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Archaea: Hot springs, the Dead Sea, and your intestines

July 20, 2019 By Dr. William Davis

It’s a peculiar situation.

Bacteria are obviously primitive organisms. They are ubiquitous in the human body, occupying virtually every nook and cranny, crack and crevice. But there’s another class of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of most humans that, if their proliferation goes unchecked, can wreak havoc: Archaea.

Archaea are fascinating. Evolutionarily, Archaea pre-date bacteria and lack such features as having a cell nucleus. Archaea are sometimes called “extremophiles,” as they have evolved the ability to survive in extreme environments, such as the boiling water temperatures of hot springs (“thermophiles”) or the toxic levels of salt in the Dead Sea (“halophiles”). You can also find them in the guts of ruminants and insects where they assist with digestion. You can even find them at the bottom of the ocean and in Antarctic ice. In other words, they are extremely adaptable, able to survive in conditions that few other organisms can. Some scientists believe that, if we are to discover life on places like the moon or Mars, they are likely to be something like Archaea.

I don’t believe that we can classify the human gastrointestinal tract as an extreme environment, though certainly one I would not want to live in. Most humans harbor Archaea in their digestive tracts where they may provide some benefits, such as consuming hydrogen gas produced by bacteria, consuming toxic metabolites resulting from bacterial protein fermentation, and reducing trimethylamine intestinal content. And, despite the many human diseases caused by bacteria—tuberculosis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, etc.—Archaea are largely benign and appear to not typically cause human diseases. In other words, they seem less opportunistic than bacteria or viruses, benign co-inhabitants in creatures like mammals.

This is why it is surprising that evidence is mounting associating the proliferation of Archaea such as Methanobrevibacter smithii, so-called because it produces methane gas rather than hydrogen gas, with a form of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, SIBO, called methanogenic SIBO. Because methane gas has been shown to slow intestinal propulsive activity in the intestinal tract, the red flag for methanogenic SIBO is constipation.

Now, recall that gliadin-derived opioid peptides can be responsible for constipation, as are other opioids, a fact that the ever-enterprising pharmaceutical industry puts to advantage. Gliadin-derived opioid peptides can also be responsible for severe, unremitting constipation, “obstipation,” an awful situation in which sufferers move their bowels every several weeks, partial and temporary relief provided by mega-dose laxatives and enemas. Banishing all gliadin-containing wheat and related grains can therefore provide dramatic relief to many cases of constipation.

But Archaea can also cause constipation, often labeled IBS-C or irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. But why? Why would a class of organisms that are largely quiet inhabitants of the human gastrointestinal tract proliferate and cause problems?

Nobody has the answer. Preliminary observational and experimental evidence suggests that methanogenic SIBO and/or higher methane levels may lead to increased potential for:

  • Colon cancer—Most people with colon cancer have
  • Obesity
  • Diverticular disease—diverticulosis and diverticulitis
  • Brain abscess
  • Gingivitis

A provocative observation was made recently in which our old friend, Lactobacillus reuteri, the bacteria that we put to work in making our L reuteri yogurt that smooths skin, restores youthful muscle and libido, and turns the clock back 10 or 20 years, exerts a potent suppressive effect on Archaea. In a small study, L reuteri 100 million CFUs per day for four weeks reduced breath methane by over 50% with 11 participants experiencing complete eradication of methane. Is methanogenic SIBO therefore yet another aspect of the changing human microbiome that includes progressive loss of L reuteri? And does the higher bacterial counts of our yogurt, given the unique fermenting process we use—prolonged fermentation in the presence of prebiotic fibers—eradicate methanogens?

Stay tuned for more on this fascinating topic as we dive deeper into Archaea, methanogenic SIBO, and related conditions in our Undoctored Inner Circle.

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Filed Under: Health Information Tagged With: bowel flora, diy health, diy healthcare, diyhealth, diyhealthcare, dr william davis, dysbiosis, sibo, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, undoctored, weight loss

About Dr. William Davis

William Davis, MD, FACC is cardiologist and author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Wheat Belly series of books. He is also author of the new Undoctored: Why Health Care Has Failed You and How You Can Become Smarter Than Your Doctor.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andy Ngo

    July 25, 2019

    Hi there:
    I live in Canada. I tried to order BioGaia Gastrus from Amazon.com, but they don’t send it to Canada. Amazon.ca doesn’t have it. It couldn’t find it in Walmart, Costco, Shopper Drugmart… Is there any restriction on this particular product in Canada? Is there anyway to get it here in Canada?
    Thank you very much
    Andy

    • Bob Niland

      July 25, 2019

      Andy Ngo wrote: «Is there any restriction on this particular product in Canada?»

      That’s a great question, and one that you need to put to Biogaia. Just checking once again on their web site, they don’t list anything other than Protectis® and Prodentis® as being available to you (neither of which contain Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 6475).

      That said, people have reported being able to get Gastrus® from iHerb.ca, although they presently show BGA-46017 as being out of stock.
      ________
      Blog Associate (click for details)

      • andy ngo

        July 25, 2019

        Hi Bob:
        I just visited iHerb.
        The website stated that it might be available again on July 27th (tomorrow).
        I’ll check again tomorrow. Will let you know if I can get it.
        Thank you very much
        Andy

  2. Mary

    July 26, 2019

    Try eBay. I needed a new box and found it out of stock on amazon, but was able to order from eBay.

    • Bob Niland

      July 27, 2019

      Mary wrote: «Try eBay.»

      eBay is useful for many things, but is not the place I’d turn to for foods, supplements and healthcare products. The risk of expired, overheated or fake products is way too high.

      Even on Amazon, buy only when the brand or Amazon itself is the seller, and fulfillment is by Amazon (and even that might not be full assurance).
      ________
      Blog Associate (click for details)

      • andy ngo

        July 27, 2019

        Thanks for the information
        Andy

  3. Stuart

    July 29, 2019

    Hi Andy, if you sign up for the notification iHerb will email you when the product is back in stock. My experience with that is that since I’m on the other side of the world they report it back in stock while I’m asleep and by the time I see the email it’s all been snapped up by US customers who’ve seen the email before I did. I then have to sign up again for the email and usually I can get it on the next restock in a few days. Since you’re in more or less the same timezone you might be able to get it on the first go-round.

    I bought my Gastrus from another US supplier because iHerb didn’t stock it at the time but as I recall I had to buy 2 packs to amortise the ridiculously expensive USPS postage cost. Which is why I like iHerb: they’ve set up their international shipping to bypass USPS and it’s much more reasonable or even free if you order more than $Aus50-60 ($US40?).

    You may know this already but iHerb give you 10% loyalty credit usable on your next order within 60 days. If you quote a referral code from another member they get 5% credit. So if you and another family member (eg husband and wife) both sign up as members you can get a total of 15% off provided you order at least once every 60 days. It depends on how their pricing stacks up with your local suppliers, but I buy from iHerb because they carry things I can’t buy here or it’s cheaper for some products.

    • andy ngo

      August 2, 2019

      Hi Stuart:
      Thank you for the tip. I just did that.
      Andy

      • an ngo

        August 2, 2019

        I just placed an order with iHerb
        Thank you very much for your support
        Andy

        • Stuart

          August 3, 2019

          You’re welcome, Andy

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