April 21, 2024 • 22 mins
Cancer is, of course, something we all fear, a collection of diseases that strike us down unexpectedly and often put us at the mercy of a deeply flawed and exploitative medical system. So it can help to identify the factors that leads us down this path and take action to minimize such risks. We don’t smoke cigarettes, we try to consume organic foods whenever possible to minimize the carcinogenic effects of herbicides and pesticides, we avoid getting sunburned—advice you are all likely familiar with.
But the microbiome is proving to be an exceptionally powerful factor in causing or preventing cancer, in some unexpected ways. For instance, it has become clear that many instances of colon cancer get their start in the mouth. It is also becoming clear that numerous forms of cancer, from breast cancer to prostate cancer, originate with the composition of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract. It is the one common thread among many forms of cancer. This single insight has the potential to give you enormous control over your lifetime risk for these diseases.
So, in this episode of Defiant Health, let’s consider these cancer-related issues of the microbiome. It is, admittedly, a conversation that is just getting started with many more lessons to learn. But gain an awareness of these microbiome-related issues and you can take concrete steps to address these risks.
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For BiotiQuest probiotics including Sugar Shift, go here.
A 15% discount is available for Defiant Health podcast listeners by entering discount code UNDOC15 (case-sensitive) at checkout.*
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Books:
Super Gut: The 4-Week Plan to Reprogram Your Microbiome, Restore Health, and Lose Weight
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
William Davis, MD (00:05):
Cancer is, of course, something we all fear,
a collection of diseases thatstrike us down unexpectedly and
often put us at the mercy of adeeply flawed and exploitative
medical system.
So it can help to identify thefactors that lead us down this
path and take action to minimizesuch risks.
We don't smoke cigarettes, ofcourse.
(00:26):
We try to consume organic foodswhenever possible to minimize
the carcinogenic effects ofherbicides and pesticides.
We avoid getting sunburnedadvice you're all likely
familiar with.
But the microbiome is proven tobe an exceptionally powerful
factor in causing and preventingcancer in some unexpected ways.
(00:47):
For instance, it has becomeclear that many instances of
colon cancer get their start inthe mouth.
It's also becoming clear thatnumerous forms of cancer, from
breast cancer to prostate cancer, originate with the composition
of microbes in thegastrointestinal tract.
It's the one common threadamong many forms of cancer.
(01:09):
This single insight alone hasthe potential to give you
enormous control over yourlifetime risk for these diseases
.
So in this episode of DefineHealth, let's consider these
cancer-related issues of themicrobiome.
It is, admitted, admittedly, aconversation that is just
getting started, with many morelessons to learn, but gain an
(01:30):
awareness of thesemicrobiome-related issues and
you can take concrete steps toaddress these risks and later in
the podcast I'd like to tellyou about Define Health's
sponsors Paleo Valley, ourpreferred provider of many
excellent organic and grass-fedfood products, and BioDequest,
my number one choice forprobiotics that are
(01:51):
scientifically formulated,unlike most of the other
commercial probiotic productsavailable today.
Of course, numerous causes ofcancer have been identified over
the years.
Some causes are environmental,some are dietary, others involve
toxic exposures or hormonaldisruptions, and there are also
(02:12):
genetic and epigeneticdisruptions that can lead to
changes that lead to a formationof a cancer.
But we need to add themicrobiome to the list, that is,
the collection of microbes invarious parts of the body, but
especially the gastrointestinalmicrobiome and the oral
microbiome, and that's becausethese areas are proven to be the
seeds or the source of microbesand their byproducts that are
(02:36):
involved in cancer causation.
Also, the unique thing aboutthe microbiome is that the
emerging science tells us thatvarious microbial factors cause
not just one or two or threekinds of cancers, but dozens of
different cancers, and that notaddressing these microbial
factors means that you cannothope for complete control over
(03:00):
cancer risk.
It's also appearing that themicrobiome has a number of ways
in which it can contribute tocausing or propagating a cancer.
It could be a direct or localeffect.
It could be an inflammatoryeffect.
It could be through endotoxemia, that is, the release of toxins
from bacteria that enter thebloodstream and then gain access
(03:22):
to various organs.
It could be direct invasion ofa microbe, that is, the microbe
actually enters a tissue likebreast or prostate or pancreas
and do its damage.
