December 5, 2024 • 24 mins
I’ve spent some time reflecting back on all my years practicing in hospitals, often not sleeping for extended periods, sometimes days, covering hospitals floors and ICUs, resuscitating people who experienced cardiac arrests, taking them to the cath lab to open arteries, but also witnessing people with all sorts of other health conditions: cancers, wound infections, sepsis, delirium, the various stages of dementia, and hundreds of other debilitating disease.
I now recognize that, looking back, so many health conditions can be better understood in light of the contribution of the microbiome, i.e., the trillions of microbes occupying the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, the nasal sinuses, the airways, the brain, the prostate, the vagina and uterus, the skin—virtually every part of the human body. We all know about acute bacterial infections. But I’m talking about something different. While microbes exert effects via a number of different routes—think the gut-brain axis, the gut-skin axis, the gut-muscle axis, effects exerted via hormones, inflammatory mediating proteins, and bacterial breakdown products. But beyond this, there is a curious phenomenon in which bacteria and fungi themselves, by a number of means, travel through the body to take up residence and cause trouble. But the “trouble” is not an infection in the conventional sense, but something different, less acute, less urgent, less dramatic, but nonetheless playing a big role in your health. This is the fascinating and scary phenomenon called “translocation,” the topic for this episode of the Defiant Health podcast.
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Books:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
William Davis, MD (00:05):
I've spent some time reflecting back on all
my years practicing inhospitals, often not sleeping
for extended periods, sometimesdays covering hospital floors
and ICUs, resuscitating peoplewho experienced cardiac arrest,
taking them to the cath lab toopen arteries, but also
witnessing people with all sortsof other health conditions
(00:26):
cancers, wound infections,sepsis, delirium, the various
stages of dementia and hundredsof other debilitating diseases.
I now recognize that, lookingback, so many health conditions
can be better understood inlight of the contribution of the
microbiome, that is, thetrillions of the contribution of
(00:47):
the microbiome, that is, thetrillions of microbes occupying
the gastrointestinal tract, frommouth to anus, the nasal
sinuses, the airways, the brain,the prostate, the vagina and
uterus, the skin, virtuallyevery part of the human body.
We all know about acutebacterial infections, but I'm
talking about somethingdifferent.
While microbes exert effectsvia a number of different routes
(01:08):
think the gut-brain axis, thegut-skin axis, the gut-muscle
axis effects exerted viahormones, inflammatory mediating
proteins and bacterialbreakdown products.
But beyond this, there is acurious phenomenon in which
bacteria and fungi themselves,not their metabolites by a
number of means travel throughthe body to take up residence
(01:31):
and cause trouble.
But the trouble is not aninfection in the conventional
sense, like pneumonia, butsomething different, less acute,
less urgent, less dramatic, butnonetheless playing a big role
in your health.
This is the fascinating andscary phenomenon called
translocation, the topic forthis episode of the Defiant
Health podcast, and let me tellyou about Defiant Health's
(01:55):
sponsors Paleo Valley, ourpreferred provider for many
excellent organic and grass-fedfood products, and BiotiQuest,
my number one choice forprobiotics that are
scientifically formulated,unlike most of the other
commercial probiotic productsavailable today.
I'd like to also make you awareof a new source for our
favorite microbe, lactobacillusroteri, and a skin formulation I
(02:18):
designed that improves skinfrom the inside out.
From the inside out.
What is translocation?
All that refers to is theability of a bacteria or fungi,
perhaps a virus, but we knowvery little about viral
translocation.
So mostly bacteria and fungithat can start from one place
(02:39):
and then travel to another.
This was a phenomenon that wasnot widely recognized until
recently.
In other words, it wasunthinkable that a microbe, say
in the airway, could find itsway to another organ, another
body part.
Yet this phenomenon was rightbeneath our nose for many years.
It was often dismissed.
The translocation of a bacteria, for instance, was often
(03:00):
dismissed as evidence of poorhygiene or just bad luck.
For instance, staphylococcusaureus, a very common skin
microbe, can cause sepsis, thatis, it enters the bloodstream,
or cause abscesses in otherparts of the body.
But there are many otherexamples of microbes that start
in one place and end up inanother and these are more
(03:21):
likely to cause chronicconditions less commonly, acute
conditions.
Acute conditions are easy torecognize right If it's
pneumonia or a urinary tractinfection or a kidney infection,
pyelonephritis or a skininfection or abscess, those are
pretty easy to diagnose.
I'm talking about much moredifficult to pinpoint or
diagnose chronic conditions thatmay not look like an infection,
(03:43):
chronic conditions that may notlook like an infection.
One great example is the mouthmicrobe Fusobacterium nucleatum.
This is a microbe that'spresent in most people's mouths,
the mouth microbiome but itproliferates out of control.
When you have phenomena likebleeding gums or gingivitis or
periodontitis, and Fusobacteriumproliferates to abnormally high
(04:06):
levels, you might not even beaware of it beyond the phenomena
associated with the bleedinggums, gingivitis and
periodontitis.
