Rethinking the appendix: Darwin may be wrong

[jpketz]

According to an article in the Huffington Post, Darwin may have been wrong in assuming the human appendix is just an evolutionary legacy with no real physiological purpose.

According to William Parker, a surgeon who studies the immune system at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina...

the appendix has an immunological role, acting as a "safe house" for beneficial gut bacteria. These bacteria help train the immune system and can prevent diseases by outcompeting dangerous pathogenic bacteria—but there are times when the dangerous microbes gain the upper hand and overrun the gut. The researchers reasoned that when this happens, the beneficial bacteria could retreat to the safety of the appendix, which remains unaffected. Once the immune system has beaten the infection, the beneficial bacteria emerge from the appendix to quickly recolonize the gut.

This gets personal because my wife who has had autoimmune disease for over a decade also just happens to NOT have her appendix. She just finished Whole30 with some success but no significant weight loss, and less frequent but still severe migraines. She's looking into the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) version of Paleo as the next step in an effort to improve her health. Thought this article was fascinating, though, and may be relevant to anyone trying to restore their gut flora.

[Karen]

Makes sense to me... I'm appendix-less as of 4 years ago (it was adhered to my cecum so it was yanked, and there was some other stuff going on in there) and that's when my food sensitivities hit full force. I also have some AI issues. With the amount of pain I was in, I would have let them cut off my legs if I thought it would help, but I have to wonder how I'd feel if I still had it. Thanks for sharing.

[Kirsteen]

That is an interesting article. I had mine out when I was 18 and I've had IBS ever since. Never put the two together until now. Thanks for posting it it.

[MrsStick]

Maybe taking a probiotic regularly could minimize the effect of having your appendix out along with the AIP? Just a thought!

[jpketz]

@MrsStick. While that makes a lot of logical sense it does open up a whole discussion about probiotics. In spite of a ton of research being conducted on the subject around the world, the regulatory climate in the U.S. is not helping us decide whether probiotics are actually helpful for humans, and if they are which ones and in what dosages. Apparently if a substance claims to impact disease it's then required to be registered as a drug, therefore, scientists can't test if a probiotic yogurt relieves patients with inflammatory bowel disease without first registering the yogurt as a drug. That inhibits research on humans, so $30 billion in probiotics is sold every year globally without a lot of evidence that they work.

But, that's not to say there isn't promising research being done—a group of scientists think they've identified the protein that acts as a binder for beneficial bacteria in the mucous lining that protects the intestine. So it may be possible to increase the effectiveness of probiotic supplements by including this "sticky" protein in the mix.

There also have been studies (2011 Texas Tech University) linking neurotransmission to gut health. In other words, there may be a direct connection between gut health and mental health.

So lots of cool stuff happening in the field, just not a lot of helpful information for consumers as a result. And for some conditions for which probiotics have been used as less expensive treatments, like for eczema, not only were they not effective but in some cases caused infection and bowel damage. So it's not a magic bullet for every condition traditional western medicine has no answer for—like most autoimmune diseases.

Wow. I just coughed up WAY more than you probably wanted to know! Sorry for the unsolicited editorial. Chalk it up to Old Journalist Syndrome.

[Moluv]

Wow this is fascinating and makes so much sense. I think our biology is so complex that science simply does not have the technology yet to fully understand it all, though we know so much more today than a hundred years ago. Onward and upward scientists!

Also, as far as probiotics go, I believe eating a wide variety of naturally cultured and fermented vegetables and beverages (krauts, kvass, Kombucha, water kefir, fish sauce etc) will always be able to populate a gut with the friendlies far better than isolated strains in a pill form. In my own experience, gut health is noticeably linked to my mental health (false ADHD diagnosis as proof, diet has taken those symptoms away) and I know that someday scientist will more clearly know why, but in the mean time, anecdotal evidence works for me.

[mary-t]

Thanks, jpketz, for the original link and the follow-up post. Very interesting!!

