The intestinal flora can be a source of health and well-being. However, if it is out of balance, it can also cause illness and fatigue. Therefore, establishing a healthy intestinal flora is one of the most important goals of any holistic therapy.

Which factors harm the intestinal flora?

Every person has their own individual intestinal flora. Nevertheless, certain parallels can be seen in certain groups of people. For example, people with chronic intestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease have a significantly different intestinal flora than people with a healthy digestive system – and people who are overweight have a completely different intestinal flora than slim people.

Autistic people also have a different intestinal flora than people without autism. Likewise, the intestinal flora of people with rheumatism is different from that of people without rheumatism.

As early as 2004, scientists Hawrelak and Myers from Australia’s Southern Cross University demonstrated in a review article on “The Causes of Intestinal Flora Disorders (Dysbiosis)” that an unfavorable change in the intestinal flora (dysbiosis) can contribute to the development of many chronic and degenerative diseases. This study mentions irritable bowel syndrome, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatism (arthritis), and ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis, a rheumatic disease with spinal stiffness) (1).

The researchers pointed out that the modern Western lifestyle, with its poor diet, frequent use of antibiotics, and constant stress, has an extremely harmful effect on the intestinal flora. They recommended first eliminating these factors and then rebuilding the intestinal flora.

The intestinal flora influences more than just the intestines. It affects every aspect of our being—both physical and mental. The intestinal flora can make us sick, but it can also help us recover. Therefore, true health is not possible without a balanced intestinal flora.

In addition to diet and stress, we present other factors that harm the intestinal flora.

The healthier the intestinal flora, the stronger the immune system

The intestinal flora consists of a community of many trillions of bacteria (10 to the power of 13 to 10 to the power of 14) that colonize our digestive system. That’s ten times as many bacteria as we have cells. Among them are bacteria that are beneficial to us – called probiotic bacteria – and bacteria that are less beneficial and, in some cases, even harmful.

Beneficial bacteria have a wide range of functions. They prevent harmful and pathogenic bacteria from taking over and are also able to neutralize toxins. They thus help our body detoxify and protect it from all kinds of harmful substances.

A healthy intestinal flora is therefore a crucial component of our immune system. The following applies: The healthier the intestinal flora, the more effective our immune system, the stronger our defenses, and the further we are from illness and discomfort.

The healthier the intestinal flora, the fewer allergies

A healthy intestinal flora not only protects against infections, but also against allergies, skin diseases and asthma.

In fact, pregnant women who are prone to allergies can support not only their own immune systems but also those of their unborn children by taking high-quality probiotics (beneficial intestinal bacteria), so that after birth, the babies – especially if they continue to take probiotics while breastfeeding – are less likely to suffer from eczema or other allergic problems than babies whose mothers do not take probiotics.

The healthier the intestinal flora, the better protected

An intact intestinal flora also significantly reduces the risk of developing food intolerances, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, or fungal infections. Probiotics also play an equally important role in cancer prevention and in the aftercare of any illness treated with antibiotics (see point 1 below).

The healthier the intestinal flora, the less excess weight

Other positive effects of probiotics and a healthy gut flora include regulating bowel movements, normalizing cholesterol levels, and even supporting weight loss. The latter is because many heavier people have gut flora that can extract calories even from otherwise indigestible fiber.

And so there are many reasons why we should urgently pay attention to a healthy intestinal flora. If our bodies contain sufficient amounts of beneficial bacteria, then – in combination with a proper diet and sufficient exercise – we will be healthy, fit, and productive.

Especially in times marked by food scares and the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, it is extremely important to keep our bodies in a strong immune system. Only then can we live safely and healthily – regardless of the pathogens or pollutants we come into contact with throughout the day.

Control your intestinal flora!

However, our intestinal flora is not a fixed, unchanging structure in our body that – once strengthened – remains strong.

The human body regularly excretes intestinal bacteria —unfortunately, not only the undesirable ones, but also those that are beneficial to us. This wouldn’t be a problem, however, since the remaining intestinal bacteria always multiply again at lightning speed. This would ensure a constant supply of beneficial intestinal bacteria.

Of course, not only beneficial intestinal bacteria can multiply, but also harmful ones. And so the intestinal flora changes not only in quantity but also in its composition. It does this every day, every hour, even every minute – sometimes in a positive direction for us, sometimes in a negative direction.

Fortunately, we can determine the direction ourselves – if we know how. The intestinal flora doesn’t change according to our whims, but rather according to our internal environment. We can influence this internal environment ourselves at every moment of our lives.

We can do things to build a healthy intestinal flora, which ensures that the beneficial intestinal bacteria feel comfortable in us, that they multiply and are able to keep the harmful bacteria and parasitic fungi in check.

