This article is a continuation of the topic of food allergies. Part I can be found here.
Probiotics, Gut Microbiota, and Thyroid Functioning
The word biotic is used for a living creature. Hence probiotics are certain types of live yeasts and bacteria that inhabit the human gut. Usually, germs are considered harmful, but probiotics are always good for the digestive system and overall health.
For example, bacteria in your large intestine prepare vitamin K for you and make you sufficient for it. Some foods and supplements are sources of probiotics like Yogurt.
Everything in your body is serving a purpose. Probiotics are not only beneficial for gut health, but they also affect thyroid functioning according to the new research. Probiotics have a strong impact on thyroid hormones and thyroid cells.
Probiotics can help with digestion and gut health. What are the advantages of probiotics? Bacteria have a bad reputation for creating disease, so the concept of ingesting a few billion a day for your health might be difficult to swallow – literally and metaphorically.
However, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that meals and supplements containing certain types of live bacteria can be used to treat and even prevent some ailments. Because of their practice of consuming foods fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt, Northern Europeans absorb a lot of these helpful microbes, known as probiotics (from pro and biota, meaning “for life”).
In Japan, probiotic-laced beverages are likewise a significant business. Probiotics aren’t all created equal. Different bacteria strains have different impacts. One strain, for example, may battle cavity-causing germs in our mouths without needing to pass through our intestines. For these amiable critters, research has proved promising. Probiotics have been demonstrated to have potential benefits in the treatment and prevention of a variety of diseases.
Probiotics show many beneficial effects on thyroid problems. Some of the benefits are:
- Probiotics have a positive effect on trace minerals like zinc, copper, and selenium. These minerals are necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid as they are involved in the synthesis and metabolism of thyroid hormones.
- Gut microbes act as a reservoir for T3. They also prevent fluctuations in thyroid hormones and reduce the need for the supplementation of T4.
- Any change in the microbiota composition increases the chances of Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
- Probiotics also regulate the uptake and degradation of iodine that is the most vital mineral for the thyroid.
- Gut microbiota also affects the uptake of L-thyroxine and influences the activities of propylthiouracil in the thyroid.
- Several research studies emphasize the link between microbiota composition and thyroid disorders. Probiotics are a good adjuvant therapy option for thyroid problems. However, more research is needed to explore the advantages of probiotics in the realm of thyroid issues.
What are Prebiotics?
While probiotics have become increasingly popular in recent years, prebiotics are less well-known yet just as crucial. Prebiotics are nutrients that good gut bacteria require to grow and thrive (and can be found in certain meals). Prebiotics are similar to “pet food” for beneficial bacteria. Here are some examples of Foods with Probiotic Properties:
Prebiotic Supplements and Foods
Oligosaccharides are a type of carbohydrate found in prebiotic meals. Oligo means “a few,” and saccharide means “sugar.” Oligosaccharides are sugar molecules that are three to ten sugar molecules long and fall between simple and complicated carbohydrates in size.
These fermentable carbohydrates are used by the gut’s beneficial bacteria, which helps to maintain bacterial diversity. In a nutshell, oligosaccharides are “fuel” for the body to produce its own probiotics or beneficial bacteria.
These probiotics and prebiotics combinations can improve your gut health. Here’s how. Prebiotics provide food for probiotics; hence probiotics require prebiotics to function correctly.
The study of the link between the two is still underway, and scientists are unable to say whether ingesting prebiotics can help probiotic development. Prebiotic and probiotic pills are unnecessary for most healthy persons.
However, for persons who do not have a weakened immune system or underlying disorders, the danger is usually negligible.
People can acquire enough prebiotics and probiotics without taking supplements if they eat a diet that includes a range of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fermented foods.
If people believe they need particular counsel on the best diet for their circumstances, they should visit a doctor or a nutritionist.
My Experience with Food Alergies and Hair Loss
Here is my experience with food allergies and sensitivities. I started experiencing stomach swelling, bloating, itchy skin, constipation, and hair loss, when I realized that those symptoms might have been connected to other health issues.
I decided to do a blood test to determine if I had food allergies and sensitivities (intolerances) or some hormones imbalances, or too much iron and ferritin. Additionally, I checked my sex hormones, DHEA, and Pregnenolone, as well as did a CBC test.
Food allergies and intolerances are both undesirable food reactions that some people have, but they are not the same thing and occur for different reasons. Immune response: When someone has a food allergy, their immune system reacts inappropriately to a substance called an allergen.
An allergy isn’t always a dangerous material. They’re called allergens by doctors because they elicit an immunological response in some people. Allergens, on the other hand, do not have a negative impact on the majority of people.
