Standing on the shoulders of giants doing amazing research I’ve connected some dots and did some thinking. My aim is to create some easy to understand and practical blog posts relative to Gut Health Research, specific to the Gut and our overall health with a neurological disease. Keep in mind this information applies to normal health conscious people as well as ones with an autoimmune or neurodegeneration disease. 

Emulsifiers have gotten a lot of attention in our Cavernous Angioma (CA) community however in my option they are only the tip of the iceberg in overall Gut Health. In Dr. Awad’s article from May 2020 it discusses specifically that Cavernous Angioma (CA) patients have distinctive microbiomes, compared to healthy individuals.

Below are some published papers I want to draw on to reference how our Cavernous Angioma (CA) disease could be very much linked to the gut-brain axis connection. 

The gut-brain axis connection is an emerging and widely accepted concept thought to drive other types of neurodegeneration diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis.

I would also like to expand on how this research lead me to learn to eat for my gut, which means strengthening my microbiome and decreasing the intestinal permeability. This type of eating aims at promoting tight junctions in the gut cell wall to keep bacterial toxins in the gut where they belong.

Below Dr. Awad’s article discusses how it has been increasingly recognized that Cavernous Angioma (CA) disease course can be affected by inflammatory processes. A major contributor to this Neuro inflammatory response is the presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from intestinal microorganisms leaking into our body, blood, and entering our brain.

Our study demonstrates that CA patients have distinctive microbiome compared to healthy individuals. Analyses at the biosynthesis and gene level indicate that LPS synthesis-related genes are more abundant in CA patients, consistent with a role of gut-generated LPS driving CA disease.

We show a diagnostic microbiome associated with high sensitivity and specificity with a human neurovascular disease, CA, predisposing to brain hemorrhage. This is linked to a defined mechanism whereby LPS produced by Gram-negative bacteria drives CA lesion genesis. The diagnostic microbiome is consistent among subjects recruited at different sites, and those harboring sporadic and familial disease and different CA genotypes. In humans as in mice, a permissive microbiome appears necessary for CA lesion development. We demonstrate other differences in microbiome and plasma molecules associated with disease severity features, and show how they can be combined for more precise associations with disease severity and hemorrhage.

Of the three species identified in the diagnostic microbiome (Fig. 1e, f), F. prausnitzii and B. adolescentis are Gram-positive species have been shown to be protective against gut inflammation28,29,30, and are less abundant in CA patients. The Gram-negative species O. splanchnicus, more abundant in CA patients, enhances gut inflammation, and has been linked to other neurological diseases31.

(1)

The below referenced article shows that we communicate from our gut to our brain through the vagus nerve fiber or more commonly called the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

The microbiota, the gut, and the brain communicate through the microbiota-gut-brain axis in a bidirectional way that involves the autonomic nervous system. The vagus nerve (VN), the principal component of the parasympathetic nervous system, is a mixed nerve composed of 80% afferent and 20% efferent fibers. The VN, because of its role in interoceptive awareness, is able to sense the microbiota metabolites through its afferents, to transfer this gut information to the central nervous system where it is integrated in the central autonomic network, and then to generate an adapted or inappropriate response. A cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway has been described through VN’s fibers, which is able to dampen peripheral inflammation and to decrease intestinal permeability, thus very probably modulating microbiota composition.

(2)

The following article shows that changes in our Gut and brain barrier permeability can allow lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from intestinal microorganisms to be more readily displaced into the brain, causing the Neuro inflammatory activation. 

Considerable evidence shows that with the effects of aging, external stress, etc., there are changes in intestinal and brain barrier permeability, and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from intestinal microorganisms are more readily displaced into the internal environment, causing the immune activation of the brain through the microbe–gut–brain axis [13,14]. Schoultz et al. [15] demonstrated that AD patients show signs of increased intestinal permeability and dysfunction with elevated levels of LPS in the blood. However, LPS are a specific component of the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria in the intestine and a strong activator of immune cells, which can cause an inflammatory cascade response.

(3)

This next article explains that LPS and other toxic bacteria are able to translocate to the brain implicating  the development of psychological and neurological diseases.

Gut–brain axis exacerbates neurological disorders through gut-microbiota-derived molecular patterns. The dysregulated LPS productions were able to translocate to the brain through the circulation, where it mediates various dangerous signaling by interacting Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), resulting in the induction of neuroinflammation and other neurological diseases.

Gut–brain crosstalk not only maintains the healthy status, but, also, in the context of gut–brain axis disruption, it has been implicated in the development of psychological and neurological diseases [77,78]. The gut bacteria have a major impact on brain development, behavior, and host immune system. However, the increased intestinal permeability causes translocation of gut microbes and their neuroactive metabolites and components that induce a neuroinflammatory response in the brain.

(4)

Summary

So in reviewing these papers, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and other toxic bacteria are able to travel to the brain. These neurotoxins have been shown to be capable of transversing normally restrictive blood–brain barriers (BBBs) and our gut wall, triggering our immune system defense. This drives the development of neurological diseases including, in my opinion Cavernous angiomas. 

“Hippocrates himself said that ‘all disease begins in the gut”

The statement from Dr. Awad’s article “F. prausnitzii and B. adolescentis are Gram-positive species that have been shown to be protective against gut inflammation” got me thinking about how to maximize the strength of our gut and started me down this rabbit hole. 

I found out that through fermentation, our little gut bugs, (which by the way is a complex community of over 100 trillion microbial cells!) are producing butyrate, an organic compound that belongs to the group of short-chain fatty acids. Butyrate is one of the main anti-inflammatory metabolites, and one of the main compounds butyrate produces is Faecalibacterium prausnitzii! This was my first light bulb moment and got me to think well let’s get my gut in tip-top shape.

