Meeting with Amélie Guyon: intestinal microbiota and immunity

Hello Amélie, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background?

Following serious health issues that allopathic medicine did not take seriously, I sought to self-medicate through naturopathy and holistic health.

Passionate about food and the body-mind relationship, I trained in naturopathy. I specialize in digestive disorders such as SIBO, intestinal dysbiosis, IBS, candidiasis…

I'm also a food designer and I just released a paleo recipe ebook (low fodmap and vegan option). I also give holistic beauty consultations, all in Bordeaux.

I would like to later develop a holistic wellness center with naturopathy, massages, sophrology and cooking classes!

In recent years, we have heard a lot about pathologies that affect the intestine: dysbiosis, Crohn's, IBS, SIBO. Can you explain their characteristics and their differences?

It is very important to differentiate these pathologies because the proposed treatment will not be the same. It's a very vast subject that I could talk about for hours, but I'll try to summarise.

• Dysbiosis is a disruption of the intestinal flora

We are all born with a bacterial flora imbued with that of our mother. All our health depends on a good balance between the different families of bacteria that make it up.

The intestinal microbiota is particularly important because our immunity partly depends on it. The main causes of dysbiosis are:

• The microbiota inherited from the parents, which can be poor, or depending on the birth (cesarean section)
• Excess of broad-spectrum antibiotics, birth control pills, vaccines, PPIs, etc.
• Dysbiosis is multifactorial, a consequence of the modern way of life: multiple pollutions and excess antibiotics. This is for me the most important thing to understand: this imbalance of the microbiota is the result of a polluted and exhausted body.
• There are also viral infections (generally from the herpes family), and “cold infections” (eg Lyme disease), which are increasingly being talked about; they contribute to chronic inflammation
• Our immunity is fragile: bacterial and viral infections, as well as food poisoning leave traces

This is often the starting point for other digestive pathologies.

Fatigue, constipation, diarrhoea, migraines, bloating, spasms, food intolerances, ENT, urinary, gynecological problems, acne… our whole body can collapse.

• Irritable Bowel (IBS) is a form of dysbiosis that can escalate and lead to SIBO
• Crohn's disease is one of the chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) along with ulcerative colitis. It is linked to an overactive digestive immune system. Inflammation results in a fragile, inflammatory intestinal mucosa, seat of more or less deep ulcerations
• SIBO (small intestinal overgrow) is bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine

We all have bacteria in the colon but the intestine contains practically none.

One of the characteristics of SIBO is that you cannot tolerate prebiotics and probiotics , which generally increase bloating and stomach aches since there are already too many bacteria in the intestine.

What unites all these pathologies is often the intestinal porosity and therefore the nutritional deficiencies due to the malabsorption of the hail.

Can you tell us about the link between stress, immunity and the gut?

70% of our immunity is in our gut. We cannot be healthy if our gut is not optimal.

The intestinal microbiota (and its approximately 10,000 billion bacteria) helps protect us against pathogens through the barrier effect: by adhering to the intestinal mucosa, the bacteria in the flora prevent pathogenic microorganisms from colonizing the intestine. .

Chronic stress causes the release of stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones directly harm the immune system.

4 watchwords to boost your immunity: Diet, Physical exercise, Sleep and Stress management.

Adaptogenic plants can also help reduce stress and therefore protect our immunity. Everything is linked, that's why naturopathy takes the body as a whole, in a holistic way.

How did you discover adaptogens and what benefits do you get from them?

I have been using Ashwagandha for several years, my favorite!

When we are affected at the digestive level, our whole mind is also impacted, the stomach is our first brain.

If we are stressed, we will have a stomach ache and if we digest badly, the mind will not follow either.

I use it every night taking breaks in the year, sleep and relaxation guaranteed!

My other favorite is Astragalus , champion of immunity, anti-viral par excellence, I use it as a cure in winter and early spring.

Finally, what is your impression of the Hygée products? How do you consume them on a daily basis?

A great discovery this year! The taste is absolutely delicious, it is highly effective, practical and qualitative.

For me, everyone should take adaptogen cures several times a year.

I love them all but if I had to choose, it would be Immunity and Serenity , my essentials!

Note: Hygée powders contain prebiotics, inulin, which is a fodmap. It is therefore advisable for people suffering from IBS to rehabilitate the intestine by starting by taking a third to a half teaspoon a day of powder to accustom the microflora, for about ten days, and then take the normal dose ( one teaspoon per day). Indeed, by increasing and developing good bacteria, intestinal impermeability is improved and inflammation is reduced, which FOS (fructooligosaccharide - including inulin) allows. This must be done gradually to allow tolerance and flora development. Avoiding fibers as the only long-term strategy does not improve the cause, but simply avoids the discomfort at the time. Do not hesitate to talk to your doctor or naturopath.

---

Find Amélie on her Instagram account and on her website .