Eczema and Putrefication and Interesting probiotic link

[Guest guest]

I found this while persuing around. Since eczema as come

up a few times, and antibiotic therapy for gut healing (Pepto Bismol)

I thought you'all might find it interesting. The article really covers

everything and the kitchen sink ... intestingly enough it ALSO has

a decent definition for " putrefication " per the recent discussion.

Their definition agrees with my observations ... high PH (alkaline)

bacterial activity is really gross smelling (putrid) while low PH (acidic)

bacterial activity is often rather wonderful (fermentation):

1. The enzyme urease, found in Bacteroides, Proteus and Klebsiella species, and

induced in those organisms by a diet high in meat, hydrolyzes urea to ammonia,

raising stool pH. A relatively high stool pH is associated with a higher

prevalence of colon cancer(7).

....

Not all bacterial enzyme activity is harmful to the host. Fermentation of

soluble flber by Bifidobacteria sp. yields SCFA. Recent interest has focused on

the beneficial role of short-chain fatty acids like buty- rate in nourishing

healthy colonic mucosal cells. Butyrate has been shown to induce differentiation

of neoplastic cells(l1), decreased ab- sorption of ammonia from the

intestine(1), decreased inflammation in ulcerative colitis(12) and, following

absorption, decreased cholesterol synthesis in the liver(7). Butyrate lowers the

stool pH. A relatively low stool pH is associated with protection against colon

cancer(S). The principal source of colonic butyrate is fermentation of soluble

fiber by colonic anaerobes. Thus, putrefaction dysbiosis results from the inter-

play of bacteria and diet in their effects on health and disease.

I don't think a diet high in meat necessarily causes high PH necessarily

(obviously!) ... it would depend on a lot of things,

including what probiotics one is eating. But I HAVE noticed that my stools

recently smell

very little, and are somewhat " sourish " if anything (a lot like kefir smell, not

surprisingly!) so I think

the PH thing may be key. Also note the connection (again!) to butyrate. (The

article isn't anti-meat, it

also mentions Gottschall's protocol).

-- Heidi Jean

http://www.holisticchoices.com/IntestinalDysbiosisNCausesofDisease.htm

Atopic Eczema

Ionescu and his colleagues have studied fecal and duodenal flora in patients

with atopic eczema and found evidence of small bowel dysbiosis and subtle

malabsorption phenomena in the majority(21,22). Treatment with antibiotics or

with a natural antibiotic derived from grapefruit seeds, produced major

improvement in the gastro-intestinal symptoms of eczema patients and moderate

improvement in severity of eczema(23). One advantage in the use of grapefruit

seed extract over conventional antibiotics lies in its anti-fungal activity.

This agent adds a second therapeutic dimension and eliminates the possibility of

secondary candidosis. The minimum effective dose of grapefruit seed extract for

bacterial dysbiosis is 600 mg a day.

Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ebringer has successfully treated ankylosing spondylitis with a low starch diet

similar to Gottschall's regimen for bowel disease. This diet lowers the

concentration of Klebsiella in stool and decreases the titre of anti-Klebsiella

IgA. He has also proposed that rheumatoid ar- thritis, which is associated with

HLA-DR4, involves a similar molecular mimicry between HLA-DR4 and Proteus

mirabilis, as cross reactive Proteus antibodies are higher in patients with

rheumatoid arthritis than in controls. Abnormal immune responses to components

of the normal gut flora represents a form of dysbiosis which suggests novel

treatment for inflammatory diseases.

Treatment Approaches

Diet Putrefaction dysbiosis is usually managed with a diet high in both soluble

and insoluble

<http://www.holisticchoices.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY & Store_Code=hlt\

hshops & Category_Code=VPDigestn>fiber and low in saturated fat and animal

protein. Dairy products have a variable effect. Fermented dairy foods like fresh

yogurt are occasionally helpful. These dietary changes work to lower the

concentrations of Bacteroides and increase concentrations of

<http://www.holisticchoices.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY & Store_Code=hlt\

hshops & Category_Code=VPDigestn>lactic acid-producing bacteria (Bifidobacteria,

Lactobacillus and lactic acid streptococci) in the colon(44,45). Supplementing

the diet with defined sources of fiber can have variable effects on colonic

dysbiosis. Insoluble fiber decreases bacterial concentration and microbial

enzyme activity(46,47). Soluble fiber, on the other hand, tends to elevate

bacterial concentration and enzyme activity at the same time that it raises the

levels of beneficial short chain fatty acids. This disparity may explain the

superior effect of insoluble fiber in the prevention of colon cancer(48-51).

Fructose-containing oligosac- charides, found in vegetables like onion and

asparagus, have been developed as a food supplement for raising stool levels of

Bifidobacteria and lower stool pH.(52)

Infermentation dysbiosis, by contrast, starch and soluble fiber may exacerbate

the abnormal gut ecology(3,33). When the upper small bowel is involved, simple

sugars are also contra-indicated. A diet free of cereal grains and added sugar

is generally the most helpful. Fruit, fat and starchy vegetables are tolerated

to variable degree in differ- ent cases. Oligosaccharides found in some

vegetables, carrots in particular, inhibit the binding of enterobacteria to the

intestinal mucosa. Carrot juice and concentrated carrot oligosaccharides have

been used in Europe for bacterial diarrhea for almost a century(53).

BiotherapiesÑAdministration of bacteria indigenous to the healthy human colon

can reverse relapsing Clostridium difficile infection(54).

<http://www.holisticchoices.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY & Store_Code=hlt\

hshops & Category_Code=VPDigestn>Lactobacillus administration has long been used

in an attempt to improve gut microbial ecology. Regular ingestion of acidophilus

milk lowers stool concentrations of urease-positive organisms and of bacterial

enzymes which may contribute to carcinogenesis(55). Fermented dairy products and

Iyophilized Lactobacillus preparations have been shown to be useful in treating

and preventing salmonellosis, shig- ellosis, antibiotic-induced diarrhea and in

inhibiting tumor growth (56). Problems with Lactobacilli include the failure of

organisms to adhere to the intestinal mucosa or to survive damage from gastric

acid and bile. The acidophilus sweepstakes has led to the search for newer and

better strains for medical uses(57,58).

Putrefaction

This is the classic Western degenerative disease pattern advanced by

Metchnikoff. Putrefaction dysbiosis results from diets high in fat and animal

flesh and low in insoluble fiber. This type of diet produces an increased

concentration of Bacteroides sp. and a decreased concentra- tion of

Bifidobacteria sp. in stool. It increases bile flow and induces bacterial urease

activity(1). The alterations in bacterial population dynamics which result from

this diet are not measured directly by the [Comprehensive Digestive Stool

Analysis (CDSA)]. The changes occur primarily among anaerobes, but the effects

are measured in an in- crease in stool pH (partly caused by elevated ammonia

production) and in bile or urobilinogen and possibly by a decrease in short

chain fatty acids, especially in butyrate. Epidemiologic and experimental data

implicate this type of dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of colon cancer and breast

cancer(6). A putrefaction dysbiosis is accompanied by an increase in fecal

concentrations of various bacterial enzymes which metabolize bile acids to tumor

promotors and deconjugate excreted estrogens, raising the plasma estrogen

level(6). Putrefaction dysbiosis is corrected by decreasing dietary fat and

flesh, increasing fiber consumption and feeding Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus

preparations.