction of favorable
conditions to create such environments in order to lessen pain level or stop it all
together.
In my book I talk about homeostasis and the importance of biodiversity of microbiome in
our guts. Changes to the microbial environment (reduced diversity or more bad bacteria
instead of good ones) as a result of food we eat, alcohol consumption, or the
consequence of illness, stress, or injury, can lead to conditions resulting in a decrease
in gut barrier integrity and gut motility. Disruption of the microbial environment can also
cause inflammatory mediator release as well as activation of nociceptors (pain
receptors). (2) In other words, both the central and peripheral pathways associated with
pain and its perception are altered as a consequence of the microbiota-gut-brain axis
imbalance. (2)
Scientists also know that lactobacillus plantarum produces metabolites that stimulate
anti-inflammatory responses. Metabolites are substances produced by our guts. More of
these metabolites can be produced by including more vegetables, fruits, and fatty acids
into our diet. By reducing overall inflammation, we subsequently reduce pain that is
created as a result.
Dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut bacteria, results in metabolic syndrome, neurological
diseases, as well as cardiovascular diseases. Dysbiosis can also be a contributing
factor in irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, food allergies, and
other GI disorders. (5) Studies have shown that including and balancing gut microbiome
can improve abdominal pain.
Additionally, balance in microbiota is very important in the modulation of pain through
peripheral and central mechanism. Scientists also demonstrated that stress can impact
the gut bacteria balance, and the brain access in regulating both visceral (refers to
internal organ pain) and nociception (processing of pain perception) types of pain. (6)
Balanced microbiome also plays an important and significant role in regulating all kinds
of pain- including pain resulting from inflammation, as well as headaches, neurological
pain, and opioid tolerance. (7)
It is important to work on reducing our stress level, therefore improving our brain and
nociceptor access in reduction and perception of pain. This is because microbiota
regulate pain via the central and peripheral nervous systems. The central and peripheral
nervous systems play an important role in the development of chronic pain. The
microbiota plays an important role in regulating these systems as well as
neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. (7)
In conclusion, when addressing pain holistically, it is imperative that we add foods that
balance our microbiome. For example, fermented foods, prebiotic and probiotics. This
can be done by adding lots of rainbow color varieties of vegetables and fruits. You can
read my article about the microbiome HERE.
In case you would like to learn more on how to balance the gut microbiome, feel free to
read my article HERE, or get my book of holistic approach to autoimmune diseases.
Thanks for visiting www.curenaturally.org the ancient wisdom combined with modern
science.
Sources:
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31551115/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28035535/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28035535/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31551115/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34409198/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8946251/#:~:text=4.1.-
,Visceral%20Pain,volunteers%20%5B27%2C71%5D