The gut microbiome – commonly known as gut flora – is the ecosystem of bacteria, fungi and other microbes living inside your gut working 24/7 to keep your digestive system in tip-top health. There are literally billions of microorganisms only visible through the microscope, all with their unique roles to play. In fact, your entire body – from your skin to your eyelashes – is full of bacteria that is essential to your health and wellbeing.
The gut microbiome is perhaps the most crucial collection of microorganisms in our body because an imbalance can have detrimental effects on our digestive health and, in turn, our general health and well-being. Medication can be the culprit of said imbalance. Below, we’ll look at the role of the gut microbiome in closer detail and the medications that can alter it.
What Exactly Does the Gut Microbiome Do?
Before looking into the medications that may alter the gut microbiome, it’s worth knowing what it exactly does and how your digestive system couldn’t function without it. The gut microbiome is present from birth and controls and affects the body throughout its lifetime. Our first exposure to the gut microbiome occurs in the birthing canal. From that initial contact, the gut microbiome begins living inside the digestive system.
Its duties include aiding digestion, supporting our immune system and controlling the health of our brain. It’s a well-known fact that the mind-to-gut connection is real, and the gut microbiome plays a big role in that connection. What we eat and our lifestyle influence the prevalence of the gut microbiome and how it functions, as does medicine.
Medications That Can Affect Your Gut Microbiome
Medicine is a modern marvel. We have never had access to the diverse range of medicinal treatments we do today – but it comes at a cost. Medication can be a cure for one problem but a catalyst for another. It’s always essential to speak to a registered professional – like the GMC registered doctors at www.anytimedoctor.co.uk – to discuss the potential side effects of any medication before commencing it. Some medications – like the ones below – are more likely to affect the gut microbiome than others.
Diuretics And Beta-Blockers
Studies show that a combination of diuretics and beta-blockers can impact the gut microbiome. Diuretics are medicines that stimulate diuresis – better known as urination. It’s commonly prescribed to people with water retention or high blood pressure. Beta-blockers are also a medication that alters blood pressure – but both influence blood pressure differently.
Using either of these medications individually doesn’t affect the gut microbiome, but a study published on ScienceDaily revealed both used in conjunction actually increase the levels of health-promoting bacteria. Not all medications interact negatively with the gut microbiome.
Montelukast
Montelukast is a common medication prescribed to asthmatics used as a maintenance treatment of asthma. A study published on Medical Xpress revealed that Montelukast was one of the 19 out of 27 drugs trialled that were accumulated by some variations of bacteria and altered by others. Whereas before, it was perceived that all bacteria modified certain drugs. The bioaccumulation of Montelukast was found to alter the metabolism of the accumulating bacteria.
Duloxetine
Duloxetine comes from the antidepressant family and is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that restores the balance between the naturally occurring serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. Millions of people worldwide take this drug to combat depression – but the same study by Medical Xpress found that – as researchers cultured a small collection of gut bacteria – Duloxetine had a dramatic effect on the balance of various bacteria living inside the gut.
Like with Montelukast, the study found that some bacteria accumulated the drug, but unlike Montelukast, it dramatically alters the molecules it produces that other bacteria feed on. The bacteria consuming the drug-accumulating bacteria developed rapidly and became unbalanced – thus interfering with the healthy gut bacteria ecosystem.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are known to wreak havoc on your digestive system – that’s why many prescriptions will tell you to take a table with or just after eating a meal. They can reduce the diversity of the gut microbiome species, alter metabolic activity, and induce antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. It’s typically broad-spectrum antibiotics that have the most direct impact. These include Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, and Minocycline.
Protecting Your Gut Microbiome
Medication, stress, diet, and many other factors influence the overall health of your digestive system, and in turn, your gut microbiome. Below, we’ll list a few ways you can protect your gut microbiome:
- Eat a balanced diet rich in vegetables.
- Consume fermented foods
- Avoid antibiotics
- Cut out sugar and processed foods.
Generally, maintaining a healthy and well-balanced diet – and being as medication free as possible – will have a positive effect on your digestive health.
The gut microbiome is easily influenced and altered, as you can see. It’s essential to remember that medicine alone isn’t the only catalyst – so is diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices. Talking to a registered professional about the influence of medicines and the gut microbiome should put your mind at ease if you have any concerns.