But Fusobacterium, while youswallow it in your saliva, it
doesn't seem to be very good atcolonizing other parts of the GI
tract until it colonizes thebloodstream.
So whenever there's any kind ofmicrotrauma to your mouth maybe
(04:27):
it's toothbrushing or maybeit's flossing a Fusobacterium
enters the bloodstream and thentakes up residence in the colon,
where the evidence is quitegood that it is a major cause
for colon cancer.
If you take that Fusobacteriumand put it in the colon of a
normal mouse without cancer, itgets colon cancer.
And the colon cancer in a human, as well as the metastatic
(04:50):
lesions like in the liver, arefilled with this microbe.
So the evidence is pretty goodthat Fusobacterium in the mouth
is an initiating factor in manycases of colon cancer.
So that's a kind of aprototypical example of
translocation, in this case frommouth to colon.
Now, as an aside, thegastroenterologists are tied up
doing lots and lots ofendoscopies and colonoscopies,
(05:13):
mostly in the hope ofidentifying early colon cancer.
Why haven't they yet embracedthis idea that colon health and
the avoidance of colon cancershouldn't stop at just removing
polyps, looking for polyps andremoving them, but should
involve a look at the oralmicrobiome and the colonic
microbiome to set things rightso that this does not allow the
(05:34):
appearance of colon cancer?
But that's not going to happenfor another few generations
probably.
As current physicians becomeeducated.
The process takes a long time,many generations typically.
Another good example is candida,albicans and other fungal
species.
There's a Spanish group that'sdone a lot of research in this.
They did somethingextraordinary they took the
brains of young people who died,say, in car accidents, and then
(05:56):
looked at the brain for thepresence of fungi very rare
fungi.
They looked at the brains ofelderly people who did not die
of dementia but other causes,maybe cancer or car accident or
a fall, and they had a moderatequantity of fungi riddling their
brain.
Then they looked at the brainsof people who had dementia
Alzheimer's dementia and theirbrains were filled with fungal
(06:18):
species.
They also looked at thepresence of fungi in the
cerebral spinal fluid thatbathes the brain and spinal cord
and the blood, and they foundplenty of fungal proteins in DNA
.
Now it's not clear what rolethese fungal species in the
brain play in causing dementia.
It could simply be anaccompaniment, perhaps it is
making it worse, but no onereally knows for a fact.
(06:39):
It's very difficult to figurethat out because no living
person wants a brain biopsy tofind out right.
But it is a good example oftranslocation of fungal species,
that is, the fungi had to comefrom someplace else and then
translocated, got access to thebrain.
Now, by the way.
That opens some very importantquestions.
Where did they originate?
My bet is that it came fromfungal proliferation in the
(07:02):
colon and possibly in the smallbowel, sifo small intestinal
fungal overgrowth.
Another potential route ofentry are the sinuses.
Many people do have fungi intheir sinuses and perhaps even
the oropharynx, that is, themouth.
So no one really knows wherethese fungi originate.
But the fact remains somehow,from some source, fungi can
translocate to the brain.
(07:23):
Another example of bacterialtranslocation is Porphyromonas
gingivalis.
This is an oral microbe.
It's in your saliva and in yourmouth and, like fungal species,
can translocate to the brain.
Now, like fungal species, it'snot quite clear whether it's a
causal factor in dementia orwhether it's just an
(07:45):
accompaniment Once againdifficult to establish but it's
yet another example of how abacteria can gain access to
another organ, in this case thebrain.
Another issue to consider withregard to fungal species like
Candida albicans, candidatropicalis and others is that
you'll see this happen mostcommonly and flagrantly in
(08:05):
people with diabetes type 1 ortype 2, who, of course, have
high blood glucose levels, andfungal species thrive on sugars.
So you'll see people withdiabetes type 1 or type 2, who
have, especially if they havepoorly controlled blood glucose
levels, that is, they're havingthey're experiencing blood
glucose levels, that is, they'reexperiencing blood glucose
levels at 200 or 300 or higher.
You'll see fungal overgrowth inthe skin, such as under the
(08:30):
arms, under the breasts, behindthe ears, in the groin on the
feet.
So fungi thrive on those sugars.
And it's also become clear thatpeople with diabetes also have
fungal infestation of theircolon and small intestine as
well, and it's likely that thismay also serve as a repository
or a source for translocation offungi to the brain as well.
(08:52):
So we see this phenomenon offungal translocation most
flagrantly in anybody withdiabetes.
Another really interestingexample of bacterial
translocation is with themicrobe Lactobacillus crispatus.
This is a microbe that's meantto dominate the normal vaginal
microbiome.
So people with healthy vaginallining and moisture and freedom
(09:15):
from infections like candida orbacterial infections like E coli
, people who have moreLactobacillus crispatus, are
protected from those kinds ofinfections or infestations.
Well, let's say, a woman losesher Lactobacillus crispatus are
protected from those kinds ofinfections or infestations.