However, we can also do things that lead to an explosive proliferation of harmful bacteria, fungi and pathogens, which simultaneously sidelines our actually desired beneficial bacteria.

Often, we don’t even know what harms our intestinal flora and what would benefit it. Therefore, we’ll introduce you to nine factors that harm your intestinal flora and then explain how you can build and maintain a healthy intestinal flora:

Nine things that harm your intestinal flora

Below, we list nine things that are harmful to your gut flora. We also explain how to avoid these factors and what alternatives are available:

1. Antibiotics

Antibiotics, of course, must be the first priority here. Antibiotics are known to destroy not only the harmful target bacteria, but also the beneficial intestinal bacteria. In this way, they severely impair the intestinal flora. However, you now know what impaired intestinal flora means: It results in an increased susceptibility to all kinds of diseases (2).

Some people believe that their intestinal flora regenerates on its own after taking antibiotics. This may well be the case, but it takes up to six months. A lot can happen in those six months. It’s not uncommon for the remaining harmful intestinal bacteria or fungi to multiply significantly faster than the remaining “good” intestinal bacteria. Thus, the independent and successful regeneration of the intestinal flora is not always possible.

If antibiotic therapy really cannot be avoided, then it is more than advisable to follow it with intestinal cleansing or at least to build up the intestinal flora, as we describe at the end of the article.

2. Birth control pills and other hormonal preparations

The use of hormonal contraceptives also influences intestinal health. In a prospective cohort study titled “Oral contraceptives, reproductive factors and risk of inflammatory bowel disease,” researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston found that women who take oral contraceptives have a significantly higher risk of developing inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis than women who do not use the pill. The study results were published in 2012 in the internationally renowned journal of gastroenterology, Gut , and referred to smokers (3).

Other studies, some dating back to the 1990s, drew similar conclusions regarding the harmful effects of oral contraceptives on the intestinal flora, particularly when the pills contained high doses of estrogen (4)(5).

3. Chlorine in tap water

Tap water is often chlorinated. Chlorine, however, is a chemical added to water for the purpose of disinfection, i.e., killing bacteria. Chlorine does its disinfecting work not only in the water, but also in your intestines, where it reduces your healthy intestinal flora.

In their study Prebiotics, faecal transplants and microbial network units to stimulate biodiversity of the human gut microbiome, published in 2013 in the journal Microbial Biotechnology, Belgian scientists from Ghent University warned against the unnecessary use of antibiotics and excessive hygienic precautions, including drinking chlorinated water (6).

In their study, scientists Van den Abbeele and colleagues explain that these factors – together with the usual Western diet – lead to a decrease in microbial diversity in the intestine, which in turn results in frequently recurring infections (e.g. with Clostridium difficile), inflammatory bowel diseases and obesity.

To rebuild a healthy intestinal flora, scientists recommend taking not only probiotics, i.e., live intestinal bacteria, but also prebiotic supplements. Prebiotics are substances that serve as food for the beneficial intestinal bacteria. All the probiotics in the world are useless if you let the probiotic bacteria starve.

Prebiotics are found in particularly large quantities in some foods, such as chicory and Jerusalem artichokes, but also in the dietary supplement inulin. The latter is a member of the so-called oligosaccharides, which have recently been shown to have anti-cancer effects.

However, all these prebiotic and probiotic efforts are unlikely to achieve their goal if you continue to consume chlorinated drinking water, and the chlorine continually impairs your intestinal flora. A good water filter is therefore an essential household accessory. It provides you and your family with chlorine-free, healthy drinking water and thus protects your intestinal flora.

Particularly recommended are water filters that purify the water in a similar way to how rainwater is purified in untouched nature. Rainwater slowly seeps through various rock layers before becoming clear and pure spring water.

Water filters of this type don’t even need to be connected to the water supply and, despite minimal technological effort, are highly effective. In a short time, ordinary tap water is transformed into fresh and delicious spring water.

If you want to protect not only your gut but also your skin from contact with toxic chlorine, then a simple measure can help: Replace your conventional shower head with a special shower head that uses multiple filter stages to remove chlorine and other contaminants from your shower water. At the same time, this special shower head helps reduce your water consumption and provides soft water for your skin.

4. Fluoride

Fluorides are also suspected of destroying the intestinal flora. Fluorides can act as metabolic toxins, which is why some claim that, like antibiotics, they can also destroy healthy intestinal flora.

Fluoride is added to drinking water in Australia and other countries. Fortunately, this is no longer the case in Europe – except for some regions in Great Britain. Instead, you’ll hardly find any toothpaste without fluoride in conventional drugstores and supermarkets . And you should also be careful when buying table salt , as it can also contain fluoride along with iodine.

However, sea salt is usually fluoride-free. Toothpaste, on the other hand, offers a wider selection of fluoride-free toothpastes, especially in health food stores. If you live in a country that still fluoridates drinking water, the same recommendations apply as in point 3, as a high-quality water filter can also remove fluoride from your water.

