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Low zinc, social anxiety and the gut on the Better Belly Project 2.0

By Trudy Scott 17 Comments

Pyroluria is a social anxiety condition, where specific physical and emotional symptoms are caused by deficiencies of vitamin B6 and zinc. As well as feeling anxious, shy, or fearful or experiencing inner tension since childhood (and often hiding these feelings from others), digestive symptoms are common.

I discuss this condition, connecting the dots with digestive issues and low zinc, with my friend and colleague, Summer Bock, on the virtual conference called Better Belly Project 2.0:

We talk about some of the digestive symptoms we see with pyroluria:

  • leaky gut
  • gluten and other food sensitivities
  • morning nausea
  • poor appetite
  • not a big protein eater (an aversion to red meat is common)
  • stitch on your side
  • morning constipation

(These symptoms and others are all listed on the pyroluria questionnaire)

I cover one possible mechanism related to low zinc, reviewing a 2016 study from Cornell University – Chronic Zinc Deficiency Alters Chick Gut Microbiota Composition and Function:  

  • Zinc deficiency is caused by insufficient dietary zinc (or in this instance, pyroluria)
  • This contributes to a decrease in gut microbial diversity
  • We see an overgrowth of bacteria because of low zinc conditions, leading to dysbiosis
  • This leads to alterations in the functional capacity of the microflora – affecting zinc absorption, carbohydrate digestion and fermentation
  • This causes less production of short chain fatty acids, which are compounds that are responsible for improving the bioavailability of zinc.
  • Overall, these microbial effects may decrease zinc absorbability and disturb gut health, perpetuating a zinc deficient state.

We also discuss the following:

Summer Bock, one of the leading gut health experts, is interviewing 49 experts who are leaders in the field of digestion, nutrition, and health in this huge, week-long virtual conference called Better Belly Project 2.0: Crushing the Critters, Plugging the Leaks, & Balancing the Biome for Your Best Body Ever

Summer’s goal is to create a great resource with a few different tracks to make it easier for you to navigate the information:

  1. Gut Health Basics
  2. Gut-Brain Axis (my interview “Low zinc, social anxiety/pyroluria and the gut” is in this track)
  3. Wellness Professional
  4. Fermentation
  5. Microbiome & Probiotics

This online event will provide exceptional value, knowledge, and truly life-changing insights from authors, professors, scientists, fermented foods experts, and wellness practitioners who have an understanding on how you can improve your digestive health amidst all the processed foods, antibiotics, stress and lack of probiotic-rich foods in the diet.

The dates are December 8-14th and there’s no charge to attend when you register in time for the live event.

You can see the event schedule and register here for Better Belly Project 2.0

I hope you enjoy it and get as much out of it as I plan too! I learn new information at all these online events too!

Do you have pyroluria and can you relate to these digestive symptoms?

Feel free to leave your questions and comments below.

Zinc deficiency alters chick gut bacteria makeup and function

By Trudy Scott 11 Comments

chick-gut-mulfunction

A press release published by Cornell University shares research that has found that zinc deficiency alters gut bacteria makeup and function:

The researchers used broiler chickens in the study, partly due to their omnivorous appetites – which allowed the researchers to feed them purified diets – and because of their fatty acids and genetic similarities to humans.

There is a great diagram in the actual study: Chronic Zinc Deficiency Alters Chick Gut Microbiota Composition and Function. It explains the proposed mechanisms by which a zinc-deficient gut microbiome may perpetuate a zinc-deficient state.

zinc-chick-diagram

Figure 8. Schematic diagram depicting proposed mechanisms by which a Zn [zinc] deficient gut microbiome may worsen a Zn deficient phenotype. Zn deficiency (1), caused by insufficient dietary Zn (2), induces a decrease in gut microbial diversity (3), and an outgrowth of bacteria particularly suited to low Zn conditions, leading to dysbiosis [3A–C]. Lack of dietary Zn also leads to alterations in the functional capacity of the microflora (4), causing multiple effects including decreased expression of pathways related to mineral (i.e., Zn) absorption (4A) and carbohydrate digestion and fermentation (4B). A decrease in the latter pathway may also cause a depression in the production of SCFAs [short chain fatty acids] (5), compounds responsible for improving the bioavailability of Zn. Altogether, these microbial effects may decrease Zn absorbability (6A) and disturb GI health (6B), thereby perpetuating a Zn deficient state. Red arrows and orange–lined boxes denote observations of this study, and dashed arrows and black–lined boxes describe published findings.