Well, let's say, a woman losesher lactobacillus crispatus
because, like otherlactobacillus species, it's very
susceptible to commonantibiotics like amoxicillin or
penicillin or many others.
(09:36):
So if a woman loses crispatusshe's more prone to vaginal
infections, fungal infections,sexually transmitted diseases
and even premature labor,premature delivery and
miscarriage.
So restoring lactobacilluscrispatus can be very important
for a woman's vaginal health.
Well, let's say a woman takeslactobacillus crispatus orally.
(09:57):
It will come to translocate tothe vagina.
Now how does that happen?
There is no connection betweenthe gastrointestinal tract and
the vagina.
Now how does that happen?
There is no connection betweenthe gastrointestinal tract and
the vagina.
There is contiguity or nearnessin the perineum, in the groin
area.
So we don't really know.
No one knows how chrysoprasegains access to the vagina, but
presumptively via translocationover the perineum.
(10:17):
And then, even more remarkably,lactobacillus chrysoprase in
the vagina, where it's doinggood things, then comes to
colonize the bladder, theurinary bladder, an area we
thought was supposed to besterile.
It's not sterile.
It has its own uniquemicrobiome.
It's not thickly colonized likethe colon, but it still has
nonetheless its own urinarybladder microbiome.
(10:39):
Well, restoring lactobacilluscrispatus to the urinary bladder
reduces the likelihood ofrepeated urinary tract
infections dramatically, about50%.
It also reduces incontinence.
So there's urge and stressincontinence, that is, a woman
urinates involuntarily uponsneezing or upon laughing, or
just has urgency and can'tcontrol when she empties her
(11:02):
bladder, while restoration oflactobacillus crispatus reduces
incontinence.
Also, yet another example of amicrobe crispatus that
translocates from thegastrointestinal tract to the
vagina, then to the bladder.
Now, once again, there's noconnection.
There's no direct connectionbetween the vagina and the
bladder, so it's not quite clearhow lactobacillus crispatus
(11:24):
translocates from vagina tobladder.
It is, once again near.
Those two organs are very closeto each other, they're
contiguous, but there's nodirect connection.
So maybe it translocates viacontiguity in the perineum,
maybe some other method, but sofar nobody knows.
But it's a great example ofbacterial translocation.
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(11:46):
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Another very common example ofbacterial translocation is when
E coli gains access to theurinary bladder, but this time
it comes from the colon.
E coli, of course, is a colonicmicrobe.
It's also a microbe of SIBO,small intestinal bacterial
overgrowth.
So it can also survive in thesmall intestine where it causes
a lot of trouble body-wide, notjust in the intestines via
endotoxemia, as you'll recall,but E coli in the GI tract gains
(15:33):
access to the bladder readily.
It also gains access to thevagina so it can cause urinary
tract infection.
It's the most common cause ofurinary tract infections.
It's also a common cause of abacterial vaginitis, which is
very annoying, very irritating,painful for ladies.
Now we know with goodconfidence that E coli gains
access to those two other organsvia surface translocation, that
(15:56):
is, via contiguity in theperineum.
There may be another way, butthat's the only way I'm aware of
.
That is by contamination of theperineal area from stool.
I know it's not the mostpleasant idea, but it's likely
the explanation for the way Ecoli gains ready access to the
vagina and to the urinarybladder.
Bacteria can also translocate orleap from one person to another
(16:18):
.
There are numerous examples ofthis, even beyond infectious
diseases, like the flu, say, orCOVID-19.
Most of this happens viaintimate contact, for instance
Helicobacter pylori.
You may know that this H pylorimicrobe is a common inhabitant
of the stomach.
It used to be half of the USpopulation.
Now it's down to 15% because ofefforts to eradicate the
(16:41):
microbe with antibiotics.
Eradicating H pylori can beimportant because it can lead to
ulcers as well as stomachcancer.
So H pylori in the stomach alsoin the mouth can be transmitted
from one person to another.
So let's say you had itidentified in your stomach and
you took the cocktail ofantibiotics and eradicated it in
the stomach, but a few monthslater it comes back.
(17:03):
One of the reasons it can comeback is because it also
colonized the mouth in manypeople.
That's also how you pass it onto somebody else.
Via intimate contact, viakissing, you can give somebody H
pylori in the mouth and therebyin the stomach.
So this takes specific effortsto eradicate both stomach
populations as well as oralpopulations so that you don't
(17:23):
pass it on and translocate yourH pylori to somebody else.
The lactobacillus crispatusmicrobe that I discussed earlier
, that a woman has and can berecolonized with in her GI tract
and then the vagina and thenthe bladder, can be passed on
via sexual intercourse to hermale partner, where there's
preliminary evidence thatCrespatus, while we think of it
(17:46):
as a female microbe, can also bea male microbe that appears to
reduce prostate inflammation,which may be a driving factor in
such things as benign prostatichypertrophy, bph, and perhaps
even prostate cancer.
