What does one’s colon have to do with the myriad of complaints common to Lyme patients like joint pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, brain fog, etc? These are all manifestations of the same underlying inflammatory process, however affecting different organs.
What does one’s colon have to do with the myriad of complaints common to Lyme patients like joint pain, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, brain fog, etc? These are all manifestations of the same underlying inflammatory process, however affecting different organs.
The colon is lined by what is called the G.A. L.T. (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue) which is a major player in a well-functioning immune system. When the tissue is stressed it can have far reaching effects on the body.
So how does the colon get stressed?
The colon is one’s interface with the world on both an emotional and physical level. Therefore it is the organ most affected by the world, in terms of diet and toxic overload. The average American diet of processed food, sugars, and inflammatory-type foods like white flour, corn and dairy are common culprits. Being so prevalent in our diet they create food sensitivities which perpetuate an immune response in the colon. This immune response then plays havoc with the colon’s environment.
The colon is the foundation by which good health is built. It is a very complex ecosystem, composed mostly of various strains of good bacteria and some yeast. When the colon is stressed either by diet, medications, or toxicity it results in an imbalance in the ecosystem and a resulting dysbiosis occurs.
There is a decrease in the good bacteria and an overgrowth of harmful bacteria, yeast, microscopic parasites and sometimes virus which sets up an inflammatory reaction in the walls of the colon leading to a condition where microscopic holes develop in the colon walls called leaky gut.
The colon then becomes inefficient in its ability to completely break down the food we eat.
Partially digested food passes through these microscopic holes in the colon walls, which the immune system recognizes as foreign and starts reacting to multiple foods. This further inflames the body, which in turn increases the inflammatory reaction in the colon creating a viscous cycle of inflammation…bacterial overgrowth…food sensitivities… inflammation. It is the inflammation which leads to or adds to the symptoms of Lyme disease.
How does one diagnose and ultimately restore a healthy colon environment?
Regarding the diagnosis, there are several specialty labs that do a comprehensive stool analysis which gives vital information regarding the environment of one’s colon; one is Genova Diagnostics, and another is Diagnos-Techs. The Diagnos-Tech test is cheaper and I feel gives more pertinent information.
The treatment is a combination of diet, re-inoculation of the colon with good flora, and a comprehensive approach to detoxification. These are topics that will be discussed in a future blog.