That way it could also achievechanges that lead to cancer by
disrupting the immune response,often turning off your
protective immune responseagainst an emerging cancer,
(03:45):
often turning off yourprotective immune response
against an emerging cancer.
And microbes can also beresponsible for damaging your
DNA, actually introducingchanges into your genetic code
or the epigenetics that controlexpression of your genes.
That can then in turn lead tocancer and allow its propagation
.
A very important collection ofobservations have come from some
studies performed recently inwhich many tumors were actually
(04:07):
taken out of people patientsresected, that is, and then
studied and looked at for thepresence of microbes and also
for the presence of bacterialtoxins.
Lo and behold, tumors arefilled with microbes and with
their toxins.
So breast, for instance, breasttissue that's been examined
after removal includes microbeslike Streptococcus infantis and
(04:31):
Fusobacterium nucleatum.
Fusobacterium nucleotide is anoral microbe.
So in this case, presumptively,there's.
One of the causes of breastcancer is a microbe from the
mouth.
Examination of pancreaticcancer has revealed the presence
of fecal microbes such asenterobacter, klebsiella and
citrobacter.
(04:52):
Now how did fecal microbes getinto the pancreas?
Because fecal microbes live, orare supposed to live, about 24
feet down from the pancreas.
There's no direct connectionbetween the colon, where fecal
microbes are supposed to live,and the pancreas.
The pancreas is 24 feet uphigher.
So we have to presume thatfecal microbes somehow gain
(05:14):
access, likely by ascending intothe small intestine.
Colon cancer contains two mouthmicrobes Fusobacterium
nucleatum and Porphyromonasgingivalis, two microbes that
originate in the mouth andlikely gain access either
through the bloodstream or byswallowing.
There's also E coli andBacteroides fragilis, two stool
(05:34):
microbes.
But no surprise, that's wherethey're supposed to be.
But when E coli and certainstrains of Bacteroides fragilis
proliferate, they can contributeto change that lead to a cancer
.
Another interesting observationmade through recent studies of
tumors taken out of patients isthat they also contain
lipopolysaccharide endotoxin.
(05:55):
So if we take those fecalmicrobes, they're also called
gram-negative because they stayin a certain way when you try to
look at them under a microscope.
They're also calledproteobacteria or
enterobacteriaceae.
These are more umbrella-typeterms for fecalcal microbes.
These fecal microbes have atoxin in their cell wall called
lipopolysaccharide endotoxin, orlps endotoxin for short.
(06:19):
When these microbes die let'ssay in the colon they die, they
release that endotoxin into theintestines, which then can gain
access into your bloodstream.
Now this is especially truewhen you have small intestinal
bacterial overgrowth, that is,when you have fecal microbes
that have proliferated in thecolon, where they belong, but
(06:40):
then ascended into the smallintestine, where they don't
belong.
The small intestine is bydesign very permeable because
that's where you're supposed toabsorb such things as amino
acids and fatty acids andvitamins and minerals.
So the small intestine is bydesign very permeable.
But when there are fecalmicrobes in the small intestine,
the microbes and their toxinsirritate and inflame the
(07:03):
intestinal wall, making it evenmore permeable, and so there's
increased entry of LPS endotoxinthrough the wall of the small
intestine into the bloodstreamand that's called endotoxemia,
and by that route LPS endotoxincan gain access to all the
organs of the body, like breastor prostate or liver or thyroid
(07:25):
gland, and thereby introducechanges that can lead to the
development of cancer.
You can see that there are somecommon threads.
There are some patterns toemerge out of all this.
One is that many cancersoriginate with the mouth, that
is, microbes that originate withthe mouth, such as
Fusobacterium nucleatum andPorphyromonas gingivalis.
(07:46):
By the way, when those two aretogether, as they often are in
people who have bleeding gums orgingivitis or periodontitis,
even though those microbes arepresent normally and don't
necessarily cause harm, when youhave those situations of
bleeding gums, gingivitis orperiodontitis, that's when these
two microbes proliferate.
And then, when they worktogether, they're especially
(08:07):
lethal.
And these microbes are able togain access into other parts of
the body.
Fusobacterium enters thebloodstream every time you floss
or brush or have other any kindof minor microtrauma to the
mouth, and can also be obtainedby swallowing and gain access to
other parts of the body, suchas the colon.
It's not quite clear howporphyromonous gains access to
(08:27):
other organs, but it does so.
These two mouth microbes are acause for numerous cancers in
other parts of the body, or atleast contribute to the cancers.