Now, that evidence ispreliminary, but it could be
very exciting this idea that awoman passes on to her male mate
(18:07):
lactobacillus crispatus thatmay translate into improved
prostate health.
Another example oftranslocation from one person to
another are the twoStaphylococcus species
Staphylococcus aureus, apathogen, a very dangerous
pathogen, and Staphylococcusspecies Staphylococcus aureus, a
pathogen, a very dangerouspathogen, and Staphylococcus
epidermidis, more likely to bejust a benign or beneficial
(18:27):
species.
Now, those two microbes live onthe surface of your skin and
people who have diseased skin,like acne, psoriasis, rosacea,
seborrhea, eczema they tend tohave a lot more staphylococcus
aureus, both in the areas of therash or the lesions, as well as
in other areas.
So even if you have eczema, sayin your hands or your arms
(18:48):
filled with staphylococcus, youcan still have lots of
staphylococcus on your legs oryour back or your chest.
So people with these skinproblems tend to have body-wide
Staphylococcus aureuscolonization, which is not
healthy.
People with healthier skin,without those skin conditions,
tend to have more Staphylococcusepidermidis, a more benign and
(19:08):
often beneficial microbe.
But you can pass both of these,as well as other skin microbes,
on to people you have intimatecontact with, such as in sports
or, of course, a relationship,and so another example of
bacterial translocation, in thiscase from one person to another
.
And another excellent example ofbacterial translocation occurs
with both birth andbreastfeeding.
(19:31):
So at birth the mother is meantto pass on numerous microbes to
the baby, but a very importantmicrobe is Bifidobactera
infantis.
Because if the mother passesthat on to the child by its
passage through the birth canalor breastfeeding or just contact
, that child is better able tometabolize the human milk
oligosaccharides that momprovides in breast milk.
(19:53):
These are essential forneurological and immunological
maturation.
In other words, if the babydoes not have this microbe, it
cannot metabolize those humanmilk algosaccharides and will
have impaired neurologicalmaturation.
It'll have more susceptibilityto asthma, type 1 diabetes and
other autoimmune conditions.
It will be more likely to beobese and have type 2 diabetes
(20:17):
as a teenager and will have alower IQ.
So it's essential that themother translocates
Bifidobacteria infantis fromvagina or breast milk or skin
contact to the child and thisbecomes the dominant microbe in
the child's microbiome for thefirst year of life.
Another example is thetranslocation of my favorite
(20:38):
microbe, lactobacillus roteri,that we make yogurt out of for
high bacterial counts, eitherwith passage through the birth
canal or with breastfeedinggiving it to the child.
Lactobacillus roteri will notbecome a dominant microbe in the
gastrointestinal microbiome ofthe infant but will become a
dominant microbiome later on inlife.
But will become a dominantmicrobiome later on in life.
(20:59):
Unfortunately, as you recall,lactobacillus reuteri is also
very susceptible to commonantibiotics, so the mother may
not even have had it in thefirst place to pass on to the
child, or the child receivedantibiotics at birth or later on
in life and it wiped out theentire population of
lactobacillus reuteri.
Nonetheless, lactobacillusreuteri passed from the mother
through breast milk and thevaginal canal to the child.
(21:21):
Another example of bacterialtranslocation.
Another example of bacterialtranslocation is that if you
have gallstones or pancreaticcancer and you examine it using
DNA methods, you will find fecalmicrobial species in the
gallstones and in the pancreatictumor.
Now how did they get there?
Because the source of fecalmicrobes like E coli and
(21:51):
Klebsiella are 24 feet, 24 feetdown from the gallbladder or the
pancreas.
So how do fecal microbes thatoriginate in the colon gain
access to those organs?
24 feet up the gastrointestinaltract.
Once again, translocation.
So you can see this becoming anextremely common and frequent
phenomenon in many people.
So you can appreciate that welive in a world, a microbiome
(22:12):
world, where our bodies arehaving all sorts of
translocations of many species.
The full extent of this has notbeen fully mapped out, but it
is opening doors and sheddinglight on new ways to understand
disease and disruption of themicrobiome.
Now you can readily see thereare several strategies that can
reduce the likelihood of thesevarious translocating phenomena.
(22:34):
For one, pay attention to oralhygiene.
Make sure, for instance, thatdental flossing or other methods
of breaking up the bacterialbiofilm on teeth is broken up
every day.
Of course, have your dentistaddress the gingivitis or
periodontitis and you can evendo an oral microbiome test to
see if you have such microbesovergrown like Fusobacterium
(22:56):
nucleatum that can prevent coloncancer, or Porphyromonas
gingivalis that may have a roleto play in dementia.
You can see that, making sureyou have a normal or healthy
vaginal microbiome, you can alsodo a vaginal microbiome test
and if you lack lactobacilluscrispatus, you can restore it
and thereby gain also protectionagainst urinary tract
infections and incontinence.
(23:18):
Addressing SIBO and SIFO smallintestinal bacterial overgrowth
and small intestinal fungalovergrowth, as well as colonic
dysbiosis and fungal overgrowth,also likely limit the ability
of bacterial and fungal speciesto transmigrate to other parts
of the body.
