The surprising bacteria fueling gut disorders

Need a little incentive to keep getting those twice-yearly teeth cleanings? Well how about this…

If you get too lax on your oral hygiene, your mouth could become a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria that can quickly ruin your health…

Maybe you’ve heard that the bacteria from your mouth can make its way to other body parts and cause serious health issues like pneumonia and heart disease. But in case you’ve forgotten, here’s a reminder just how dangerous a bit of bad mouth bacteria can be…

A recent study found that the bacteria in your mouth can travel to your gut and contribute to a group of serious, life-altering bowel disorders — irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s.

Now, if you or someone you knows suffers from these disorders, you know just how terrible they are. Diarrhea. Cramps. Bloating. Fatigue. It’s like a bad case of food poisoning or stomach flu that goes on indefinitely. And in the case of Crohn’s and colitis, they can even be deadly.

So if you don’t want your mouth bacteria to sabotage your gut health, it’s time to pay extra attention to your oral hygiene…

The bacteria behind bowel disorders

A study published in the journal Science found that certain mouth bacteria may be causing or worsening bowel disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s.

The team of international researchers who conducted the study had an “aha!” moment when they noticed that people with bowel disorders had ultra-high levels of oral bacteria in their poop… which means they also have higher levels of this bacteria in their guts.

Scientists decided to explore this connection further by taking saliva from people with Crohn’s disease and implanting it in the guts of mice. And sure enough, many of these mice ended up with gut inflammation. They did the same thing with saliva from people with ulcerative colitis, and got the same result — intestinal inflammation.

The bacteria behind this gut inflammation was Klebsiella pneumoniae, a strain of bacteria commonly found in the human mouth but rarely in the gut. Klebsiella pneumoniae is notoriously antibiotic-resistant and can cause a slew of problems ranging from pneumonia to sepsis.

Researchers suspect this bacteria could be causing or aggravating bowel disorders, but they need to do more studies to confirm this connection for sure.

But whether mouth bacteria cause bowel disorders or not, there are plenty of health reasons keep your mouth clean, including scientifically-proven connections between mouth bacteria and pneumonia, heart disease and esophageal cancer. Studies even show that there may be a link between gum disease and dementia. So do your due diligence and take good care of your mouth.

Banishing bad bacteria from your mouth… and gut

You may be wondering how to keep potentially dangerous mouth bacteria to a minimum…

Well, besides brushing your teeth twice a day and making sure you get to your dentist twice a year for cleanings, you can also:

• Practice oil pulling
• Invest in a natural anti-bacterial mouthwash, like one made with tea tree oil
• Drink more green tea
• Cutback on sweets and sugary drinks
• Buy a tongue scraper
• Try an oral probiotic (to encourage good bacteria instead of bad ones)