Another pattern that emergeswhen you look at all this is
that fecal microbes those are,those gram-negative
proteobacteria like E coli andEnterobacter and Citrobacter are
(08:50):
common inhabitants of variouscancers all throughout the body.
It's not quite clear at whatpoint they participate.
Do they initiate the cancer?
Do they simply propagate it ormake it worse and metastasize?
Not quite clear.
But we find colonic or fecalmicrobes in all those cancers,
and the emerging science tellsus that they do participate in
causing or worsening the cancer.
(09:12):
And then, lastly, anotherpattern that emerges is that
many of the cancers also havethat LPS endotoxin, now that LPS
endotoxin comes from mostlyfecal microbes.
So once again we're back at therole of fecal microbes in the
colon, but also in the smallintestine, where they're given
(09:32):
increased access to the rest ofthe body.
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Now let's get back to ourdiscussion.
Now, before we get to solutionsto these issues, accepting that
these are evolving concepts, Iencourage you to get rid of the
idea that there's an antibioticfor every microbe.
That's a remnant of 1920s 1930sthinking.
(12:49):
Penicillin emerged from thatkind of thinking.
If you have pneumococcalpneumonia, take this antibiotic.
If you have a urinary tractinfection from E coli, take that
antibiotic.
We want to get away from thatkind of idea because more often
than not, issues involving themicrobiome are not just single
microbes and you kill them witha single antibiotic.
They're due to disruptions ofthe entire microbiome, and so
(13:13):
just taking an antibiotic is notpart of the solution.
It's actually part of theproblem, right?
Multiple courses of antibioticsgot us here and, of course, if
it's all responded toantibiotics which are massively
overused nowadays, we should beseeing a drop in cancer, right?
If a lot of cancer is caused bythe microbiome disruptions of
the microbiome, the overuse ofantibiotics should have been
(13:36):
leading to a marked reduction incancer incidence, and it has
not, of course.
In fact, cancers are increasing, and so get away from this idea
of an antibiotic for everymicrobe.
Instead, let's address thefactors that allow microbial
disruptors to take root.
So if a lot of colon cancer,for instance, originates from
(13:56):
microbes that come from themouth, like Fusobacterium
nucleatum and Porphyromonasgingivalis, especially when
there's bleeding gums,gingivitis or periodontitis
present, the solution involvesbetter oral hygiene and having a
dentist or a related healthprofessional address those
conditions, and not necessarilywith an antimicrobial.
(14:18):
There might be situations wherean antimicrobial would be
better, in case you have reallybad case, say, of periodontitis
and you're losing your teeth.
In that situation you'reprobably better off with an
antibiotic, but most of the timeit's better dental hygiene that
you manage, and with theassistance of some dental
professional.
The most important practice, bythe way, in my view as a
(14:38):
non-dentist, is to break thebiofilm.
My good friend, dr Debbie Osment, who is a functional dentist in
Oklahoma City, talks a lotabout this.
She tells a story of how shewould go to Peru once a year,
pre-pandemic, to volunteer tooffer her dental services to the
people living in the mountainsof Peru.
And she told me that peoplewould ride as much as two days
(15:01):
on their donkeys to get to theAmerican dentist for their free
care.
And she said that all she didfrom day till night was pull
teeth, because these people shutup with mouths full of rotten
teeth because they all chewedsugar cane.
But then she's made anextraordinary observation, that
is, an occasional person wouldshow up with a full mouth of
(15:22):
intact teeth and she asked themdo you chew sugarcane?
They say yes, and she'd askwhat do you do different than
other people?
They say, well, I take a twigafter I chew sugarcane and go
between my teeth and clean them.
Not a toothbrush, not fluoridetoothpaste, no dentist besides
Dr Osmond, just a twig.
And so she advocates thisconcept of breaking the
(15:44):
so-called biofilm, that is, thelittle film that many tooth
decay causing microbes createand cause damage to your teeth.
So the most important thing youcan do for dental health is
flossing and similar actionsthat break the biofilm.
It could be a toothpick, itcould be one of those little
picks that you can use that areplastic and go between your
(16:05):
teeth.
But break the biofilm and don'tuse mouthwash.
Mouthwash is extremelydisruptive.
It's shown to be unhealthy.
For instance, your bloodpressure goes up for a while
after you use mouthwash becauseyou've killed not just bad
microbes but good microbes also.
