How to Get Rid of Bad Bacteria in the Gut

Your gutis an ecosystem. Every species plays an important role to keep everything in balance. Healthy diet and lifestyle lead to a default setting of balance within your gut. However, unhealthy diet and lifestyle practices can lead to imbalance of your gut ecosystem…and everything goes awry.

There are actually a very minimal number of truly “bad” gut microbes. The bacteria living in your gut react depending on what is around them. So the best way to maintain a healthy balance of flora in your gut is to keep a favorable environment for your good microbes to thrive: they will naturally protect you and the balance of other strains of flora which might act “unfriendly” if the environment of your gut doesn’t keep them in check.

Because of this balance, it’s usually better to achieve diversity in the gut rather than to eliminate bacteria. Here’s why:

Bacteria can easily develop resistance.
It’s hard to determine which bacteria cause your symptoms.
You can’t kill only specific strains or species. Eliminating bad bacteria affects good bacteria as well and will eventually lead to a loss of diversity.
Bacteria have the ability to hide in biofilms when under attack, making them even harder to kill.

So focus on diversifying your microbiome.

Remember that bacterial diversity is a key to having a healthy gut, and the universal sign of illness is losing microbial diversity down there. If you want a strong gut that is able to help you avoid getting sick, make sure that you support (through diet and lifestyle) different species and strains of microbes in your gut.

According to research, the presence of certain types of gut bacteria in the right quantities is good for you. In fact, they can protect you from developing chronic illnesses. These bacteria include:

Lactobacillus
Bifidobacteria
E. coli (specific strains)

Encouraging the growth of these species means eating foods that feed them. Check out the table to know which foods are great to boost which bacteria:

Lactobacillus	Bifido	E. Coli
konjac root (also known as glucomannan or ‘shirataki’) soy apples barley wheat bran walnuts chicory root artichokes buckwheat	bananas nuts onions garlic oats blueberries apples	Figs Hazelnuts Chickpeas

So when is weeding needed?

If you’re having symptoms regularly like heartburn, irregular bowel movements (diarrhea, constipation, or both), bloating, low or inconsistent energy, trouble sleeping, weight imbalance, skin rashes or breakouts, multiple food sensitivities or noticing that your body is reacting poorly to more foods over time.

Your health professional might suggest a gentle weeding of unwanted microbes if you have the following:

A comprehensive stool exam reveals an imbalance of beneficial versus opportunistic bacteria; a yeast imbalance; or a pathogen (like H. Pylori)
A breath test confirming SIBO or small intestine bacterial overgrowth

In this instance, a medical doctor might prescribe antibiotics, and a functional health practitioner may offer herbal or plant-based antimicrobials which are proven to be just as, or even more, effective than antibiotics (certain formulas boost beneficial flora while discouraging high levels of problematic ones).

These are the foods that kill bad bacteria, but always bear in mind that they may also kill the good ones if overdone.

Garlic – Allicin in garlic is a potent antimicrobial. Aside from bacteria, it can kill fungi, protozoa, and viruses.
Oregano – It is one of the substances used to treat SIBO, even more effective than some pharmaceutical antibiotics.
Caraway seed oil, lavender flower oil, and ajwain seed soil – These essential oils are effective against Candida albicans and Bacteroides fragilis.
Green tea – Helps stop growth of Candida albicans and helps prevents other bad bacteria from settling in.
Pomegranate husk – The white part of this fruit is effective against certain species of bacteria such as E. Coli (E. Coli isn’t entirely bad: there are beneficial strains).

Taking high amounts these foods or pharmaceutical antibiotics should only be the last resort because of the collateral damage to the good microbes. This can lead to dysbiosis, paving the way to more illnesses. Aim for microbial diversity first.

It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.

If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session at bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!
~Rebecca

P.S.
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