Brilliant Gut Health With Spore Biotics and Ancient Mineral Acids
Hello, I am Julie Donaldson and I am a clinical nutritionist with functional health training. I specialize in restoring balance in complex, chronic and acute health conditions. I welcome you to peruse other articles that may be of interest to you in your health investigation!
“When you have complicated health problems and few resources, you need someone who knows how to connect the dots without spending years doing that. Julie “gets” the synergy in so many illnesses and solutions...I am so grateful for her healing support.”
I have long been a proponent of spore biotics and written on the benefits of them over probiotics. Here, I will cover more powerful and healing revelations about spore biotics and why they belong in your holistic health protocols. We will also be discussing humic acid formulas, why they also reign supreme over probiotics and how they combine with spore biotics to contribute to brilliant health. The probiotic industry has exploded over the last decades, with revenues in the billions. The “latest” and “greatest” of probiotics are always being released into the market and consumers can become blindsided by some of the falsehoods of touted benefits. Let’s dive into some of the best research and get this clear for you.
Soil-based spore biotics
What exactly are spore biotics?
Spore biotics are specific colonies of bacteria that are found in healthy soils, especially bacillus species. They are very closely related to lactobacillus species but have unique characteristics (as described in the comparison article linked above) to do “quorum sensing”. This means that bacillus species actually sense a host environment and encourage colonization of species based upon the individual’s needs. This capacity is not found in probiotics.
Bacillus is not a “natural inhabitant” of the GI tract, but colonizes with ingestion of certain foods. When we eat fresh, raw vegetables, we are getting some amount of spore biotics left behind by the soil they were grown in. (You’ll also get a bit when gardening with your bare hands in rich soil!) Fermented foods provide bacillus as well.
A multitude of beneficial actions from probiotics have been studied, but so have some of their downsides and negative impacts. Spore biotics carry probiotic attributes. The mandatory benchmarks for association are the following:
There is GI tract stress tolerance
There is adhesion in the GI tract
There are bio-therapeutic properties
But they do not carry the risks of probiotics, which are to “dumb down” the microbiome by reducing diversity.
A closer look at the therapeutic properties of spore biotics
A significant amount of research on spore biotics and their therapeutic properties has been compiled in one paper, linked here. Let’s take a closer look at the impressive list of beneficial actions provided by bacillus:
Antimicrobial actions
Antioxidant actions
Immune modulation
Biofilm reduction
Toxin protection
Cell survival support
Glutathione increase
Gut permeability support
Anti-cancer actions
Cholesterol regulation
Fibrinogen inhibition
Candida inhibition
Spleen stores of interferon, a critical immune compound
Lymphocyte support
Diarrhea cure
Gingivitis cure
Pathogen reduction
Dysbiosis amelioration
Each and every one of these therapeutic properties could be an article topic on its own. References to each area of therapeutic action are listed in the compilation research cited above. You can see that these impacts are not isolated to the gut, but reach far and wide across interconnected body systems - this is the truth and the future of whole health.
As it relates to the last item on this list, the authors of this significant work state:
“The amelioration of dysbiosis and gut inflammation by probiotic Bacillus strains was established by the ability of balancing gut flora toward beneficial microbial population and associated anti-inflammatory agents which helped to recover intestinal mucosa from illness generated injuries.”
This intelligence of spore biotics is in contrast to the specific colony populating that probiotic supplementation is based upon. When any number of bacterial species are isolated in a probiotic formula and considered to be more “beneficial” than the total of 40,000 we actually need to thrive, this is how the “dumbing down” of the microbiome occurs, through the creation of monoculture.
The typical probiotic formula contains 3-7 species of laboratory-grown bacteria. Beneficial or not, flooding your microbiome with billions of copies of a select few bacteria is not ideal for your gut, nor does it address underlying issues that cause an imbalance in the microbiome in the first place. Probiotics simplify the nearly incomprehensible complexity of the microbiome and its natural requirements. They are a linear approach to a very non-linear and dynamic system, and in the current supplement market, there is creation of a belief that “gut health” is associated with probiotic use.
In addition to the multitude of therapeutic properties listed above, spore biotics help build phyla bacteria in the gut, especially firmicutes and bacteroidetes. These two phyla bacteria make up 90% of the microbiota. Their presence is crucial for successful immune response in the GI tract.
Another profound impact of spore biotics is their interplay with butyrate in the gut. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are generated by spore forming bacteria that break down dietary fibers. SCFAs such as butyrate are linked to improved gut homeostasis, suppressed inflammatory responses, and epithelial barrier functioning.