So it's very disruptive If youuse sweeteners, try to use some
xylitol now and then, becausexylitol is antimicrobial and
(16:28):
it's selective for the badmicrobes, like streptococcus
mutans.
That causes tooth decay.
So attention to the oralmicrobiome has the potential to
reduce many cancers, especiallycolon cancer.
Another area you want to payattention to is to correct or
improve colonic dysbiosis, thatis, disrupted microbial
(16:48):
composition in the colon andSIBO small intestinal bacterial
overgrowth a much worsesituation and we do that.
We accomplish that by restoringimportant keystone microbes,
that is, foundational microbesthat you've likely lost because
those microbes are verysusceptible to common
antibiotics and other factors.
So this includes a list ofmicrobes, but at the top of the
(17:12):
list, lactobacillus roteri andLactobacillus gasseri, two very
important microbes.
They're especially importantbecause they colonize both the
colon and the small intestine,where a lot of disruptions have
occurred, and those two speciesspecifically produce
bacteriocins.
They're champions at producingbacteriocins, natural
(17:35):
antibiotics effective in killingthose fecal microbes.
Let's focus for a moment on ourfavorite microbe of all,
lactobacillus roteri, becauseLactobacillus roteri has been
shown over and over again to beprotective against numerous
forms of cancer.
For instance, when introducedinto a pancreatic cancer model
(17:56):
in an animal, it actuallyeradicates the cancer.
When combined, especially withlactobacillus casea, another
beneficial microbe,lactobacillus rhodori, has also
been shown to reduce theformation of polyps in the colon
.
Now, these observations haveyet to be confirmed in humans,
but so far the animal and theexperimental evidence is
extremely powerful inillustrating how lactobacillus
(18:20):
ruterite, this one microbe thatwe ferment using my method of
extended fermentation, obtainedvery high counts of around 300
billion per half cup serving ofthe yogurt.
Recall, it's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt, but it's not.
But it's our way of gettingvery high counts of reuterite
and that is looking like anextremely powerful strategy for
(18:40):
reducing or preventing severalforms of cancer.
So if you don't know what I'mtalking about, take a look at my
other Defiant Health podcastsor my blog, my
drdavisinfinitehealthcom blog,where I tell you how to make
these as yogurts.
It's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt, but it's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt.
But it's a way to ferment thesemicrobes to very high counts
(19:02):
typically 300 billion, 300billion per half cup serving of
this yogurt.
Have with some blueberries orsome chia seeds, whatever, but
you want to get these microbesto recolonize your entire gi
tract, including the 24 feet ofsmall intestine.
So if these keystone microbesare successful in killing off
fecal microbes, that is, thefecal proteobacteria that have
(19:26):
that endotoxin, the LPSendotoxin, in their cell wall,
guess what happens?
Guess what follows?
There's a reduction in LPSendotoxemia.
And if you're successful inpushing or eradicating fecal
microbes in the small intestine,the permeable small intestine,
you further reduce endotoxemia.
You reduce the entry ofmicrobes into the bloodstream.
(19:49):
You reduce the entry of LPSendotoxin and giving them less
opportunity to get to yourbreasts or thyroid gland or
liver or prostate.
And so these strategies thatseem to focus on the mouth and
on the microbial composition ofyour small intestine and colon
(20:11):
are ways, I believe, thatpotentially could massively
reduce your potential forcancers in virtually every organ
of the body.
It doesn't mean you'reimpervious, but I believe you've
ratcheted down dramaticallyyour potential risk for various
cancers over your lifetime.
Another important strategy toaccomplish these ends is to
include lots and lots offermented foods Foods like kefir
(20:34):
, kimchi, sauerkraut, fermentedsauerkraut, veggies you ferment
on your kitchen counter allsorts of wonderful ways to
ferment foods and include thefibers that nourish microbes.
These are fibers like inulin orfructooligosaccharides that
come from foods such as onions,garlic, other root vegetables,
jicama, legumes like black beans, white beans, red beans, kidney
(20:56):
beans.
And don't forget hyaluronicacid, one of the very few fibers
sourced from animals.
So hyaluronic acid has beenabandoned by most people because
most people have stopped eatingorgan meats.
So add back hyaluronic acid asa powder.
Take these steps.
Now.
If this is a little bit strangeor complicated to you, take a
look at mydrdavesinfinitehealthcom blog
(21:17):
posts.
