There are many ailments and illnesses that arise from poor digestive processes, but one of the most common is gut dysbiosis. This is caused by an imbalance of bacteria (also called probiotics) in your gut. A healthy gut is sustained by a balance of good and bad bacteria, with the good bacteria able to stop the bad bacteria from doing any damage. When the good bacteria are inefficient and the bad bacteria take over, they infect the intestinal tract and trigger gut dysbiosis.

The symptoms are varied, ranging from typical digestive symptoms like heartburn, flatulence, diarrhea and constipation to fatigue, joint pain, anemia, acne and even insomnia and depression. There are four main forms of gut dysbiosis:.

Putrefaction: This is caused by diets high in animal fats and low in insoluble fiber. This hinders the movement of food from the bowel, allowing the bad bacteria more opportunity to kill off the good bacteria as the ingested material putrifies in the colon. It also generates an excess of ammonia, which has an effect on the operation of the liver and kidneys. This type of gut dysbiosis is associated with the escalated risk of breast and bowel cancer. It can be prevented by reducing animal fats and increasing insoluble fibers like seeds, nuts, dark, leafy vegetables, fruit and brown rice.

Fermentation: This is also described as Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. (SIBO) and entails the overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine rather than the colon. It's often indistinguishable from Candidiasis, overgrowth of a fungal yeast, with sufferers acquiring an intolerance to carbohydrates. It's recommended that you deal with this by avoiding cereal grains and any processed sugar. Toleration of fruits and starchy vegetables will differ with each person, so it's matter of trial and error to find an acceptable level for yourself.

Deficiency: This is caused by frequent use of antibiotics and low amounts of soluble fiber, which results in a lack of good gut bacteria. Deficiency and putrefaction dysbiosis often occur together as a result of a diet high in animal fats and low in fiber. The remedy is to decrease animal fats and increase both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber foods include oatmeal, lentils, nuts, dried peas, apples, oranges and pears. If you eat a wide assortment of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, this will provide good levels of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Sensitization: This takes place when there is an escalated immune response to regular gut bacteria. In other words, the bad bacteria are attacking the good bacteria and there's a fight going on in your gut. Fermentation and sensitization dysbiosis often occur together, and the remedy is, as in fermentation dysbiosis, to avoid grains and processed sugar and experiment with levels of fruit and starchy vegetables. You may need to cut them right out to start with and slowly introduce small amounts to test your tolerance.

As all forms of gut dysbiosis are a result of inadequate good bacteria, the one remedy that is common to all types is to take a daily probiotic supplement. In addition to your improved dietary program, a daily supplement will assist to repair your levels of natural probiotics and continued use will help to avoid chronic symptoms later on.