Even in a Covid pandemic, there are bacteria and viruses that support good health.  It's all about balance in your microbiome.  

Acute food poisoning is something you definitely want to avoid right now. Everyone is home and the kitchen can get crowded. You begin to notice everyone's hygiene habits - like the teen drinking milk or juice right out of the carton. It's never been ok, but you could live with it before because it wasn't in your face. Now that it is in your face - makes you want some Kitchen Rules. 

•  Don't double dip - if you stick your fork or spoon into the mayonnaise jar - no second dips
• Everything must go into the dishwasher - forget the dish drain unless you live alone 
• Dishwasher etiquette - watch it on UTube where we learn everything - there is a specific place for glasses, silverware and yes plates - stop putting the good kitchen knives in the dishwasher and the wooden spoon
• Mark leftovers in containers with a date on masking tape - how old is it? 
• If it smells funky or is chunky (and it's not supposed to be) throw it out
• Have to wash all perishables - I fill the sink with warm water and add 2-3 capfuls of OTC (over the counter) hydrogen peroxide - bathe your veggies and fruits - then dry them and re-wrap to store for future use 
• Forget picking your teeth at the table - go to the bathroom and use some of the 5 miles of floss your mom bought at the big box store
• Toddlers - Some of the dirt is good for them
• If your nose is running before you eat - get a kleenex and don't dip into the guacamole
• Everyone is stressed out in your house - don't stand there waiting for something to happen - pitch in and do food prep, take the trash out, wipe the table down and sweep up after your meals - I like the saying "There are no maids or mothers here" so suck it up and be useful
• Slow down you over achiever rage bakers - you have no more room in the freezer for those 258 cinnamon buns you just baked and there are no school bake sales at the moment - take a break from baking and start rage gardening "tis the season" - get ready for Mother's Day
• Your friend or relative drops off their favorite homemade dish and you questioned their kitchen hygiene before as you scanned their stove top, sink, counters and floors and saw how bad it is - politely say "what a shame, I just ate" - as soon as they are gone - bag it and tag it for the next garbage pick up - don't play roulette with your food 
• Kitchen sponges - I microwave mine 5 x day - this is what microwaves were made for!In case you haven't heard - we are in a medical crisis right now and all the places we thought were safe are now danger zones. We used to think of hospitals as warm safe places and Covid-19 has radically changed that idea. 
  Acute food poisoning (I've had it; it's when an atheist finds religion) can cause chronic gastrointestinal disorders down the road. It can trigger a post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome or cause acquired Celiac disease so you can't digest wheat, rye, barley, oats and other grains. Celiac disease can come on within 2 years of an infectious gastroenteritis. Irritable bowel syndrome patients have higher levels of an inflammatory marker called Interleukin-1Beta and mucosal T-lymphocytes in bowel tissues. One study from New Zealand showed a 3 fold increase of mast cells in colon cells in patients with IBS. Active degranulating mast cells release histamine and tryptase, both enzymes that can cause hypersensitivity and pain.
  Examples of organisms that cause IBS are: Shigella, Salmonella, E. Coli, Giardia and Campylobacter. Once you have had one of these infections, you are more likely to develop SIBO or small intestine bacterial overgrowth which does not respond well to probiotics or fermented foods. 
  I have diagnosed and treated most of these conditions with removal of allergenic foods, homeopathic remedies, injectable biologics, pharmaceuticals, I.V. Ozone and I.V. Nutrients. Most patients respond within one or two sessions. 
  One of the best diagnostic tools that I use besides the 83 pages of ordered labs is the G.I. MAP test. It's non-invasive and a stool sample gets sent off to a great lab and we get 5 pages of real time microbiome data that gives a clear picture of your flora, whether you have a pathogen be it bacteria, viral, fungal, parasite or worm causing your symptoms. It is literally the Scoop on Your Poop. It even tells us if you have antibiotic resistant genes. Using DNA sequencing technology - GI MAP makes my job easier to create an appropriate treatment strategy.
   
  Do the best that you can. I'm getting calls from parents who have children with moderate to severe stomach aches. Always have to rule out an emergency situation. Remember that children get physical symptoms during stressful times. Tummy aches can be a physical channel for unspoken anxiety. Try calming teas - chamomile or fennel (good for gas), essential oils in an Epsom salt bath, soothing music, kid friendly probiotics unless they have SIBO and some exercise to turn off the parasympathetics in the gut. If that does not help, then they need a physical examination to rule out more serious conditions. See you on the other side of this crisis. Your ozone expert.Dr. Isadora Guggenheim ND, FNP, RN, CNS, MS, LMT 

Your genes and environmental exposures influence your gut bacteria.  Your gut bacteria affects your metabolism.  This either turns on or off your obesity genes.  

I've blogged about gluten several times and I find that there are still some naysayers who are not willing to make the connections between ingesting gluten and disease patterns.  

Was that last binge on you or was it your gut bacteria in the intestinal microbiome that produced your cravings?

Every week one or more of my patients tests positive for Helicobacter pylori infection. They usually suffer with distention, foul gas, belching, funky stool, anxiety, thyroid fluctuations, air hunger, low energy and have taken several courses of antibiotics over their lifetime and even for a previous H. pylori infection.

It's not just a gut feeling. There is tangible evidence that CFS Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is either accompanied or caused by gram negative enterobacteria that migrates through the gut wall. Normally kept in check by tight gap junctions in the intestines, these enterobacteria translocate easily through a permeable mucosa membrane causing elevated IgM and IgA markers for endotoxins in the blood. This in turn causes systemic oxidative stress. 

This spooky looking parasite is Giardia and it can triple your risk of getting irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue years after an original infection.  

Hey, I'm trying to poop here - do you mind?

Premature infants have a rough beginning because they are weeks earlier than the expected due date and most likely they came into the world via C-section. These infants are behind in their postnatal development of intestinal microflora. How do we know this and what can we do about it?

Our gastrointestinal tract loves the good live bacteria that is found in yogurt, kefir, miso and sauerkraut.  

And you know from my previous blogs that the "microbiome" regulates everything in your body.  Even more benefits are being discovered.