There's also a membershipwebsite where we talk about
these things face-to-face viaZoom every about once a week.
Also, my Supergut book.
Supergut has all these recipesfor all kinds of different
fermented foods, including whatI call SIBO yogurt,
lactobacillus roteri yogurt,lactobacillus gasseri yogurt and
many other fermented foods allmeant to help you rebuild your
(21:40):
microbiome.
Now, if you learned somethingby listening to this episode of
Defiant Health, I encourage youto subscribe through your
favorite podcast directory.
Post a review, post a comment,tell your friends.
Let's build this community ofpeople who want to be empowered
in their own health tocompensate for the deficiencies
of the modern healthcare system.
Thanks for listening.
Cancer is, of course, something we all fear,
a collection of diseases thatstrike us down unexpectedly and
often put us at the mercy of adeeply flawed and exploitative
medical system.
So it can help to identify thefactors that lead us down this
path and take action to minimizesuch risks.
We don't smoke cigarettes, ofcourse.
(00:26):
We try to consume organic foodswhenever possible to minimize
the carcinogenic effects ofherbicides and pesticides.
We avoid getting sunburnedadvice you're all likely
familiar with.
But the microbiome is proven tobe an exceptionally powerful
factor in causing and preventingcancer in some unexpected ways.
(00:47):
For instance, it has becomeclear that many instances of
colon cancer get their start inthe mouth.
It's also becoming clear thatnumerous forms of cancer, from
breast cancer to prostate cancer, originate with the composition
of microbes in thegastrointestinal tract.
It's the one common threadamong many forms of cancer.
(01:09):
This single insight alone hasthe potential to give you
enormous control over yourlifetime risk for these diseases
.
So in this episode of DefineHealth, let's consider these
cancer-related issues of themicrobiome.
It is, admitted, admittedly, aconversation that is just
getting started, with many morelessons to learn, but gain an
(01:30):
awareness of thesemicrobiome-related issues and
you can take concrete steps toaddress these risks and later in
the podcast I'd like to tellyou about Define Health's
sponsors Paleo Valley, ourpreferred provider of many
excellent organic and grass-fedfood products, and BioDequest,
my number one choice forprobiotics that are
(01:51):
scientifically formulated,unlike most of the other
commercial probiotic productsavailable today.
Of course, numerous causes ofcancer have been identified over
the years.
Some causes are environmental,some are dietary, others involve
toxic exposures or hormonaldisruptions, and there are also
(02:12):
genetic and epigeneticdisruptions that can lead to
changes that lead to a formationof a cancer.
But we need to add themicrobiome to the list, that is,
the collection of microbes invarious parts of the body, but
especially the gastrointestinalmicrobiome and the oral
microbiome, and that's becausethese areas are proven to be the
seeds or the source of microbesand their byproducts that are
(02:36):
involved in cancer causation.
Also, the unique thing aboutthe microbiome is that the
emerging science tells us thatvarious microbial factors cause
not just one or two or threekinds of cancers, but dozens of
different cancers, and that notaddressing these microbial
factors means that you cannothope for complete control over
(03:00):
cancer risk.
It's also appearing that themicrobiome has a number of ways
in which it can contribute tocausing or propagating a cancer.
It could be a direct or localeffect.
It could be an inflammatoryeffect.
It could be through endotoxemia, that is, the release of toxins
from bacteria that enter thebloodstream and then gain access
(03:22):
to various organs.
It could be direct invasion ofa microbe, that is, the microbe
actually enters a tissue likebreast or prostate or pancreas
and do its damage.
That way it could also achievechanges that lead to cancer by
disrupting the immune response,often turning off your
protective immune responseagainst an emerging cancer,
(03:45):
often turning off yourprotective immune response
against an emerging cancer.
And microbes can also beresponsible for damaging your
DNA, actually introducingchanges into your genetic code
or the epigenetics that controlexpression of your genes.
That can then in turn lead tocancer and allow its propagation
.
A very important collection ofobservations have come from some
studies performed recently inwhich many tumors were actually
(04:07):
taken out of people patientsresected, that is, and then
studied and looked at for thepresence of microbes and also
for the presence of bacterialtoxins.
Lo and behold, tumors arefilled with microbes and with
their toxins.
So breast, for instance, breasttissue that's been examined
after removal includes microbeslike Streptococcus infantis and
(04:31):
Fusobacterium nucleatum.