This may be especiallyimportant in SIBO, that is,
small intestinal bacterialovergrowth, because when you
(23:40):
have fecal microbes infestingthe small intestine it increases
the already permeable, verypermeable small intestine and
allows translocation into thebloodstream, into the lymph and
thereby to other parts of thebody.
Now, if you've learnedsomething by listening to this
episode of the Defiant HealthPodcast, I invite you to
subscribe through your favoritepodcast directory.
(24:00):
Post a review, post a comment.
Help me build this movement ofself-empowerment in health.
Thanks for listening.
I've spent some time reflecting back on all
my years practicing inhospitals, often not sleeping
for extended periods, sometimesdays covering hospital floors
and ICUs, resuscitating peoplewho experienced cardiac arrest,
taking them to the cath lab toopen arteries, but also
witnessing people with all sortsof other health conditions
(00:26):
cancers, wound infections,sepsis, delirium, the various
stages of dementia and hundredsof other debilitating diseases.
I now recognize that, lookingback, so many health conditions
can be better understood inlight of the contribution of the
microbiome, that is, thetrillions of the contribution of
(00:47):
the microbiome, that is, thetrillions of microbes occupying
the gastrointestinal tract, frommouth to anus, the nasal
sinuses, the airways, the brain,the prostate, the vagina and
uterus, the skin, virtuallyevery part of the human body.
We all know about acutebacterial infections, but I'm
talking about somethingdifferent.
While microbes exert effectsvia a number of different routes
(01:08):
think the gut-brain axis, thegut-skin axis, the gut-muscle
axis effects exerted viahormones, inflammatory mediating
proteins and bacterialbreakdown products.
But beyond this, there is acurious phenomenon in which
bacteria and fungi themselves,not their metabolites by a
number of means travel throughthe body to take up residence
(01:31):
and cause trouble.
But the trouble is not aninfection in the conventional
sense, like pneumonia, butsomething different, less acute,
less urgent, less dramatic, butnonetheless playing a big role
in your health.
This is the fascinating andscary phenomenon called
translocation, the topic forthis episode of the Defiant
Health podcast, and let me tellyou about Defiant Health's
(01:55):
sponsors Paleo Valley, ourpreferred provider for many
excellent organic and grass-fedfood products, and BiotiQuest,
my number one choice forprobiotics that are
scientifically formulated,unlike most of the other
commercial probiotic productsavailable today.
I'd like to also make you awareof a new source for our
favorite microbe, lactobacillusroteri, and a skin formulation I
(02:18):
designed that improves skinfrom the inside out.
From the inside out.
What is translocation?
All that refers to is theability of a bacteria or fungi,
perhaps a virus, but we knowvery little about viral
translocation.
So mostly bacteria and fungithat can start from one place
(02:39):
and then travel to another.
This was a phenomenon that wasnot widely recognized until
recently.
In other words, it wasunthinkable that a microbe, say
in the airway, could find itsway to another organ, another
body part.
Yet this phenomenon was rightbeneath our nose for many years.
It was often dismissed.
The translocation of a bacteria, for instance, was often
(03:00):
dismissed as evidence of poorhygiene or just bad luck.
For instance, staphylococcusaureus, a very common skin
microbe, can cause sepsis, thatis, it enters the bloodstream,
or cause abscesses in otherparts of the body.
But there are many otherexamples of microbes that start
in one place and end up inanother and these are more
(03:21):
likely to cause chronicconditions less commonly, acute
conditions.
Acute conditions are easy torecognize right If it's
pneumonia or a urinary tractinfection or a kidney infection,
pyelonephritis or a skininfection or abscess, those are
pretty easy to diagnose.
I'm talking about much moredifficult to pinpoint or
diagnose chronic conditions thatmay not look like an infection,
(03:43):
chronic conditions that may notlook like an infection.
One great example is the mouthmicrobe Fusobacterium nucleatum.
This is a microbe that'spresent in most people's mouths,
the mouth microbiome but itproliferates out of control.
When you have phenomena likebleeding gums or gingivitis or
periodontitis, and Fusobacteriumproliferates to abnormally high
(04:06):
levels, you might not even beaware of it beyond the phenomena
associated with the bleedinggums, gingivitis and
periodontitis.
But Fusobacterium, while youswallow it in your saliva, it
doesn't seem to be very good atcolonizing other parts of the GI
tract until it colonizes thebloodstream.
So whenever there's any kind ofmicrotrauma to your mouth maybe
(04:27):
it's toothbrushing or maybeit's flossing a Fusobacterium
enters the bloodstream and thentakes up residence in the colon,
where the evidence is quitegood that it is a major cause
for colon cancer.
If you take that Fusobacteriumand put it in the colon of a
normal mouse without cancer, itgets colon cancer.
And the colon cancer in a human, as well as the metastatic
(04:50):
lesions like in the liver, arefilled with this microbe.