The above is shared here under the Creative Commons Attribution License and can be found here: Reed, S.; Neuman, H.; Moscovich, S.; Glahn, R.P.; Koren, O.; Tako, E. Chronic Zinc Deficiency Alters Chick Gut Microbiota Composition and Function. Nutrients 2015, 7, 9768-9784.

Zinc status is notoriously difficult to assess so I am fascinated by the findings of this Cornell University study suggesting

a simple new way to test for zinc deficiency by analyzing a patient’s fecal sample and seeing if the profile of gut bacteria matches the makeup one would expect in a zinc-deficient individual.

The authors suggest that with additional research this zinc stool test could become a noninvasive biomarker for zinc deficiency.

Zinc deficiency is common, affecting 25 percent of the world’s population, especially in the developing world.

Zinc deficiency plays a major role in anxiety and depression. Here is a recent paper on the connection between low serum zinc, high CRP (a marker of inflammation) and pre- and post-natal anxiety and depression: Lower Serum Zinc and Higher CRP Strongly Predict Prenatal Depression and Physio-somatic Symptoms, Which All Together Predict Postnatal Depressive Symptoms.

New research, soon to be published by the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of Auckland, shows the importance of zinc in autism. The study looks at how zinc can affect brain cell communication that is altered at the cellular level.

The researchers suggest this research may have applications for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (and presumably anxiety and depression too).

I feel that we have an under-recognized opportunity to have a bigger impact on mental and physical health if we take zinc deficiency more seriously.

Have you had your zinc status assessed and do you supplement accordingly?

If you’re a practitioner, do you regularly check the zinc status of all your patients/clients?

Dr. Josh Axe’s New Book “Eat Dirt”

By Trudy Scott 5 Comments

eat-dirt

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr. Josh Axe earlier this week. We talked about the gut and eating dirt!

The title of his great new book is: Eat Dirt: Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure It

We covered the following in our interview:

  • What is leaky gut and what causes it?
  • The 5 gut types and how to figure out your gut type
  • What does it really mean to eat dirt?
  • What are the best foods for a healthy gut?
  • What are the best supplements and herbs for a healthy gut?
  • And of course how does stress and anxiety play into all of this?

Hippocrates is famous for saying “All disease begins in the gut” and this book lays out the exact steps to take to begin healing the gut.

We started off discussing leaky gut, what it is and what causes it and the conditions that we see when someone has leaky gut. Here is an excerpt from the book:

Upon their initial visit, approximately 80 percent of my patients present with some level of leaky gut syndrome. They come to my clinic experiencing problems ranging from gallbladder issues to thyroid disease, psoriasis or eczema, migraine headaches, insulin resistance, and even stubborn weight gain. Many are amazed to learn that their condition may share the same origin as colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and Crohn’s disease. And they’re downright stunned when I tell them that some degree of leaky gut is present in every autoimmune disease, including lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), and type 1 diabetes.

According to research conducted on both animal and human subjects and published in journals such as Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Gut, leaky gut syndrome (or increased intestinal permeability) has been linked to the following symptoms and conditions: ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) Alzheimer’s disease, Anxiety and depression, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Autism, Candida and yeast overgrowth, Celiac disease and nonceliac gluten sensitivity, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Fibromyalgia, Gas, bloating, and digestive pain, Hashimoto’s disease, Irritable bowel syndrome.

Here is one of the many great diagrams from the book: How Leaky Gut Develops

leaky-gut
From Eat Dirt by Josh Axe

 

And here are the 5 gut types that we talked about. They are covered in great detail in the book, together with an eating, supplement and lifestyle plan for each one:

  • Candida gut, directly related to yeast overgrowth and being overweight, which affects more than 68 percent of all American adults.
  • Stressed gut, in which chronic stress weakens your adrenal glands, kidneys, and thyroid, and can cause hormone imbalances, fatigue, and thyroid disease.
  • Immune gut, which afflicts the 15 million people who suffer from food allergies 4 and the 1.6 million with inflammatory bowel disease, as well as the 50 million adults with autoimmune disease.
  • Gastric gut, caused by small intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO) and acid reflux, which afflicts 60 percent of all adults—half of whom struggle on a weekly basis.
  • Toxic gut, which can result in gallbladder disease, skin conditions, and chronic liver issues that cause thirty million people great pain every year.

Here is the link to the audio

 

I received an advance review copy and it’s a great book! I highly recommend it, especially if leaky gut and gut health is an issue for you, and if also you’re new to this concept.

If you preorder before it launches you can get $300 in bonus material. Here is the link for making your purchase and getting those bonuses:
https://ju127.isrefer.com/go/edr/trudyscottcn/

Launch date is next Tuesday March 29th so be sure you get it and your bonus material before then. Happy reading!