Fusobacterium nucleotide is anoral microbe.
So in this case, presumptively,there's.
One of the causes of breastcancer is a microbe from the
mouth.
Examination of pancreaticcancer has revealed the presence
of fecal microbes such asenterobacter, klebsiella and
citrobacter.
(04:52):
Now how did fecal microbes getinto the pancreas?
Because fecal microbes live, orare supposed to live, about 24
feet down from the pancreas.
There's no direct connectionbetween the colon, where fecal
microbes are supposed to live,and the pancreas.
The pancreas is 24 feet uphigher.
So we have to presume thatfecal microbes somehow gain
(05:14):
access, likely by ascending intothe small intestine.
Colon cancer contains two mouthmicrobes Fusobacterium
nucleatum and Porphyromonasgingivalis, two microbes that
originate in the mouth andlikely gain access either
through the bloodstream or byswallowing.
There's also E coli andBacteroides fragilis, two stool
(05:34):
microbes.
But no surprise, that's wherethey're supposed to be.
But when E coli and certainstrains of Bacteroides fragilis
proliferate, they can contributeto change that lead to a cancer
.
Another interesting observationmade through recent studies of
tumors taken out of patients isthat they also contain
lipopolysaccharide endotoxin.
(05:55):
So if we take those fecalmicrobes, they're also called
gram-negative because they stayin a certain way when you try to
look at them under a microscope.
They're also calledproteobacteria or
enterobacteriaceae.
These are more umbrella-typeterms for fecalcal microbes.
These fecal microbes have atoxin in their cell wall called
lipopolysaccharide endotoxin, orlps endotoxin for short.
(06:19):
When these microbes die let'ssay in the colon they die, they
release that endotoxin into theintestines, which then can gain
access into your bloodstream.
Now this is especially truewhen you have small intestinal
bacterial overgrowth, that is,when you have fecal microbes
that have proliferated in thecolon, where they belong, but
(06:40):
then ascended into the smallintestine, where they don't
belong.
The small intestine is bydesign very permeable because
that's where you're supposed toabsorb such things as amino
acids and fatty acids andvitamins and minerals.
So the small intestine is bydesign very permeable.
But when there are fecalmicrobes in the small intestine,
the microbes and their toxinsirritate and inflame the
(07:03):
intestinal wall, making it evenmore permeable, and so there's
increased entry of LPS endotoxinthrough the wall of the small
intestine into the bloodstreamand that's called endotoxemia,
and by that route LPS endotoxincan gain access to all the
organs of the body, like breastor prostate or liver or thyroid
(07:25):
gland, and thereby introducechanges that can lead to the
development of cancer.
You can see that there are somecommon threads.
There are some patterns toemerge out of all this.
One is that many cancersoriginate with the mouth, that
is, microbes that originate withthe mouth, such as
Fusobacterium nucleatum andPorphyromonas gingivalis.
(07:46):
By the way, when those two aretogether, as they often are in
people who have bleeding gums orgingivitis or periodontitis,
even though those microbes arepresent normally and don't
necessarily cause harm, when youhave those situations of
bleeding gums, gingivitis orperiodontitis, that's when these
two microbes proliferate.
And then, when they worktogether, they're especially
(08:07):
lethal.
And these microbes are able togain access into other parts of
the body.
Fusobacterium enters thebloodstream every time you floss
or brush or have other any kindof minor microtrauma to the
mouth, and can also be obtainedby swallowing and gain access to
other parts of the body, suchas the colon.
It's not quite clear howporphyromonous gains access to
(08:27):
other organs, but it does so.
These two mouth microbes are acause for numerous cancers in
other parts of the body, or atleast contribute to the cancers.
Another pattern that emergeswhen you look at all this is
that fecal microbes those are,those gram-negative
proteobacteria like E coli andEnterobacter and Citrobacter are
(08:50):
common inhabitants of variouscancers all throughout the body.
It's not quite clear at whatpoint they participate.
Do they initiate the cancer?
Do they simply propagate it ormake it worse and metastasize?
Not quite clear.
But we find colonic or fecalmicrobes in all those cancers,
and the emerging science tellsus that they do participate in
causing or worsening the cancer.
(09:12):
And then, lastly, anotherpattern that emerges is that
many of the cancers also havethat LPS endotoxin, now that LPS
endotoxin comes from mostlyfecal microbes.
