The digestive system is the chemical response system for the body. Often what presents as a hormone imbalance in the body, is bacteria overgrowth in the gut lining.

There are two common gut bacterias found in people of healthy weight? Here’s an interesting story to demonstrate this point:

Several years ago an athlete required a faecal transplant from a family member for medical reasons. A faecal transplant is a medical procedure that transfers stool (feces) from a healthy donor into a patient’s gut to restore beneficial gut bacteria, effectively rebalancing the microbiome and treating diseases. The patient was at the top of her game before her health declined and she was fit and healthy in terms of her body weight. She had a problem in her colon that the doctors determined the best correction required a compatible faecal transplant.

About three months after her faecal transplant, she started putting on weight. Unbeknownst to her, her faecal donor had been about 15 kilos overweight.

So she started training, and eating just like before the surgery to prepare for her next sports season, but she kept putting on weight.

Eight months after the transplant, she was 15 kilos overweight, despite her excellent diet and exercise. She’d never been overweight before.

There are 2 key bacteria overgrowths found in lean people:

– Christensenella: is associated with your genetic makeup, meaning that to some extent, you have higher chances of finding this bacterium in your gut if your relatives have them too.
– Akkermansia: is abundant in the microbiomes of lean people. Scientists think it could be promising for preventing obesity.

Many of the symptoms associated with weight gain also come with hormone disruptions. The trouble is that when the gut lining and hormones are out of balance, it’s very challenging to lose weight. So why would someone not have enough christensenella and akkermanisa bacteria?

Antibiotics strip the gut lining of these two bacteria species. If you have ever taken antibiotics and found six months later that you started gaining weight, there’s a chance that the good bacteria may have been stripped out of your gut. Genetics also play a part.

Combine that with normal chemical changes over time and an imperfect diet, and you may find yourself struggling to shed weight.

Getting your gut bacteria in balance is important for this reasons.

Gut Dysbiosis Map
One of the assessments we do at the clinic for our patients suffering from stubborn weight gain, and especially from fatigue or brain fog, is a Gut Dysbiosis Map:

• Helps identify if the bacteria levels are good or bad, and helps us map out a restoration of healthy gut function.
• Highlights if there are parasites, worms, or candida overgrowth, and provides insight into the level of damage and inflammation to the gut
• Identifies if there’s leaky gut and any resistance to any antibiotics.