Triclosan, a disinfectant chemical, is also found in many products and can harm your intestinal flora.

5. Sugar and fat

Hardly any other food leads to the destruction of intestinal flora as easily and purposefully as sugar. In combination with unhealthy fats, dysbiosis (impaired intestinal flora) can be achieved even more quickly.

And if you think this view only comes from the camp of wholefood freaks, where sugar has a similar status to the devil in holy water, then I would like to commend the following scientific finding to you:

In April 2013, French scientists published their study entitled Western diet induces dysbiosis with increased E coli in CEABAC10 mice, alters host barrier function favoring AIEC colonisation and explained that the usual Western diet with a lot of sugar and a lot of fat represents a significant risk factor for the development of the chronic inflammatory bowel disease Crohn’s disease (7).

The study observed the effects of a high-sugar, high-fat diet on the composition of the intestinal flora and on susceptibility to infections. It was found that this type of diet immediately led to dysbiosis. At the same time, the thickness of the intestinal mucosa decreased, while its permeability increased.

It was then discovered that in such altered intestinal mucosa, harmful bacteria could multiply particularly well and inflammatory processes developed immediately.

6. Acidification

The typical Western diet, which includes sugar and unhealthy fats as well as many other highly processed foods, shifts the body’s healthy balance. It overloads the organism’s compensatory abilities and leads to the chronic hyperacidity that is widespread today – as the Australian study mentioned in the introduction already indicates (1).

However, the question “Which came first: acidosis or dysbiosis?” is similar to the chicken and its egg. There is no single answer. The two are closely linked, and one cannot exist without the other.

In the case of hyperacidity and dysbiosis, both conditions even worsen each other: Dysbiosis increases hyperacidity, while hyperacidity increases dysbiosis.

An imbalanced intestinal flora can impede nutrient and mineral absorption. Minerals, however, are essential for buffering the daily acids produced. Thus, hyperacidity progresses.

On the other hand, an imbalance in the acid-base balance leads to a pH shift in the digestive system. This change in the environment, however, drives out beneficial intestinal bacteria and creates a favorable environment for harmful intestinal bacteria and fungi (e.g., Candida albicans).

Resolving dysbiosis requires much more than just rebuilding the intestinal flora; in addition to the points already mentioned, it also requires thorough deacidification and a high-quality mineral supply. If dysbiosis is associated with fungal involvement, holistic measures that specifically combat fungal infections are also required.

7. Food additives

A major reason for the negative impact of modern diets on the intestinal flora is its abundance of artificial food additives. Just like antibiotics, fluoride, and chlorine, these unnatural substances have a lethal effect on many beneficial intestinal bacteria.

For example , a study entitled ” Intestinal dysbiosis ” was published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine in which antibiotics, oral contraceptives and food additives were mentioned in the same breath as the factors that lead to disharmony in the intestinal flora (8).

The participating scientists, led by John McLaren Howard, emphasized that the consequences of dysbiosis extend far beyond possible digestive problems. The disrupted intestinal flora can also lead to increased permeability of the intestinal mucosa and impaired nutrient absorption, which, according to the scientists, is the root cause of many systemic diseases.

Other studies have shown that dysbiosis with fungal infections can be responsible for such a wide variety of symptoms that listing them would go beyond the scope of any treatise – from increased susceptibility to infections to chronic fatigue and even the complete collapse of the immune system.

Therefore, avoid conventional convenience foods of all kinds, or at least take a look at the ingredients list. If you see food additives or other terms that seem mysterious, it’s best to leave the product at the supermarket.

Instead, eat fresh, home-cooked meals as often as possible. Choosing organic foods will not only help you avoid food additives but also pesticide residues, which would further disrupt your gut flora.

8. Pesticide residues

Unfortunately, the presence of pesticide residues in conventionally produced foods is regularly downplayed. Regulatory authorities cite limit values ​​that are adhered to and supposedly guarantee food safety.

The extent to which the effect of even minimal amounts of pesticides is underestimated only becomes apparent when someone takes the trouble to take a closer look at the pesticides in question.

And lo and behold: poisons that are considered so harmless that they can be used at will not only in agriculture, but also by any homeowner (like glyphosate, a herbicide that kills most plants), suddenly turn out to be extremely dangerous.

One of these widely used pesticides is chlorpyrifos, which is sold under a variety of brand names and invariably kills everything that even remotely belongs to the insect family. Whether in agriculture, moth repellents, flea collars for dogs and cats, or ant powder – chlorpyrifos is ubiquitous (9).

Pesticide damages children’s brains

Then, in spring 2012, the headlines: “Pesticide attacks unborn children’s brains,” “Insecticide makes children dull,” and “Experts warn against insect repellent.” What had happened?