So once again we're back at therole of fecal microbes in the
colon, but also in the smallintestine, where they're given
(09:32):
increased access to the rest ofthe body.
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Now let's get back to ourdiscussion.
Now, before we get to solutionsto these issues, accepting that
these are evolving concepts, Iencourage you to get rid of the
idea that there's an antibioticfor every microbe.
That's a remnant of 1920s 1930sthinking.
(12:49):
Penicillin emerged from thatkind of thinking.
If you have pneumococcalpneumonia, take this antibiotic.
If you have a urinary tractinfection from E coli, take that
antibiotic.
We want to get away from thatkind of idea because more often
than not, issues involving themicrobiome are not just single
microbes and you kill them witha single antibiotic.
They're due to disruptions ofthe entire microbiome, and so
(13:13):
just taking an antibiotic is notpart of the solution.
It's actually part of theproblem, right?
Multiple courses of antibioticsgot us here and, of course, if
it's all responded toantibiotics which are massively
overused nowadays, we should beseeing a drop in cancer, right?
If a lot of cancer is caused bythe microbiome disruptions of
the microbiome, the overuse ofantibiotics should have been
(13:36):
leading to a marked reduction incancer incidence, and it has
not, of course.
In fact, cancers are increasing, and so get away from this idea
of an antibiotic for everymicrobe.
Instead, let's address thefactors that allow microbial
disruptors to take root.
So if a lot of colon cancer,for instance, originates from
(13:56):
microbes that come from themouth, like Fusobacterium
nucleatum and Porphyromonasgingivalis, especially when
there's bleeding gums,gingivitis or periodontitis
present, the solution involvesbetter oral hygiene and having a
dentist or a related healthprofessional address those
conditions, and not necessarilywith an antimicrobial.
(14:18):
There might be situations wherean antimicrobial would be
better, in case you have reallybad case, say, of periodontitis
and you're losing your teeth.
In that situation you'reprobably better off with an
antibiotic, but most of the timeit's better dental hygiene that
you manage, and with theassistance of some dental
professional.
The most important practice, bythe way, in my view as a
(14:38):
non-dentist, is to break thebiofilm.
My good friend, dr Debbie Osment, who is a functional dentist in
Oklahoma City, talks a lotabout this.
She tells a story of how shewould go to Peru once a year,
pre-pandemic, to volunteer tooffer her dental services to the
people living in the mountainsof Peru.
And she told me that peoplewould ride as much as two days
(15:01):
on their donkeys to get to theAmerican dentist for their free
care.
And she said that all she didfrom day till night was pull
teeth, because these people shutup with mouths full of rotten
teeth because they all chewedsugar cane.
But then she's made anextraordinary observation, that
is, an occasional person wouldshow up with a full mouth of
(15:22):
intact teeth and she asked themdo you chew sugarcane?
They say yes, and she'd askwhat do you do different than
other people?
They say, well, I take a twigafter I chew sugarcane and go
between my teeth and clean them.
Not a toothbrush, not fluoridetoothpaste, no dentist besides
Dr Osmond, just a twig.
And so she advocates thisconcept of breaking the
(15:44):
so-called biofilm, that is, thelittle film that many tooth
decay causing microbes createand cause damage to your teeth.
So the most important thing youcan do for dental health is
flossing and similar actionsthat break the biofilm.
It could be a toothpick, itcould be one of those little
picks that you can use that areplastic and go between your
(16:05):
teeth.
But break the biofilm and don'tuse mouthwash.
Mouthwash is extremelydisruptive.
It's shown to be unhealthy.
For instance, your bloodpressure goes up for a while
after you use mouthwash becauseyou've killed not just bad
microbes but good microbes also.
So it's very disruptive If youuse sweeteners, try to use some
xylitol now and then, becausexylitol is antimicrobial and
(16:28):
it's selective for the badmicrobes, like streptococcus
mutans.
That causes tooth decay.
So attention to the oralmicrobiome has the potential to
reduce many cancers, especiallycolon cancer.
Another area you want to payattention to is to correct or
improve colonic dysbiosis, thatis, disrupted microbial
(16:48):
composition in the colon andSIBO small intestinal bacterial
overgrowth a much worsesituation and we do that.
We accomplish that by restoringimportant keystone microbes,
that is, foundational microbesthat you've likely lost because
those microbes are verysusceptible to common
antibiotics and other factors.