An enzyme deficiency is frequently the cause of food intolerance. Enzymes are molecules found in the body that aid in the digestion of meals. A person’s body cannot digest some foods adequately if they have an enzyme deficiency. The meal that is problematic is dependent on the enzyme that is missing. Food intolerance can also be caused by:
- specific food additives
- certain chemicals in food
- food poisoning due to toxins
- salicylates in some food
- histamine in some foods
Enzyme insufficiency causes harmful chemicals to build up in the body, disrupting normal organ activities and causing failure to produce essential biological molecules and intermediates.
So, the results indicated that I developed several food sensitivities to different foods, like cottage cheese, cow’s milk, kiwi, amaranth, buffalo, mustard, poppy seeds, vanilla, alfalfa, black beans, pinto beans, navy beans, kale, mung beans, green beans. So, I could eat those foods in moderation, no more than once in four days. I also developed an allergy to flax seeds, sunflower oil and seeds, cow milk, and some types of cheeses. The foods I needed to avoid were almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, flax seeds, pistachios, and whey, for I had developed a food allergy to them.
What is interesting is that you can experience a food sensitivity to a product you have never eaten before. This has happened to me, for I have never consumed amaranth or buffalo, and my test results showed that I have sensitivity to these foods.
No wonder my candida levels were a bit on the borderline. When I received my test results, my doctor prescribed me higher levels of probiotics and enzymes. Additionally, my sex hormones levels were low (estrogen progesterone and testosterone). My estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, were very low. My levels of Pregnenolone were also down, and my DHEA was higher than the optimal range.
I also found out that I had higher iron and a little higher than the optimal levels of ferritin, which could also contribute to my hair loss. Also, my doctor prescribed me a supplement called MSM.
After lowering the dose of DHEA, increasing the dose of my hormones, and adding MSM, collagen, and enzymes to my supplement regimen as well as eliminating the foods I was allergic and sensitive to, I atarted noticing a decrease in hair loss.In addition to the bloated stomach, my skin was no longer itchy and my constipation problems were resolved. Even though food allergies can cause hair loss, in my case was due to my hormone unbalance.
Food Allergies and Weight Gain
It has seen food allergies also have a possible association with weight gain. People with food allergies/sensitivities are at a higher risk of putting extra pounds as compared to people no with food allergies or sensitivities. Some possible reasons for weight gain are:
- Eating something that stimulates cravings raises the serotonin levels, but these levels drop quickly due to the presence of the inflammatory proteins in the allergic persons. These serotonin levels regulate cravings and cycle repeats leading to eating extra calories.
- Food allergies result in inflammation, and the body produces the anti-inflammatory hormone cortisol. This hormone increases blood sugar levels and stimulates the secretion of insulin. Insulin is responsible for fat deposition in the abdominal region.
- Food allergies can result in the deficiency of certain nutrients essential to control weight and the body’s metabolism.
Tests for Food Allergies
No perfect test is available to confirm the presence of a food allergy. Therapists consider many factors before a diagnosis.
First of all, a doctor asks about the detailed history of symptoms and family history to know about the presence of any allergy in other family members. After basic inspection, four types of tests are crucial to rule out food allergies.
- Skin test: In the skin test, a small amount of food being tested is kept on the skin of the forearm. Then a health professional pricks the skin with a needle that allows food beneath the skin. In case of allergy to that food, a reaction occurs or a bump develops on the skin.
- Elimination Test: It is not a safe method. In the elimination method, one eliminates all suspected foods for a week or more and then adds those items back into the diet but one at a time. The drawback is that it is not foolproof and can be dangerous for a person with already allergic experiences in the past.
- Blood Test: In the blood test, the levels of allergy-specific antibodies (IgE) are measured to assess the immune response of the body.
- Oral Food Challenge: In the OFC, you eat specific doses of suspected food items, and then health professionals monitor your condition in the clinic in real-time. If it results in a reaction, it confirms a type of food allergy. It is considered the most accurate test for confirmation of food allergy. If you suspect of having any type of food allergy then you must get yourself tested for common food allergens described by the FDA.
Although food allergies are common and people who experience, take extra care of what they are eating. But some medications can also trigger allergic reactions because they contain many allergens in their composition as inactive ingredients. Most oral forms of medicines have inactive ingredients that add to the physical properties of medications. These ingredients improve shelf-life, absorption, taste, other characteristics.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that about 90% of all oral medications contain inactive ingredients that can cause an adverse reaction. Some commonly used ingredients are chemical dyes, gluten, lactose, and peanut oil. Medications containing these ingredients can trigger food allergy or sensitivity in allergic or sensitive patients.
Conclusion
If you suspect that you have any kind of food allergy then it is high to go for a check-up and contain it at the start. Because it can damage your thyroid that ultimately affects every part of the body.
Food allergies can also cause you to gain some extra pounds despite the weight loss efforts. A good gut is the guarantee of good health. As we have explained in the article that food allergies and sensitivities are closely correlated with thyroid-related issues, it is essential to get a check-up for food allergies for a healthy thyroid system.
