Is There a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis? Part 5 – How to Restore Healthy Gut Flora

Last Updated on December 7, 2023 by Cathy

 

Your gut is full of billions of healthy bacteria, they are essential for your well-being. However, if this healthy bacterial balance is disrupted, MS can occur. There are major factors to this unbalance of good and bad bacteria. They are an unhealthy diet, infections, antibiotics, and/or chronic stress.

The National MS Society is currently funding The MS Microbiome Consortium. A comprehensive analysis of gut bacteria in people with MS. Furthermore, the study will determine which bacteria restore a healthy balance. This knowledge may lead to new MS treatments such as probiotics and prebiotics.

Instead of waiting for study results, you can start today on your path towards healing. Functional Medicine follows the 4 Rs to healing:

• Remove
• Replace
• Reinoculate
• Repair

Today I’m talking about restoring the beneficial bacteria back into your gut. Probiotics help keep the gut healthy in addition to the immune system functioning. They also provide a beneficial defense against inflammation. MS is caused by chronic inflammation.

Triggers to MS:

• Poor Diet
• Infections (bacteria, parasites, viruses, and yeast overgrowth)
• Environmental toxins (heavy metals, mold, pesticides, etc.)
• Chronic stress
• Hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, etc.)

Is yogurt enough?

If you are eating store-bought yogurt to get beneficial probiotics, you may be wasting your money. Most yogurts are pasteurized, which kills most beneficial bacteria during the heating process. Also, if you’re buying frozen yogurts it doesn’t contain any living bacteria.

Activia markets its yogurt with probiotics to aid with digestion. They indeed have different strains of beneficial probiotics. It also includes fructose, modified cornstarch, and many other unwanted ingredients.

Greek yogurts also include probiotics and are traditionally strained to remove the whey. This leaves a more solid yogurt with less sugar. Unfortunately, they aren’t any better when you read the ingredients. Ingredients such as artificial colors, sodium citrate, and other hard-to-pronounce words.

Probiotic Food

Eating a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices is beneficial for overall health and well-being. While fermented foods can contribute to a healthy gut microbiome by providing probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria, a balanced diet that includes a variety of plant-based foods offers numerous advantages for your health.

Here are some reasons why consuming fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices is essential:

• Fruits and vegetables are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.
• Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of dietary fiber.
• Plant foods are packed with antioxidants, which help neutralize harmful free radicals in the body.
• Fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices contain phytochemicals, which are natural compounds that have many health benefits.
• While fermented foods contribute probiotics to the gut, fruits and vegetables provide prebiotics, which are substances that nourish and support the growth of beneficial bacteria.
• A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with weight management and lower calorie intake.
• Consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Some fruits and vegetables, especially those rich in antioxidants like berries and leafy greens, have been associated with cognitive function and a reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline.

Supplements that Heal Your Gut Flora

There are so many probiotic supplements to choose from, it’s very confusing. This is when the current studies will come in handy. Which strain of bacteria will benefit patients with MS the most? Since results aren’t in yet it’s best to look for supplements with these strains:

• Lactobacillus Acidophilus – this is the most important strain
• Bifidobacterium

Buy high quality, high-potency probiotics. A high-potency probiotic is one within the 20-30 billion CFU’s per capsule range. Look for ones that don’t contain wheat, gluten, soy, milk, artificial colors, or preservatives. Make sure the probiotic you choose will survive the stomach acid. Probiotics can get pretty expensive. You don’t need to spend a lot of money when looking for good quality. I like to use Healthy Origins Probiotic.

When buying probiotics online, make sure they are shelf-stable. This will prevent the bacteria from dying during shipping and/or storage. Also, don’t have it sitting in your mailbox for hours during extreme weather for the same reason.

Equally important check the expiration date on the label. You don’t want to purchase a bottle if the bacteria are past expiration and dead. Good quality brands will include an expiration date. If you are buying online also check for return policies or a money-back guarantee. In case it’s not what you thought.

Time to Take Action and Heal Your Gut Flora

Probiotics are one of the most important parts of healing your gut. It is as crucial as changing your diet. You can stop eating harmful foods. But if you don’t include probiotics, the healthy balance of good and bad bacteria will be missing.

We are living in a world that is wiping out both the bad and good bacteria through antibiotics, antibacterial soaps, and hand sanitizers. It is time to pay attention to what you are doing and add more probiotics to increase your good bacteria.

Next week I’ll continue with this series: Is There a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis? In case you missed them, here is a link to the previous stories:

1 – Is There a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis?
2 – The 4 R’s of Healing
3 – Healthy Diet for Multiple Sclerosis
4 – Is Functional Medicine Right For You?

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Is There a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis? Part 5 – How to Restore Healthy Gut Flora