So this includes a list ofmicrobes, but at the top of the
(17:12):
list, lactobacillus roteri andLactobacillus gasseri, two very
important microbes.
They're especially importantbecause they colonize both the
colon and the small intestine,where a lot of disruptions have
occurred, and those two speciesspecifically produce
bacteriocins.
They're champions at producingbacteriocins, natural
(17:35):
antibiotics effective in killingthose fecal microbes.
Let's focus for a moment on ourfavorite microbe of all,
lactobacillus roteri, becauseLactobacillus roteri has been
shown over and over again to beprotective against numerous
forms of cancer.
For instance, when introducedinto a pancreatic cancer model
(17:56):
in an animal, it actuallyeradicates the cancer.
When combined, especially withlactobacillus casea, another
beneficial microbe,lactobacillus rhodori, has also
been shown to reduce theformation of polyps in the colon
.
Now, these observations haveyet to be confirmed in humans,
but so far the animal and theexperimental evidence is
extremely powerful inillustrating how lactobacillus
(18:20):
ruterite, this one microbe thatwe ferment using my method of
extended fermentation, obtainedvery high counts of around 300
billion per half cup serving ofthe yogurt.
Recall, it's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt, but it's not.
But it's our way of gettingvery high counts of reuterite
and that is looking like anextremely powerful strategy for
(18:40):
reducing or preventing severalforms of cancer.
So if you don't know what I'mtalking about, take a look at my
other Defiant Health podcastsor my blog, my
drdavisinfinitehealthcom blog,where I tell you how to make
these as yogurts.
It's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt, but it's not yogurt.
It looks and smells like yogurt.
But it's a way to ferment thesemicrobes to very high counts
(19:02):
typically 300 billion, 300billion per half cup serving of
this yogurt.
Have with some blueberries orsome chia seeds, whatever, but
you want to get these microbesto recolonize your entire gi
tract, including the 24 feet ofsmall intestine.
So if these keystone microbesare successful in killing off
fecal microbes, that is, thefecal proteobacteria that have
(19:26):
that endotoxin, the LPSendotoxin, in their cell wall,
guess what happens?
Guess what follows?
There's a reduction in LPSendotoxemia.
And if you're successful inpushing or eradicating fecal
microbes in the small intestine,the permeable small intestine,
you further reduce endotoxemia.
You reduce the entry ofmicrobes into the bloodstream.
(19:49):
You reduce the entry of LPSendotoxin and giving them less
opportunity to get to yourbreasts or thyroid gland or
liver or prostate.
And so these strategies thatseem to focus on the mouth and
on the microbial composition ofyour small intestine and colon
(20:11):
are ways, I believe, thatpotentially could massively
reduce your potential forcancers in virtually every organ
of the body.
It doesn't mean you'reimpervious, but I believe you've
ratcheted down dramaticallyyour potential risk for various
cancers over your lifetime.
Another important strategy toaccomplish these ends is to
include lots and lots offermented foods Foods like kefir
(20:34):
, kimchi, sauerkraut, fermentedsauerkraut, veggies you ferment
on your kitchen counter allsorts of wonderful ways to
ferment foods and include thefibers that nourish microbes.
These are fibers like inulin orfructooligosaccharides that
come from foods such as onions,garlic, other root vegetables,
jicama, legumes like black beans, white beans, red beans, kidney
(20:56):
beans.
And don't forget hyaluronicacid, one of the very few fibers
sourced from animals.
So hyaluronic acid has beenabandoned by most people because
most people have stopped eatingorgan meats.
So add back hyaluronic acid asa powder.
Take these steps.
Now.
If this is a little bit strangeor complicated to you, take a
look at mydrdavesinfinitehealthcom blog
(21:17):
posts.
There's also a membershipwebsite where we talk about
these things face-to-face viaZoom every about once a week.
Also, my Supergut book.
Supergut has all these recipesfor all kinds of different
fermented foods, including whatI call SIBO yogurt,
lactobacillus roteri yogurt,lactobacillus gasseri yogurt and
many other fermented foods allmeant to help you rebuild your
(21:40):
microbiome.
Now, if you learned somethingby listening to this episode of
Defiant Health, I encourage youto subscribe through your
favorite podcast directory.
Post a review, post a comment,tell your friends.
Let's build this community ofpeople who want to be empowered
in their own health tocompensate for the deficiencies
of the modern healthcare system.
Thanks for listening.
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