Summary
In this informative podcast, John Maher talks with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, about the intricate connection between the gut microbiome, sleep quality, and sleep apnea. Dr. Patel explains how nitric oxide, vitamin D, and B vitamins support a balanced microbiome, aiding restful sleep and overall wellness. She shares actionable tips, including dietary adjustments like adding leafy greens and avoiding processed foods, incorporating prebiotics and probiotics, and making key lifestyle changes. Discover how gut health plays a crucial role in improving sleep and preventing sleep-related disorders.
John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I’m here today with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, California, helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental health and whole body health. And author of the bestselling books, Age with Style: Guide to a Youthful Smile & Healthy Living. And Total Wellness, Understanding the Link Between Your Teeth and Your Health. Today, our topic is your microbiome and sleep. Welcome, Dr. Nammy.
Dr. Nammy Patel: Hi John. Thank you for having me.
How Does the Gut Microbiome Affect Sleep Quality and Sleep Apnea?
Maher: Dr. Nammy, how does the gut microbiome affect sleep quality and ultimately sleep apnea?
Dr. Nammy: Well, it’s a bi-directional relationship. People who have sleep apnea don’t make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a chemical that helps balance our gut microbiome. It’s also a chemical that helps our body heal from heart attack, diabetes, cancer, or prevent them, really. That’s number one way that that is a problem because if our bodies are not getting nitric oxide, certain bacteria are not being produced, and it imbalances a gut microbiome.
The other thing we find in patients with sleep apnea is they actually have low vitamin D levels, and they’re also lacking certain vitamin Bs, which are all necessary to have certain bacteria that are very critical in a microbiome balance. So if there’s somebody with sleep apnea, they’re more likely going to have a gut issue. They also have acidity, which is high acid in the body because as you stop breathing, the body becomes super acidic because you’re not getting the oxygen in. So it’s like you being on the treadmill. And so there’s a lot of acid that’s released, so that acidity actually kills good bacteria, also makes viruses and parasites and all those things overgrow. So you have that aspect.
So, when there is somebody with sleep apnea, they’re going to have an imbalance in their gut. It’s pretty much… Or anybody, not even just with sleep apnea, but sleep-related breathing disorder is going to have the same kind of concern. So a lot of times when patients come to me and say, “I have a gut issue,” or I find bad bacteria in their mouth, I’m already automatically looking at their sleep and really looking at how is your functional airway, what’s really going on over here? And we find that area from here to here is very important. We used to think the disease came from the belly up, it’s actually top down, because we really want to make sure that that oxygen, that nitric oxide is made in order to make sure that everything is nice and healthy.
Now, the second reason is when there is a disruption in the microbiome, for example, there are people genetically who have IBS, maybe Crohn’s or any sort of gut imbalance or something along those lines. Those people are not going to be able to sleep really well, most likely also lacking vitamin D.
And when there’s not enough vitamin D, when there’s not enough vitamin B1, B5, those are all actually needed in sleep, and they’re depleted in patients with sleep apnea. So like I said, it’s a bidirectional relationship. One is they’re not getting the nitric oxide from the nose down, the second is that once they’re not getting vitamin D and vitamin Bs from their foods and things like that, it’s going to cause people not to sleep well. For example, when you have too much spicy food, can you sleep, right? It’s like you can’t sleep because the body’s super acidic, and the body’s really inflamed, and it’ll cause sleep issues for the patient as well.
Gut Bacteria and Sleep Disorders
Maher: Talk a little bit more about your gut bacteria, what that’s for and how that contributes to sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
Dr. Nammy: So, gut is your microbiome, actually your microbiome is so important because your microbiome is your immune system. So many different things happen. We need nutrition to survive, right? We need oxygen and we need food. So we are taking the food in, the food has to be broken down into specific cellular molecules that our body can actually digest. And that’s why the microbiome is so important because the microbiome actually empties into our intestine, and that intestine, with the use of bacteria, actually help us take up certain minerals, vitamins, hormones that our body needs.
And believe it or not, that nitric oxide we talked about that’s made in the nose is actually also made in your duodenum with use of bacteria, which helps our body heal from cancer, diabetes, and all these different things. When we have an imbalance of our microbiome in the gut, we’re not able to produce nitric oxide.
We’re not able to produce the things that we actually need in order to make sure that our immune system functions really well. And when we don’t have the mycobacterium or the bacterium that we actually need properly, we actually find people feeling uneasy at night. Difficulty sleeping is a common thing people will say, or having to wake up to use a bathroom several times.
Those are common things we hear patients say, because as sleep disorders or apnea, your sleep is being disrupted. And now that sleep can be disrupted for a number of reasons. If you have to go to the bathroom, you’re going to wake up, or if you don’t have enough of those B vitamins and enough of the correct bacteria, you’re going to have an imbalance in the system, which is going to make you feel gross or groggy, uncomfortable and keep you up at night.
Prebiotics and Probiotics Influence On Gut Health
Maher: Can probiotics and prebiotics help to improve your gut health and then in turn help with your sleep quality?
Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. I highly recommend prebiotics and probiotics, absolutely. But the first thing I always recommend is make sure that your vitamin D levels are in place. You have enough vitamin B1 and B5 and B12, making sure those are in the right order as a foundation. Then add in your pre and probiotics. In fact, I recommend lozenges even for patients.