So the evidence is pretty goodthat Fusobacterium in the mouth
is an initiating factor in manycases of colon cancer.
So that's a kind of aprototypical example of
translocation, in this case frommouth to colon.
Now, as an aside, thegastroenterologists are tied up
doing lots and lots ofendoscopies and colonoscopies,
(05:13):
mostly in the hope ofidentifying early colon cancer.
Why haven't they yet embracedthis idea that colon health and
the avoidance of colon cancershouldn't stop at just removing
polyps, looking for polyps andremoving them, but should
involve a look at the oralmicrobiome and the colonic
microbiome to set things rightso that this does not allow the
(05:34):
appearance of colon cancer?
But that's not going to happenfor another few generations
probably.
As current physicians becomeeducated.
The process takes a long time,many generations typically.
Another good example is candida,albicans and other fungal
species.
There's a Spanish group that'sdone a lot of research in this.
They did somethingextraordinary they took the
brains of young people who died,say, in car accidents, and then
(05:56):
looked at the brain for thepresence of fungi very rare
fungi.
They looked at the brains ofelderly people who did not die
of dementia but other causes,maybe cancer or car accident or
a fall, and they had a moderatequantity of fungi riddling their
brain.
Then they looked at the brainsof people who had dementia
Alzheimer's dementia and theirbrains were filled with fungal
(06:18):
species.
They also looked at thepresence of fungi in the
cerebral spinal fluid thatbathes the brain and spinal cord
and the blood, and they foundplenty of fungal proteins in DNA
.
Now it's not clear what rolethese fungal species in the
brain play in causing dementia.
It could simply be anaccompaniment, perhaps it is
making it worse, but no onereally knows for a fact.
(06:39):
It's very difficult to figurethat out because no living
person wants a brain biopsy tofind out right.
But it is a good example oftranslocation of fungal species,
that is, the fungi had to comefrom someplace else and then
translocated, got access to thebrain.
Now, by the way.
That opens some very importantquestions.
Where did they originate?
My bet is that it came fromfungal proliferation in the
(07:02):
colon and possibly in the smallbowel, sifo small intestinal
fungal overgrowth.
Another potential route ofentry are the sinuses.
Many people do have fungi intheir sinuses and perhaps even
the oropharynx, that is, themouth.
So no one really knows wherethese fungi originate.
But the fact remains somehow,from some source, fungi can
translocate to the brain.
(07:23):
Another example of bacterialtranslocation is Porphyromonas
gingivalis.
This is an oral microbe.
It's in your saliva and in yourmouth and, like fungal species,
can translocate to the brain.
Now, like fungal species, it'snot quite clear whether it's a
causal factor in dementia orwhether it's just an
(07:45):
accompaniment Once againdifficult to establish but it's
yet another example of how abacteria can gain access to
another organ, in this case thebrain.
Another issue to consider withregard to fungal species like
Candida albicans, candidatropicalis and others is that
you'll see this happen mostcommonly and flagrantly in
(08:05):
people with diabetes type 1 ortype 2, who, of course, have
high blood glucose levels, andfungal species thrive on sugars.
So you'll see people withdiabetes type 1 or type 2, who
have, especially if they havepoorly controlled blood glucose
levels, that is, they're havingthey're experiencing blood
glucose levels, that is, they'reexperiencing blood glucose
levels at 200 or 300 or higher.
You'll see fungal overgrowth inthe skin, such as under the
(08:30):
arms, under the breasts, behindthe ears, in the groin on the
feet.
So fungi thrive on those sugars.
And it's also become clear thatpeople with diabetes also have
fungal infestation of theircolon and small intestine as
well, and it's likely that thismay also serve as a repository
or a source for translocation offungi to the brain as well.
(08:52):
So we see this phenomenon offungal translocation most
flagrantly in anybody withdiabetes.
Another really interestingexample of bacterial
translocation is with themicrobe Lactobacillus crispatus.
This is a microbe that's meantto dominate the normal vaginal
microbiome.
So people with healthy vaginallining and moisture and freedom
(09:15):
from infections like candida orbacterial infections like E coli
, people who have moreLactobacillus crispatus, are
protected from those kinds ofinfections or infestations.
Well, let's say, a woman losesher Lactobacillus crispatus are
protected from those kinds ofinfections or infestations.
Well, let's say, a woman losesher lactobacillus crispatus
because, like otherlactobacillus species, it's very
susceptible to commonantibiotics like amoxicillin or
penicillin or many others.
(09:36):
So if a woman loses crispatusshe's more prone to vaginal
infections, fungal infections,sexually transmitted diseases
and even premature labor,premature delivery and
miscarriage.
So restoring lactobacilluscrispatus can be very important
for a woman's vaginal health.
Well, let's say a woman takeslactobacillus crispatus orally.
(09:57):
It will come to translocate tothe vagina.
Now how does that happen?
There is no connection betweenthe gastrointestinal tract and
the vagina.
Now how does that happen?