Researchers led by Virginia Rauh of Columbia University in New York demonstrated in their study ” Brain anomalies in children exposed prenatally to a common organophosphate pesticide ” that previously considered non-toxic amounts of the pesticide chlorpyrifos cause the brains of unborn children to shrink and lead to reduced mental performance later in life.

According to the scientists, the limit values ​​in force up to that point were not sufficient to protect children from the long-term effects of the spray.

Chlorpyrifos is, of course, still in use. After all, an ant-free garden is far more important than the health of our children. However, the insecticide not only harms the brains of unborn babies, but also the intestinal flora of everyone already born.

Pesticide damages intestinal flora

In May 2013, French scientists from the Jules Verne University of Picardy published a study demonstrating the disruptive effects of low doses of chlorpyrifos on the composition of the intestinal microbiota of mammals. Chlorpyrifos, the researchers concluded, is capable of causing dysbiosis ( Impact of chronic exposure to low doses of chlorpyrifos on the intestinal microbiota in the Stimulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME) and in the rat ) (10).

Detoxification with organic food

And if you are now worried about your health or that of your children because you have been eating conventionally produced food – and therefore also pesticide residues – then we would like to recommend a study from 2008 to you: Dietary intake and its contribution to longitudinal organophosphorus pesticide exposure in urban/suburban children (11).

So, make sure you have a reliable source of organically produced food and thus eliminate an important risk factor for the development of dysbiosis.

With all this bad news, you might be stressed because you don’t know what to do first to protect your intestinal flora and your health. Simply implement our tips calmly and step by step. Stress, however, is out of place. Because stress also harms the intestinal flora.

9. Stress

While you can’t avoid all stressors in your daily life, it’s helpful to become aware of stress and realize that it doesn’t bring any benefits and that nothing really gets done faster or better with stress. On the contrary

There is a wealth of scientific evidence for this. We have selected a study for you that was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology in autumn 2012 (12) and shows fascinating results:

It was discovered that not only can stress damage the intestinal flora, but conversely, a healthy intestinal flora (in the study, it was Bifidobacterium infantis) can also provide greater resistance to stress. With sufficient beneficial intestinal bacteria in the body, one is less likely to get stressed, has a much more relaxed outlook on life, and hardly suffers from the typical effects of stress.

If you simultaneously awaken your organizational talent, incorporate enough relaxing moments into your everyday life and develop a strong nervous system with the help of nerve-friendly measures, then nothing can really go wrong.

Below we summarize the most important holistic measures that are necessary for the successful development of your intestinal flora.

How to support your intestinal flora

1. Avoid antibiotic therapy wherever possible. Look for alternatives. After unavoidable antibiotic therapy, perform intestinal cleansing.
2. Avoid hormone preparations.
3. Drink chlorine-free water from a high-quality water filter.
4. Choose fluoride-free toothpastes and fluoride-free natural salt.
5. Avoid sugar and unhealthy fats. (Here we present sugar alternatives.)
6. Eat a nutrient-rich, alkaline diet. If you haven’t already, implement an effective detoxification program.
7. Avoid ready-made products.
8. Prefer organic food.
9. Always stay calm.
10. Build up your intestinal flora! Ideally, you should undergo a comprehensive intestinal cleansing program for this purpose. If you don’t have time for this right now, we recommend the program described in the following section, which focuses exclusively on building up the intestinal flora but does not contain any additional components for detoxification (zeolite), cleansing, or stimulating intestinal peristalsis (psyllium husk powder):

*Here you can find zeolite powder

How to build a healthy intestinal flora

The intestinal flora is built up using high-quality probiotics in combination with the right diet.

Make sure that the probiotic you choose contains as many different strains of intestinal bacteria as possible, not just three or four strains, but ten to fifteen, such as Super-Pro (capsules) and P3 Fluid (liquid probiotic) .

The liquid probiotic is a highly enzymatically active plant-based concentrate based on live microorganisms. It has prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic effects, providing beneficial intestinal bacteria and the appropriate nutrition for them.

In addition, it provides natural vitamins, minerals, trace elements and a variety of antioxidant-effective secondary plant substances.

All these components together harmonize the intestinal environment, promote the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa, help with the elimination of remaining metabolic residues, thereby regulating digestion and preparing the intestine for the arrival of the beneficial intestinal bacteria, which now arrive in the intestine in the form of the capsule probiotic.

In addition to the usual Lactobacillus and Bifido strains, the chosen probiotic should also contain the extremely important intestinal bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri (for dental health and especially for expectant and breastfeeding mothers) and Lactobacillus helveticus.

This way, your intestinal flora receives the necessary diversity of basic probiotics and can now develop into a balanced and healthy intestinal flora.
We wish you the best of health!