Sometimes we tend to take our bodies for granted,
but if we recognized the sophisticated inner workings that go into them,
we would treat them with greater respect. Since the eye is our second most complex organ after
the brain, it should come as no surprise that we have always been fascinated by it.
Everything in our body is connected, so it’s no wonder that healthy vision and
a healthy brain strongly correlate with a healthy gut. And get this…
there are more than 100 trillion microorganisms in the human gut, and they can all affect our eyes!
Did we pique your interest? In that case, stick around and keep watching as we dig deep and
answer the big question: How does our gut microbiome affect our eyes? Let’s jump into it…
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First, we need to understand the gut microbiome and gut microbiota.
The term "microbiome” generally refers to the genetic makeup of bacteria,
viruses, fungi, and yeast in or around the human body.
Individual microbes themselves are commonly referred to as "microbiota."
Food, medicines, stress, and sleep habits can impact the bacteria traveling to our gut,
affecting microorganisms and viruses part of the microbiome
and significantly impacting human health and disease.
These free-living microorganisms are involved in various physiological processes,
including nutrition, host immunity, drug metabolism,
and endocrine signaling. They are found in the gastrointestinal tract and are shaped
by environmental and lifestyle factors, including geography, diet, and medications.
Research suggests that 70% of our immune system is in the gut.
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So, What is the gut microbiota’s role in the development and progression of eye illnesses?
Some illnesses include diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration,
glaucoma, and uveitis.
A study indicates that some naturally occurring gut microbes can trigger uveitis,
a disorder causing blindness. Suppose a healthy gut microbiota performs its
duties in digestion and immune system defense and keeps the body balanced.
When the gut microbiota causes systemic inflammation because of abnormal activity,
the body will defend itself from the onset of numerous illnesses.
Illnesses such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
AMD is an acquired retinal degeneration resulting in central vision impairment
because of the derangement of neovascular and non-neovascular blood vessels.
As the general population ages and if they are smokers, vision impairment rapidly increases.
According to a meta-analysis, AMD was predicted to impact roughly 200 million people globally in 2020
and about 300 million in 2040 despite significant geographic and lifestyle variations.
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(Pause) Glaucoma can develop as well.
Glaucoma can damage the eye's optic nerve and can worsen over
time. A rise in internal ocular pressure is typically the cause.
Glaucoma is often genetic and doesn't appear until much later in life.
The optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain, can be harmed by increasing fluid pressure
in your eye and, within a few years, resulting in total blindness or irreversible vision loss.
According to research, the link between Helicobacter pylori infection,
a bacteria that infects your stomach, and the raised ocular pressure caused by glaucoma have
become a trending topic of study. Research shows that H. pylori may be a catalyst for a systemic
autoimmune response, which causes a number of inflammatory chemicals to be released.
As studies continue on this link…
Other illnesses such as Diabetic retinopathy are common.
Diabetic retinopathy is the most general complication of diabetes
and is a severe microvascular condition.
It is predicted that by 2030, there will be nearly 200 million cases of this condition.
Important insights have been made stating a potential connection between the gut microbiome
and diabetic retinopathy. Research has shown that critical physiological activity, like metabolized
energy and microenvironmental homeostasis, is influenced by gut microbiota changes.
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Conditions like Uveitis are also influenced by microbiome activity.
It’s a common instance of eye inflammation where the middle layer of tissue of the eye
wall is impacted. Uveitis develops unexpectedly and rapidly gets worse.
Symptoms include eye pain and blurred vision. People of all ages, including children,
can be affected by the illness, which can impair either one or both eyes.
Studies indicate that alterations in how substances pass through the
intestinal wall and microbiota might influence the
severity and development of ocular inflammation, such as uveitis.
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Dry Eyes
Dry eye disease is a common ailment that arises when your tears cannot
sufficiently moisten your eyes; this might happen for various reasons. For instance,
dry eyes may develop if your tear production is insufficient or of poor quality. The
instability of the tears can cause inflammation and surface damage to the eye. And surprisingly,
abnormalities in the eye’s surface microbiota can be found similar to those in the gut microbiome.
Changing the eyes' microbiota also impacts ocular autoimmunity
and decreases the generation of immunoglobulin deficiency.
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One question remains: Can we balance our gut microbiome?
Ofcourse! We can change the gut microbiome for the better with certain antibiotics,
short-chain fatty acids, high-fiber diets, and pre and probiotics. When administered
in the correct dosage form, they help to balance and normalize the gut microbiome.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics are the most obvious way to change the bacteria in the gut.
Based on animal experiments, if you use targeted antibiotics to change the bacteria in the gut,
you can dramatically reduce the severity of autoimmune diseases.
Increasingly, more evidence shows that antibiotics change
how our immune systems work and how well we can fight off infections and digest food.
Short-chain fatty acids and a diet with a lot of fiber: Ongoing research shows that different
diets can positively affect the microbiota, which can help reduce inflammation in the eyes.
Some bacteria will become more active in the gut if you eat a lot of fiber.
These bacteria make short-chain fatty acids that help regulatory T
cells develop and make it less likely that your eyes will get inflamed.
Probiotics: Some types of bacteria that live in the gut can stop inflammation from getting worse.
Probiotics might change the make-up of the gut microbiome and provide beneficial functions to
the gut microbial communities. This could improve gut inflammation and other intestinal or systemic
disease symptoms. Maybe even outright stop them from occurring. What we consume and how gut
bacteria alter their contents impact the structure and operation of microbial communities in the gut.
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The relationship between the microorganisms in our bodies and our eyes has recently attracted
more attention. So, Let's keep the conversation going with a few more eye care videos. Shall we?
Watch 9 Most Important Vitamins To Repair & Heal Your Eyes
or
15 Foods To Boost Eye Health
Go ahead click one. Or, even better,
watch both videos to understand more about caring for your eyes.
Have you started consuming foods to boost your eye health? Let us know in the comments below!
Summary:
There are more bacterial cells than human cells in your body. Most of these bacteria
live in your gut and help keep you healthy in important ways. Human health and disease are
affected by the microbial symbionts in the gut, but only recently were linked to eye diseases.
Looking at the link between gut microbiota and eye diseases,
as well as how we might be able to fix imbalances in the gut microbiome to make
the diseases they cause less problematic. We have discussed in detail autoimmune uveitis,
diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and primary open-angle glaucoma.
We also discuss what we know about the new area of ophthalmology research and what studies have
to say about gut microbiomes. Included are treatments that could cure the disease, such
as using antibiotics, short-chain fatty acids, a high-fiber diet, and prebiotics and probiotics.