There is no connection betweenthe gastrointestinal tract and
the vagina.
There is contiguity or nearnessin the perineum, in the groin
area.
So we don't really know.
No one knows how chrysoprasegains access to the vagina, but
presumptively via translocationover the perineum.
(10:17):
And then, even more remarkably,lactobacillus chrysoprase in
the vagina, where it's doinggood things, then comes to
colonize the bladder, theurinary bladder, an area we
thought was supposed to besterile.
It's not sterile.
It has its own uniquemicrobiome.
It's not thickly colonized likethe colon, but it still has
nonetheless its own urinarybladder microbiome.
(10:39):
Well, restoring lactobacilluscrispatus to the urinary bladder
reduces the likelihood ofrepeated urinary tract
infections dramatically, about50%.
It also reduces incontinence.
So there's urge and stressincontinence, that is, a woman
urinates involuntarily uponsneezing or upon laughing, or
just has urgency and can'tcontrol when she empties her
(11:02):
bladder, while restoration oflactobacillus crispatus reduces
incontinence.
Also, yet another example of amicrobe crispatus that
translocates from thegastrointestinal tract to the
vagina, then to the bladder.
Now, once again, there's noconnection.
There's no direct connectionbetween the vagina and the
bladder, so it's not quite clearhow lactobacillus crispatus
(11:24):
translocates from vagina tobladder.
It is, once again near.
Those two organs are very closeto each other, they're
contiguous, but there's nodirect connection.
So maybe it translocates viacontiguity in the perineum,
maybe some other method, but sofar nobody knows.
But it's a great example ofbacterial translocation.
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(11:46):
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Another very common example ofbacterial translocation is when
E coli gains access to theurinary bladder, but this time
it comes from the colon.
E coli, of course, is a colonicmicrobe.
It's also a microbe of SIBO,small intestinal bacterial
overgrowth.
So it can also survive in thesmall intestine where it causes
a lot of trouble body-wide, notjust in the intestines via
endotoxemia, as you'll recall,but E coli in the GI tract gains
(15:33):
access to the bladder readily.
It also gains access to thevagina so it can cause urinary
tract infection.
It's the most common cause ofurinary tract infections.
It's also a common cause of abacterial vaginitis, which is
very annoying, very irritating,painful for ladies.
Now we know with goodconfidence that E coli gains
access to those two other organsvia surface translocation, that
(15:56):
is, via contiguity in theperineum.
There may be another way, butthat's the only way I'm aware of
.
That is by contamination of theperineal area from stool.
I know it's not the mostpleasant idea, but it's likely
the explanation for the way Ecoli gains ready access to the
vagina and to the urinarybladder.
Bacteria can also translocate orleap from one person to another
(16:18):
.
There are numerous examples ofthis, even beyond infectious
diseases, like the flu, say, orCOVID-19.
Most of this happens viaintimate contact, for instance
Helicobacter pylori.
You may know that this H pylorimicrobe is a common inhabitant
of the stomach.
It used to be half of the USpopulation.
Now it's down to 15% because ofefforts to eradicate the
(16:41):
microbe with antibiotics.
Eradicating H pylori can beimportant because it can lead to
ulcers as well as stomachcancer.
So H pylori in the stomach alsoin the mouth can be transmitted
from one person to another.
So let's say you had itidentified in your stomach and
you took the cocktail ofantibiotics and eradicated it in
the stomach, but a few monthslater it comes back.
(17:03):
One of the reasons it can comeback is because it also
colonized the mouth in manypeople.
That's also how you pass it onto somebody else.
Via intimate contact, viakissing, you can give somebody H
pylori in the mouth and therebyin the stomach.
So this takes specific effortsto eradicate both stomach
populations as well as oralpopulations so that you don't
(17:23):
pass it on and translocate yourH pylori to somebody else.
The lactobacillus crispatusmicrobe that I discussed earlier
, that a woman has and can berecolonized with in her GI tract
and then the vagina and thenthe bladder, can be passed on
via sexual intercourse to hermale partner, where there's
preliminary evidence thatCrespatus, while we think of it
(17:46):
as a female microbe, can also bea male microbe that appears to
reduce prostate inflammation,which may be a driving factor in
such things as benign prostatichypertrophy, bph, and perhaps
even prostate cancer.
Now, that evidence ispreliminary, but it could be
very exciting this idea that awoman passes on to her male mate
(18:07):
lactobacillus crispatus thatmay translate into improved
prostate health.
Another example oftranslocation from one person to
another are the twoStaphylococcus species
Staphylococcus aureus, apathogen, a very dangerous
pathogen, and Staphylococcusspecies Staphylococcus aureus, a
pathogen, a very dangerouspathogen, and Staphylococcus
epidermidis, more likely to bejust a benign or beneficial
(18:27):
species.
Now, those two microbes live onthe surface of your skin and
people who have diseased skin,like acne, psoriasis, rosacea,
seborrhea, eczema they tend tohave a lot more staphylococcus
aureus, both in the areas of therash or the lesions, as well as
in other areas.
