Recent scientific research has unveiled the complexity of the human microbiome which is composed of trillions of nonpathogenic organisms that work in concert to perform various physiological functions in the human body. These microbes have coevolved with human beings over millions of years to live symbiotically and in probable functional groups, to survive in challenging environmental conditions. As a result, the organisms that comprise your microbiome are generally hardy, adaptable, and constantly evolving with ever-changing selection pressures.
Your microbiome is UNIQUE to you, and you can explore it by going to ubiome.com. This company effectively maps the types and quantities of microflora in your mouth, gut, genitals, and on your skin. It may be a useful test to have done to check to see how balanced your flora really is.
In a healthy person, organisms flourish, continue to evolve and are extremely influenced by what you eat. Excess sugars, carbohydrates, and processed foods can pathologically alter the microbiome in such a way that yeast becomes excessive, or a particular bacteria strain becomes excessive and causes disease. This situation can be completely rectified by simply changing to a more plant-based diet. Vegetables, nuts, and seeds essentially alkalize the internal bio terrain in such a way that the pathologic organisms get “drowned out.” The use of potent probiotics, kefir, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, etc… also helps to restore a dysfunctional gut microbiome.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, also dramatically affects the healthy microbiome. If you imagine your microbiome as being a beautiful garden void of weeds, and then reimagine it as a weed overgrown garden when you get infected with Lyme Disease or coinfections, you can quickly understand just how out of balance your microbiome becomes with tick-borne infections.
One of my main goals in the treatment of tick-borne illnesses is to re-establish a healthy microbiome using targeted high-dose micronutrients. I have found this to be a very effective way to regain gut healthy in those patients affected by tick-borne illness.