More and more studies are now linking poor gut bacteria with the risk of several cancers — both in and outside the gut.
Poor gut health doesn’t just cause problems in your digestive organs — it’s the cornerstone for many other serious diseases in the rest of the body, including diabetes, obesity, Parkinson’s disease and arthritis.
It can also cause bloating and indigestion, problems with bowel movements, low mood, sleep disorder and even depression, which can also be connected to poor gut health.
The bacteria in our digestive systems (or microbiome) — can roughly be divided into ‘ bad’ that cause infections such as food poisoning or cholera and typhoid and ‘good’ which prevent the growth and spread of disease, improve overall immunity and help to reduce chronic inflammation.
Good bacteria are generally referred to as probiotic bacteria and include the lactobacillus and Bacteroidetes groups, linked with numerous health benefits.
We need to cherish and feed our good bacteria because they have a vital role to play in keeping our immune system in good condition. This is key to helping our bodies detect and destroy early cancer cells more efficiently as well as any carcinogens in our food and environment.
Poor gut health contributes to numerous digestive problems including bloating, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diarrhoea, food allergies and intolerances.
Research now shows that a depleted colony of good bacteria leads to damage or thinning in our gut walls, weakening the barriers that normally prevent toxins from getting into the blood stream.
As a result, these toxins and bacteria can cause inflammation all over our bodies. This is commonly known as ‘leaky gut syndrome’.
This is why a wide range of serious diseases in other parts of the body — including dementia diabetes, arthritis and obesity — can either be caused or aggravated by poor gut health and chronic inflammation.
There is also emerging data to suggest it is a ‘trigger’ for type 1 diabetes — because the body gets confused by toxins in the blood stream and starts inadvertently attacking its own pancreas.
This chronic inflammation also helps to explain why the tumours associated with poor gut health are not just restricted to several types of bowel cancer.
In addition, scientists now know that healthy colonies of good gut bacteria use phytochemicals to produce a fatty acid called butyrate that helps protect the cells lining the colon from genetic damage.
Not only this, but butyrate also kills established colon cancer cells before they get a foothold — yet another reason why eating a diet high in phytochemical-rich vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices is a key way to look after your gut health and cut your cancer risk.
The cancer-fighting results of feeding your good gut bacteria with phytochemical-rich foods was recently illustrated by an exciting academic study at the Primrose Oncology Research Unit at Bedford Hospital.
Known as the Pomi-T study (after the extracts tested: pomegranate, broccoli, turmeric and green tea), it is to date the world’s largest and probably most respected trial evaluating the impact of phytochemical-rich foods.
It was clear from the trial, which involved 203 men with diagnosed prostate cancer, that taking a gut-friendly probiotic supplement rich in phytochemicals not only reduced inflammation in the gut but also slowed the progression of the prostate cancer in those who took it, compared with those in the control group who did not.