F. prausnitzii is a microbial powerhouse that has numerous benefits, including:

• Anti-inflammatory effects – increasing the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines
• Empowering intestinal barrier function
• Influencing mucus production in the gut

I quickly found that foods rich in inulin is one way to increase F. prausnitzii which makes Butyrate and has the above benefits. However supporting the whole gut microbiome is really the key here and will provide us with many dividends to our health.

Lipopolysaccharide or LPS are bacterial toxins that can cause health issues if they reach the bloodstream. Normally housed safely in the gut, lipopolysaccharides can enter the blood if you have an infection, “leaky gut”, or eat too many not so healthy fatty foods (with Omega 6 and seed oils.) We know from Dr. Awad’s article that Cavernous Angioma (CA) disease patients have distinctive microbiomes and lacking Gram-positive bacteria, which has been shown to be protective against gut inflammation.

According to the Cleveland Clinic,

“Most people simply have general gut inflammation — the precursor to intestinal permeability. This may be due to a specific disease, or it may be a cumulative effect of poor diet, chronic stress and other common factors.”

(5)

A leaky gut is, as it sounds, a weak and porous lining of the intestines that when inflamed or aggravated by certain foods, allows nutrients to permeate into the bloodstream and the body; including bacteria, undigested food particles, or allergens like gluten that can be toxic when not metabolized properly. (6)

Now knowing a leaky gut can possibly lead to the formation or increased growth of existing CA, I saw my gut health very differently. To me this was a logical place to become an expert in.

In doing my own research to search for the best food protocol to implement I learned about lectins. I now strongly believe in avoiding lectin rich foods, as they have been shown to be extremely damaging to our gut wall and bodies over time. Lectins are plant proteins and they’re one of the principle plant defense mechanisms against being eaten or having their seeds, their “babies” eaten. I did immediately think well why didn’t our body evolve to defend ourselves against these suckers. Two words, endocrine disruptors. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are natural or human-made chemicals that may mimic, block, or interfere with the body’s hormones. For more info on endocrine disruptors specifically, read (here).

Disruptors specifically impacting our gut in society have allowed lectins to become increasingly more dangerous. We typically have a very good defense system against these lectins or proteins. They easily can be dissolved by stomach acid and we can even have bacteria that actually enjoy eating lectins. However, two common things have been widely accepted in western society weakening our defensives: Number one, the overuse of broad spectrum antibiotics both in humans, and probably more importantly, in the animals that we eat. There’s antibiotic residues in the animals we eat, at least the United States, most of our beef, pork and chickens contain them. These antibiotics kill the microbiome.

And second, as shown in a study from Duke University Medical Center, ingestion of the artificial sweetener sucralose significantly depressed beneficial microflora in the Gut. (8) This study is just proving how dangerous Splenda (sucralose) really can be. Splenda is only becoming more popular as we switch from knowingly dangerous aspartame. Sucralose is now very common in sports drinks, water products and many food products.  Oh don’t forget all those diet drinks and “sugar free” products out there…. And so we’ve really lost most of our natural defense system against lectins. 

Lectins are sometimes called sticky proteins because they actually seek out sugar molecules to bind to. They particularly like to grab hold of sialic acid – a type of sugar found in your brain, gut, nervous tissue, and even in human milk. Unfortunately they promote the breaking of tight junctions in our gut which we now know needs to be strong to keep in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and other toxic bacteria.

These sugar molecules line the lining of our gut. They line our joint surfaces. They line the space between nerve transmission. They’re in the myelin sheath, nerves and even line the surface of our blood vessels. 

Dr. Alessio Fasano’s work, who’s now at the University of Harvard Celiac Research Center, was the first to really prove that gluten, which happens to be only one of the many harmful lectins, is a major cause of leaky gut syndrome. (7)

Conclusion 

Most of us don’t eat healthily because we don’t know how to. Health advice is complicated, very contradictory and confusing. My personal philosophy is to look at all the data and come to my own conclusion, thinking for myself. 

When you stop worrying about eating healthily and, instead, just eat for your gut bacteria then everything becomes a whole lot easier. Our gut bacteria simply needs us to include in our diet plentiful supplies of the stuff that keeps them satisfied, Pre, Pro,and Post-biotics.

I am a strong believer that your lifestyle should promote a lectin free food protocol at it’s foundation, organic recommended, if possible, with whole unprocessed foods, fibrous vegetables, fruits (only in season for your local geographic region), fermented vegetables, cultured dairy products, healthy fats, and occasionally unprocessed meats. I created a post Eating for your Gut Health with specifics to my food choices for those interested as well. 

keep the faith,

Reference Links

(1) (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16436-w#Fig1)

(2) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5808284/ )

(3) ( https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/4134 )

(4) (https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/20/7551 )

(5) ( https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22724-leaky-gut-syndrome )

(6) ( https://thebeet.com/what-to-eat-to-heal-leaky-gut-syndrome-from-dr-steven-gundry/ )

(7) (https://neurohacker.com/the-connection-between-lectins-and-leaky-gut-an-interview-with-steven-gundry-md )

(8) (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18800291/ )

EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/36/6/E1/2354691?login=false

Cover Photo

https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/human-brain-tree-with-flowers-self-care-mental-health-concept-generative-ai_39275654.htm

The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of Corey Diggins, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this blog is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Corey Diggins. Corey Diggins encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.