What's the problem we are targeting?

The problem is gut dysbiosis.

You may have heard of this as an 'imbalance' in your gut microbiome (aka. your gut flora).

Calling it an 'imbalance' is vague and not particularly accurate.

The problem of gut dysbiosis should be viewed very clearly: it is the presence of problematic microbes in your intestine.
Not an 'imbalance'.

View gut dysbiosis like an infection of the intestine.
An infection that is chronic (long-lasting and persistent) and moderately 'low level' in terms of it not being an immediately, life-threatening infection (as opposed to the more conventional gut infections, for example Cholera).

Gut dysbiosis can even sometimes be devoid of the typical symptoms of a gut infection, such as bowel symptoms.

While gut dysbiosis is not an immediate threat to your life, it can certainly have a severe effect on your health and therefore your quality of life.

In what way are these 'problematic microbes' problematic?

They produce inflammatory substances and toxic chemicals.

That is the neatest way to summarise it.

The vast majority of problems caused by gut dysbiosis arise from those two features: inflammatory substances produced in the gut and toxic chemicals (including neurotoxic chemicals) produced in the gut.

It would make sense that they cause a problem within the gut itself (diarrhoea and pain and so on), but how do these substances cause problems outside of the gut?

The inflammatory substances (for example, lipopolysaccharide) and the toxic chemicals (for example, ammonia) move from the gut into the bloodstream - arriving at the liver first.

The effect that these substances have on the liver, the brain, and all the other tissues they circulate to, is how gut dysbiosis affects the entire body.

Not only that, but long-term aggravation of the immune system within the intestine itself, causes some problematic behaviour (such as insufficient production of regulatory/calming T-cells) within the intestinal immune system which ultimately has an effect on the entire body; since a large number of immune cells are produced in the gut tissue which circulate around the rest of the body.

How do we solve this?

My aim with gut dysbiosis is to remove the problematic microbes.

Dietary changes and other approaches can often improve gut problems somewhat, but they are doing so by working around the problem. For example, avoiding FODMAPs is simply minimizing the amount of fuel the bad microbes receive. It doesn't eradicate them.

The real problem is the inflammatory and toxin-producing microbes being overgrown in the gut in the first place. (I use the word microbes because they are not only bacteria. They include yeast, archaea, viruses, bacteriophages, and other microorganisms.)

What do normal probiotics aim to do?

Most probiotics aim to 'replace missing species'.

This is because those supplement sellers view the problem as an 'imbalance' or 'deficiency'.

While a deficiency in gut microbial diversity can increase the probability of acquiring a gut dysbiosis in the first place, once you have gut dysbiosis, the primary problem is the presence of the problematic microbes which have now colonised or overgrown within your gut; effectively a chronic infection of the gut.

To target the problematic microbes you must use something with anti-microbial action.

What I have observed to be the best option for this task turns out to be..... bacteria themselves.

Specific strains of probiotic bacteria.

They operate like biological weapons against the problematic microbes.

I have found this approach to be far superior to any simplistic chemical approach (such as herbal or even pharmaceutical anti-microbials and antibiotics) for gut dysbiosis.

But, as I've mentioned, the strains must be selected specifically for this purpose.

Not only that, you need a much higher volume of probiotic bacteria than a conventional supplement will provide.

All of this means that Elixa must be produced differently.

We produce Elixa at an extremely high concentration (CFU/g) and the strains are selected for their ability to produce conditions conducive to the suppression, destruction, and elimination of problematic microbes throughout the gut.

Elixa is 50x the bacterial count of a typical conventional probiotic and, as mentioned earlier, the strains have been selected with anti-microbial action in mind, unlike conventional probiotics.

How does the anti-microbial action work?

There are numerous mechanisms which the Elixa bacteria utilise.

Some are simple.
For example: the production of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal chemicals.

Other mechanisms are more sophisticated.
For example: infiltration of biofilm communities harbouring the problematic microbes.

Other mechanisms are more indirect - such as outcompeting their opposition for nutrients and space within the gut (most importantly the mucin ecosystem of the gut).

Why is Elixa only a short course and not taken forever?

Because - much like a course of antibiotics - once you have suppressed/killed the problematic microbes to a great enough extent, the body's immune system and the normally-present beneficial microbes within your gut will keep the bad microbes away.

The good microbes are like flowers occupying an entire garden, thereby keeping out weeds (the bad microbes).

But the weeding must be done first! (the aim of the Elixa course)

The difference between Elixa and an antibiotic is that Elixa is targeted.
Antibiotics do not kill bacteria based on whether they are good or bad by a human's definition.

Elixa Probiotic, on the other hand, utilises beneficial bacteria (Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria) thereby preserving our good microbes while it sets about with its primary aim: suppressing and eradicating the problematic microbes.

Does everyone respond miraculously to Elixa?

Not everyone. That would be unlikely, although it remains my aim.

Just the vast majority.

And, to put this in perspective, the proportion of people who respond to Elixa, who did not respond to normal probiotics, is incredibly high.

I know this because almost every single person who emails me asking about Elixa has already tried the other widely-marketed approaches to gut problems. Including conventional probiotics.

Elixa is the big gun. It is the option people stumble upon after years of trying all kinds of diets and supplements.

That's how we've grown by word-of-mouth. I have precisely zero employees who perform marketing or sales. I do that myself by producing informational content about gut dysbiosis.

And the good thing about Elixa is that you don't need to wait around for months or even weeks to find out if it is right for you. You'll know within the first 3-6 days. Hence you only need to try out a 6-day course to make the decision of whether Elixa works well for you.

Most of the people who email me with fantastic results have already been trying to resolve their gut dysbiosis for many years and they have of course tried all the normal probiotics with nothing to show for it.

Elixa is the big gun. But do not take my word for it. This page is here to explain the logic underlying the development of Elixa.

Instead take the word of whoever you heard or read recommending it to you (which is how most people hear about my brand and end up on this site).
Or browse my videos and go deeper on my reasoning. If you like the sound of it - give Elixa a try.

Thank you for reading!

Karl Seddon
Founder & Director
Elixa Probiotic