[MrsStick]

@jpketz - that's rather interesting to me (I love the science behind this stuff!) because my friend with IBS was prescribed probiotics to help his symptoms (by the Army doctors, who aren't known to do anything not ten years older than current research... ). It definitely helped him but almost sabotaged him during a training exercise when he couldn't take them. Weird...

As for probiotics, I will say that for this sample size of two (hubby and I), we both have our appendices (ha!). Probiotics helped clear up so many symptoms we didn't even realize they would - my husband had a problem with almost continual throat clearing to the point he'd start gagging. My guess is LPR, but we tried treating it before getting him onto proton pump inhibitors (that and our lovely Army doctors aren't exactly open to you walking in with a suspected diagnosis...any time he'd gone in before they just gave him sudafed). In less than a month, his throat clearing was diminished to a normal point (less than once every two hours, which for him was a vast improvement) just by taking one pill per day. Both of our digestive systems were magical it seemed, which was also a vast improvement!

Since adding a fermented cod liver oil supplement to this treatment of probiotics, my immune system has been through the roof. I've only had a case of the sniffles ONCE in over a month despite several horrible debilitating colds/stomach bugs going through my office like a hot knife through butter (or ghee!). Scary stuff getting people to have to spend their sick days or, in a few cases, still come to work and infect everyone else. Even immediately after I had a 24 hour shift, when I'd usually get sick, I had nothing.

So while they are still figuring out why/what probiotics work, I will say that they can and do. Do your research into the variety you pick (I went with a greater variety of strains vs. sheer numbers of a single strain since we have a huge variety in that naturally) and try it. Give your body a week or so to get through the digestive warfare (trust me, you'll know it's happening!) and see if that helps you feel better. Oh, and there have been several studies recently that found that obesity is linked to an off-balance in the gut bacteria. Specifically, if people lost the weight, their balance in their gut flora shifted. And that if the gut bacteria were altered, weight would shift. Not significantly for if you start out obese, but the fact that it's that sensitive should say something!

[jpketz]

@MrsStick. All good stuff and I'm a firm believer in what works, works. For myself, I've been regular Kombucha and Kefir maker/user for a few years and have not been sick since..at all. No sniffles, no colds and made it through both flu seasons without shots, and it makes a noticeable difference in my digestion on a daily basis. I would tend to side with @Moluv that there are plenty of fermented foods out there that deliver essential gut nutrition for most people. Some individuals though, like my wife who struggles with migraines, are advised not to risk anything fermented, so probiotic supplements may be in order, and it's good to hear your positive feedback.

The good news is that more is being discovered every day about how healthy gut flora, leaky gut, systemic inflammation, is tied to a variety of health issues. Mental health and obesity are just a few of the more recent dots being connected. And it all seems to lead back to the importance of eating the way humans are hard-wired to eat.

Thanks for sharing!

[RevKT]

Some individuals though, like my wife who struggles with migraines, are advised not to risk anything fermented, so probiotic supplements may be in order, and it's good to hear your positive feedback.

The good news is that more is being discovered every day about how healthy gut flora, leaky gut, systemic inflammation, is tied to a variety of health issues. Mental health and obesity are just a few of the more recent dots being connected. And it all seems to lead back to the importance of eating the way humans are hard-wired to eat.

Thanks for sharing!

I was wondering, why do people with migrains need to steer clear of fermented foods?

Also, as you say, there is a lot of research on mental health and diet, especially a Paleo diet helping with treatment. Helps for me.

[jpketz]

RevKT, good to know you've had some relief from migraine with Paleo. And please share any studies you know of that connect mental health and diet. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places, but I haven't found much in the way of peer reviewed, published studies.

As to the fermented foods issue...the standard list of migraine trigger foods includes anything fermented, cultured, pickled, preserved or marinated (among other things...the list is scary long). Granted there isn't a lot of definitive study on individual foods, and no one is likely sensitive to every possible trigger but both my wife's neurologist and endocrinologist advise adhering to the list.

After a 100% clean Whole30 she still has migraines with some frequency, so she's considering the autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet, which is much more strict.