Symptoms such as gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea and heartburn, or conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (or spastic colitis), inflammatory bowel disease, indicate an imbalance in the gut microbiome.

A balanced gut microbiome has no problems digesting food and removing unwanted components.

With advanced sequencing and bioinformatics technologies, when the microbiota is subjected to external changes, the balance of the microbial community can be affected, leading to dysfunction of bodily functions and disease.

To date, increasing evidence has confirmed that the microbiota is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases such as respiratory diseases, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, intestinal disorders and inflammatory bowel disease, oxidative stress, stress and of brain disorders, chronic kidney diseases and liver diseases -ibd / . www.fgacenter.gr/o-rolos-tou-mikorobioma-tou-enterou/ .​

The Invisible Enemies of Health: What are the factors that disturb the intestinal flora?

1. Factors of modern everyday life: Stress, sleep, processed foods, taking antibiotics, etc., can damage the delicate balance of the microbiome.
2. Unhealthy Lifestyle: A low-fiber, high-fat, high-protein diet is a major contributor to the depletion of fiber-degrading microbes in populations in industrialized countries. High sugar intake and hyper-processed and refined foods appear to disrupt the balance of the microbiota so that it has increased pro-inflammatory properties, decreased immunoregulatory functions and a decreased ability to regulate the integrity of the epithelium (intestinal barrier)
3. Environmental Factors ( xenobiotic-chemical substances) : The oro-digestive tract and the respiratory system are important routes of entry and processing of environmental toxic substances in the human body. The rich metabolic repertoire of the human microbiome in these organ systems has a broad capacity to transform xenobiotic chemicals, sometimes against host patterns of biotransformation (For more information, see our page on dangerous levels of toxic chemicals .)
4. Energy Intake and Expenditure: The intestinal microflora has emerged as an environmental factor that regulates human energy balance. It increases its ability to harvest energy from digested food and produces metabolites and microbial products such as short chain fatty acids, secondary bile acids and lipopolysaccharides. These metabolites and microbial products act as signaling molecules that regulate appetite, gut motility, energy intake and storage, and energy expenditure.
5. Inflammatory bowel disease: The composition of the gut microbiota in patients with IBD is different from that of healthy individuals, with some organisms predominating over others. Differences in microbial dysbiosis have also been observed between Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). A disruption of the microflora balance can lead to inflammation and intestinal damage.
6. Bloating and Gas: Normal intraluminal fermentation by gut bacteria could lead to excessive gas production and bloating symptoms. Also, the significant association found between gut microbiota and bloating symptoms in IBS patients suggests a role for gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of bloating.