The Link Between Gut Health and Autoimmune Conditions

The gut contains over 70% of the body’s immune cells, known as GALT (gut-associated lymphoid tissue). This means there is a close connection between gut health and immune function. An unhealthy gut environment can lead to inflammation and autoimmunity.

What is the Gut Microbiome?

The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the gastrointestinal tract. These microbes play many important roles including digesting food, producing vitamins, regulating immunity and protecting against infection. Diversity of microbes is important – a healthy microbiome contains many different strains.

Dysbiosis and Leaky Gut

Dysbiosis refers to imbalanced gut flora with more pathogenic bacteria than beneficial bacteria. This can be caused by factors like antibiotics, poor diet and stress. Dysbiosis alters the gut lining, making it more permeable or “leaky”. Partially digested food particles and bacteria can then escape through the gut wall into the bloodstream, triggering widespread inflammation.

Autoimmune Conditions

In autoimmunity, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own healthy tissues. There are over 80 different autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. Autoimmunity is increasing; it affects around 5-10% of the population in developed countries.

The Gut-Autoimmunity Link

Emerging research shows a strong link between gut dysbiosis/leaky gut and autoimmunity. Possible mechanisms include:

• Molecular mimicry – bacterial proteins in the bloodstream resemble body proteins, causing mistaken immune attacks on body tissues.
• The gut microbiome influences how the immune system develops and functions. Changes to gut flora affect immune tolerance.
• Increased gut permeability allows external triggers like foods, toxins or bacteria to enter the bloodstream, activating autoimmunity in genetically susceptible individuals.

Improving Gut Health

Steps to improve gut health and potentially reduce autoimmune disease activity include:

• Avoiding antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and proton pump inhibitors which disrupt gut flora.
• Eating plenty of prebiotic fibre from foods like onions, garlic, bananas and oats to feed beneficial gut bacteria.
• Taking probiotic supplements containing strains like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium to increase good bacteria.
• Managing stress levels through practices like meditation, yoga and mindfulness. Chronic stress negatively impacts gut health.
• Removing inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy and processed foods that damage the gut lining for some people.
• Supporting gut repair and sealing a leaky gut through supplements like L-glutamine or bone broth.

The Role of Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is an approach that identifies and addresses the root causes of disease. Rather than looking at symptoms alone, it examines the whole body and lifestyle factors like diet, stress, toxins, and gut health. The goal is to get to the underlying reasons why illness develops.

Functional medicine practitioners use lab tests and a detailed health history to create a personalised treatment plan. This may involve dietary changes, supplements, stress reduction techniques, and other interventions to correct imbalances and support optimal function.

The integrative solutions of functional medicine can potentially restore health in complex

chronic diseases when a conventional approach alone has not been effective. A functional medicine London practitioner like a London nutritionist can help if you suffer from poor gut health.

Though more research is needed, modification of gut bacteria through probiotics, prebiotics and diet shows promise as part of an integrative approach to autoimmune conditions. A healthy gut microbiome may help regulate errant immune responses. Consulting a nutritioni