What to do?
Regardless of whether it is considered a disease or not, dysbiosis can be cured; often simply correcting their eating habits, sometimes using antibiotics or specific supplements.
However, before embarking on any treatment it is important to clearly define the causes of origin and the type of alteration that has been created. For example, if the disorders are linked to the so-called bacterial contamination syndrome of the small intestine, the spontaneous intake of lactic acid bacteria or probiotics could make the problem worse; similar for the prebiotics and for the excesses of fibers in general.
Diagnosis
To investigate the origin of excessive flatulence, so-called breath tests can be performed. During these tests the patient is given a certain amount of a known nutrient and after a certain period of time, in respiratory gases, the concentrations of markers of normal or altered intestinal metabolism of the substance are evaluated. We must not forget the potential pathological causes of dysbiosis, which must necessarily be investigated through appropriate examinations to clinical and amnestetic suspicion. Attention, therefore, to read advertisements very well and to be adequately informed, so as to avoid tracing the origin of one's own disorders to a "simple" dysbiosis and to treat it through self-therapy.
Among the other potentially useful tests, always to be carried out based on the suspected amnestetic, we recall the coproculture, the pH of the faeces and the test of the indole in the urine.
Importance of the Diet
Exclusion Diets
As illustrated so far, we can consider dysbiosis as a widespread disorder, the result of an incorrect diet and lifestyle, or as a mere pathology, present in few unfortunates due to particular pharmacological therapies, surgical interventions (intestinal resections)., gastrointestinal bypass etc.) or pathologies of the digestive system. In the first case the symptoms must be very nuanced and exacerbated in the face of ingestion of certain foods, in well established quantities and quality; in such circumstances, it is sufficient to remove the suspect food from the diet for a week ; if a regression of gastro-intestinal disorders is appreciated, the food is reintroduced and the reactions of the organism are observed. In the event that the symptoms reappear, the food must be definitively removed from its diet for a few months, then trying to reintroduce it gradually and in small quantities.
There are also cases in which the symptoms of dysbiosis are not connected to a specific food, but to specific food categories; two are the most common situations, the putrefactive and the fermentative one.
Putrefactive dysbiosis
In this case the symptoms of dysbiosis are triggered by diets excessively rich in meat and animal fats, but low in fiber; this condition can be accompanied by constipation or by the emission of poorly formed and oily stools, with the expulsion of intestinal gases of particularly bad odor (the amino acids derived from maldigerite proteins undergo a decarboxylation process which produces toxic and malodorous amines, the faeces pH tends to increase as a result of increased ammonia production). This condition is aggravated by antibiotic therapies.
Fermentative dysbiosis
In the fermentative dysbiosis, on the other hand, the origin of symptoms is to be found in a diet excessively rich in sugars and complex carbohydrates, or in problems of malabsorption, both specific (lactose intolerance, sucrose, etc.) and generalized (celiac disease, parasitosis, etc.). ).
In this case, contrary to putrefactive dysbiosis, the intake of lactic ferments, probiotics (lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) or fiber supplements, not only does not improve the condition, but even tends to worsen it; it is therefore necessary to intervene first of all, making sure that there are no intolerances or diseases of the digestive organs, and at a later time with diets that are poor in starch, sugar and waste, accompanied by antibiotic therapies.
Supplements
POTENTIALLY USEFUL SUPPLEMENTS (but also potentially harmful if taken without a correct diagnosis) IN CASE OF DISBIOSIS: butyric acid, caprylic acid, short and medium chain fatty acids, glutamine, probiotics, prebiotics, FOS, inulin, lactic ferments, symbiotic, lactitol, polydextrose, garlic, echinacea, hydrates and grapefruit seed extract.
However, to prevent dysbiosis or treat milder forms, it is sufficient to adopt healthy eating habits. We have already explained how the intestinal flora is the mirror of what is taken through one's diet: if the various digestive organs work at their best, and if one avoids eating too abundant meals or mixing too many foods in the same meal (first, second, fruit), vegetables, desserts, proteins of various types, coffee, etc.), then most of the nutrients are absorbed by the mucous membrane of the small intestine.
In this way, only the fibers, particularly welcome to the beneficial strains, which are strengthened by removing the risk of dysbiosis remain available to the colon bacteria.