So, a lot of times people get dry mouth. And also as we age, that kind of happens. And so we recommend probiotics to be in the mouth. You can swallow them, they go into your belly and it works great, so you’re getting a dual function from that. But probiotics are really helpful. I always like to get to the root cause and fix this foundationally so you’re not dependent on me or a pill. And the last thing I want to do is replace a pill for a vitamin, right? So our goal is really to have you or whole body working properly on its own, because we’re designed to.
Dietary Changes to Help with Gut Health
Maher: Are there dietary changes that people can make as well in terms of changing their lifestyle a little bit in terms of what they eat that can help with their gut as well, and then again, help with their improved sleep?
Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. Absolutely. The first thing I would recommend is alkalizing the body and pulling all the toxins out. So I usually like to have apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and eight ounces of water through a straw. I like to start with that. That’s a really fantastic way on an empty stomach because that apple cider vinegar is an antioxidant, so it’s just going to start cleaning everything out, and it’s also going to alkalize the pH. People who have sleep apnea or sleep-related breathing disorders, their bodies are going to be acidic, so it starts alkalizing the body. As a body is alkalized, it also kills off viruses, parasites and a lot of different things that don’t belong in our body. So that’s the first thing.
The second thing with nutrition is making sure there’s a lot of leafy greens. That’s one thing that we’re missing is that we’re missing a lot of leafy greens.
The reason why we want a lot of leafy greens, kale, chard, bell pepper, all of those things, berries are really great. They’re really great because what they do is that leafy greens has a lot of fiber in our body that helps move things through. It also has nitric oxide, which our body actually needs, and the bacteria actually needs in order to have a good, healthy microbiome. So those are really great. And they’re also loaded with vitamin D, vitamin Bs, and they have a lot of good vitamins inside. So a lot of leafy greens is really important.
And unfortunately, we tend to be a society that’s be on the go, go, go. So a lot of processed food, please avoid. Packaged foods, please avoid. Try to have real fresh food and fruits. And it’s really simple as they’ve told us when we’re in school, to make sure that we’re eating a lot of leafy greens and a lot of fruits and veggies, basically, is really the biggest thing we want to look at.
And also protein, lean protein is really important, and non-processed, no hormones or anything like that. Protein is really important. I’m a vegetarian, so I am all about chickpeas, I suppose, that’s the way I get my protein a lot. But really making sure that we’re getting enough leafy greens, because it’s so easy to grab a protein bar or it’s so easy to do a protein drink than it is to go chop up a salad.
So, I would say cold pressed juices, making good salads, fresh salads are really fantastic. And just really simple… Find things are as simple and easy to make and that you enjoy. If you had a salad you could put some fruits on it, and then you could put some nuts on it. I mean, that’s really delicious, you know? It adds, has a crunch to it, it keeps you full, it’s great for our body, and you feel the difference. You’ll feel lighter, you’ll sleep better, your skin will look better, and it just revitalizes you.
Lifestyle Changes and Gut Microbiome
Maher: Besides eating right, are there other lifestyle changes that people can make that will help their gut microbiome and their sleep health?
Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. So a couple of other things. Lifestyle changes, we always… Number one, no smoking, right? Smoking or vaping are both going to be problematic because again, it acidifies the body. The other things that I say is not being hydrated enough, not having enough water is a huge problem for the microbiome, because the water is needed to… We’re 90% water, our bodies are 90% water. So we really need a lot of water, and especially if you’re someone like you or me who are speaking all day, we even need more water. Our bodies need to be more hydrated so that it can slush things through, keep that circulation of nutrients throughout our body, which obviously internally helps us digest better.
The other thing I would say is fiber is really critical. So the amount of fiber that we get are going to be really important. Like I said, the people tend to get packaged foods, and there’s not enough fiber in it. That’s one of the biggest reasons we see people with stomach cancers and things like that, is things kind of get clogged in the body for a long period of time. So when there’s fiber and water, it’s flowing everything through the gut microbiome.
The other things that I would say is obviously, alcohol is another thing to be careful about with the gut. The amount of alcohol that we have, it can disrupt sleep, it can make your body super acidic like we said earlier. So if you’re going to consume alcohol, do it early, hydrate enough, and moderate. So those would be some things that I would recommend when it comes to the microbiome.
But the other thing that I find a lot of patients being, having problem with in the gut really has to be restaurant foods. A lot of them have MSG in it, so being really careful where that food is coming from. Also different oils and also genetically modified food, even in the breads and things like that. So I tend to personally, if I am going to eat out, it tends to be from a farm-to-table restaurant, which I know their quality of food is really great, and I feel the difference. My body feels so much better, I sleep better, I feel way more comfortable, and I don’t feel like, oh, I ate too much, and it just has a good feeling in my body when I’m having farm-to-table foods that are clean. So I recommend clean eating. That would be the easiest way to say that.
Maher: All right. Well, that’s really great advice, Dr. Nammy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Dr. Nammy: My pleasure.
Maher: And for more information, you can visit the Green Dentistry website at Sfgreendentist.com or call 415-433-0119.