So even if you have eczema, sayin your hands or your arms
(18:48):
filled with staphylococcus, youcan still have lots of
staphylococcus on your legs oryour back or your chest.
So people with these skinproblems tend to have body-wide
Staphylococcus aureuscolonization, which is not
healthy.
People with healthier skin,without those skin conditions,
tend to have more Staphylococcusepidermidis, a more benign and
(19:08):
often beneficial microbe.
But you can pass both of these,as well as other skin microbes,
on to people you have intimatecontact with, such as in sports
or, of course, a relationship,and so another example of
bacterial translocation, in thiscase from one person to another
.
And another excellent example ofbacterial translocation occurs
with both birth andbreastfeeding.
(19:31):
So at birth the mother is meantto pass on numerous microbes to
the baby, but a very importantmicrobe is Bifidobactera
infantis.
Because if the mother passesthat on to the child by its
passage through the birth canalor breastfeeding or just contact
, that child is better able tometabolize the human milk
oligosaccharides that momprovides in breast milk.
(19:53):
These are essential forneurological and immunological
maturation.
In other words, if the babydoes not have this microbe, it
cannot metabolize those humanmilk algosaccharides and will
have impaired neurologicalmaturation.
It'll have more susceptibilityto asthma, type 1 diabetes and
other autoimmune conditions.
It will be more likely to beobese and have type 2 diabetes
(20:17):
as a teenager and will have alower IQ.
So it's essential that themother translocates
Bifidobacteria infantis fromvagina or breast milk or skin
contact to the child and thisbecomes the dominant microbe in
the child's microbiome for thefirst year of life.
Another example is thetranslocation of my favorite
(20:38):
microbe, lactobacillus roteri,that we make yogurt out of for
high bacterial counts, eitherwith passage through the birth
canal or with breastfeedinggiving it to the child.
Lactobacillus roteri will notbecome a dominant microbe in the
gastrointestinal microbiome ofthe infant but will become a
dominant microbiome later on inlife.
But will become a dominantmicrobiome later on in life.
(20:59):
Unfortunately, as you recall,lactobacillus reuteri is also
very susceptible to commonantibiotics, so the mother may
not even have had it in thefirst place to pass on to the
child, or the child receivedantibiotics at birth or later on
in life and it wiped out theentire population of
lactobacillus reuteri.
Nonetheless, lactobacillusreuteri passed from the mother
through breast milk and thevaginal canal to the child.
(21:21):
Another example of bacterialtranslocation.
Another example of bacterialtranslocation is that if you
have gallstones or pancreaticcancer and you examine it using
DNA methods, you will find fecalmicrobial species in the
gallstones and in the pancreatictumor.
Now how did they get there?
Because the source of fecalmicrobes like E coli and
(21:51):
Klebsiella are 24 feet, 24 feetdown from the gallbladder or the
pancreas.
So how do fecal microbes thatoriginate in the colon gain
access to those organs?
24 feet up the gastrointestinaltract.
Once again, translocation.
So you can see this becoming anextremely common and frequent
phenomenon in many people.
So you can appreciate that welive in a world, a microbiome
(22:12):
world, where our bodies arehaving all sorts of
translocations of many species.
The full extent of this has notbeen fully mapped out, but it
is opening doors and sheddinglight on new ways to understand
disease and disruption of themicrobiome.
Now you can readily see thereare several strategies that can
reduce the likelihood of thesevarious translocating phenomena.
(22:34):
For one, pay attention to oralhygiene.
Make sure, for instance, thatdental flossing or other methods
of breaking up the bacterialbiofilm on teeth is broken up
every day.
Of course, have your dentistaddress the gingivitis or
periodontitis and you can evendo an oral microbiome test to
see if you have such microbesovergrown like Fusobacterium
(22:56):
nucleatum that can prevent coloncancer, or Porphyromonas
gingivalis that may have a roleto play in dementia.
You can see that, making sureyou have a normal or healthy
vaginal microbiome, you can alsodo a vaginal microbiome test
and if you lack lactobacilluscrispatus, you can restore it
and thereby gain also protectionagainst urinary tract
infections and incontinence.
(23:18):
Addressing SIBO and SIFO smallintestinal bacterial overgrowth
and small intestinal fungalovergrowth, as well as colonic
dysbiosis and fungal overgrowth,also likely limit the ability
of bacterial and fungal speciesto transmigrate to other parts
of the body.
This may be especiallyimportant in SIBO, that is,
small intestinal bacterialovergrowth, because when you
(23:40):
have fecal microbes infestingthe small intestine it increases
the already permeable, verypermeable small intestine and
allows translocation into thebloodstream, into the lymph and
thereby to other parts of thebody.
Now, if you've learnedsomething by listening to this
episode of the Defiant HealthPodcast, I invite you to
subscribe through your favoritepodcast directory.
(24:00):
Post a review, post a comment.
Help me build this movement ofself-empowerment in health.
Thanks for listening.
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