Now let’s talk about the perfect complement to spore biotics
I began speaking years ago about the importance of healthy soils and their replenishment. While my understanding of this need came long before publication of the linked article, Vandana Shiva was an unmeasurable resource in the expansion of my understanding. A newer and yet just as inspirational resource for me is Dr. Zach Bush. He comments as follows about the depletion of healthy soils:
“Industrialization and destruction of our soil systems (and consequent decrease in nutrient density of our foods), plus widespread glyphosate use has cut off the innate intelligent communication we need to thrive…the things we encounter in our daily lives that harm gut health are expanding.”
(Read more on the dangers of glyphosate here and here.)
Dr. Bush is the creator of a wondrous product called ION* Gut Health. It is literally a perfect complement to occasional use of supplemental spore biotics for microbiome diversity. What makes ION* so unique is that it helps foster your body’s innate, intelligent communication, thanks to redox molecules. These molecules function “as a liquid circuit board moving information throughout the biology of life”.
ION* is a simple liquid formula of purified water and humic extract, a 60-million-year-old mineral found in rich soil. It provides a communication network of carbon redox molecules that form the front line of defense for our guts. In this case, redox means that a molecule of carbon dioxide receives an electron and converts to oxygen. It does not add anything new to your body, but rather works by naturally bolstering your innate systems to help your body do what Mother Nature intended. It is, additionally, a powerful tool for healing the tight junctions in the intestinal membrane, sealing up a leaky gut.
To offer you a reference for understanding, this is the difference between the allowance of innate, sophisticated communication amongst your cells vs. employing a micro-manager of communication, pretending to comprehend how these microorganisms should speak to one another!
ION Gut Support
When probiotics matter
There are certain circumstances under which probiotics are an appropriate choice. These mostly consist of post-antibiotic and/or post-antimicrobial treatments. The use of the specific strain saccharomyces boulardii in the aftermath of antibiotic treatment is virtually always indicated, given its protection of empty bacterial receptor sites from invasion of fungi, especially candida albicans. The use of “broad spectrum” probiotics for a short term following this course is also typically indicated.
A 2nd scenario in which a specific species of bacteria is indicated is with a low level of akkermansia. Low levels of this bacteria are associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and thus, supplementation with akkermansia can bring about repair of the mucosa and some stabilization of symptoms associated with these diseases. (Caution is necessary and long-term supplementation is not advised, as over-expression of akkermansia is associated with multiple sclerosis and colorectal cancer. Supervision with testing is recommended.)
Akkermansia is primarily stimulated by mucins in the mouth. Mucins are the primary protein-based structural components of mucus, which forms a protective coating on epithelial surfaces throughout the body. This houses the microbiota and plays a key role in host immune defense. There are approximately 20 mucins at work in this system. They are highly dependent upon normal pH to maintain balance - mouthwashes as well as diets that alter pH balance are detrimental to this balance. Outside of the mouth, they are present in the appendix, bile, pancreas, small and large intestines.
Research shows that in “healthy flora” the addition of a probiotic does not readily impact the resident microbial populations. However, in a situation exhibiting dysbiosis the addition of probiotics could have a significant impact on reshaping the microbiota.
Although the probiotic bacteria themselves do not appear to colonize and become part of the fecal waste, specific probiotics have significant impacts on the types of bacteria which repopulate the intestine (remember, this does not apply in the case of a healthy microbiome). Study authors identified an increase in flagellar motility, chemotaxis, and adhesion genes from resident commensal bacteria which were positively regulated by the addition of the probiotic to the host diet.
Appropriate, professionally directed therapies are advised in these situations and should be supported with adequate testing and measures. Remodeling of the microbiome and recovery time can vary widely and depend upon the antibiotic utilized as well as the individual constitution and immunity.
Summations and solutions
As I state always, the absolute most fundamental step in correcting any health issue is to know and practice your personalized nutrition program. MT® is based upon your genetic and individual responses to food. As I’ve written about, it also has a direct relationship with and profound impact upon your microbiome. To attempt to balance and diversify the microbiome without the foundation of proper personalized diet is to create long-term micro-management vs. predictable stability.
Other steps in this process include:
Investigation of gut health via high quality stool testing
Utilization of antimicrobials and immune supports for pathogen eradication followed by re-testing
Establishment of microbiome maintenance protocols
Whole body/mind care focused on tonifying the nervous system and core belief system
At True Nature Health Consulting, your individualized needs are identified and met through close and careful attention. Email me at Julie@truenaturehealthconsulting.com to discuss your needs today. We provide holistic telehealth services.