How the composition of gut bacteria can affect all aspects of health!!

Tail wagging the dog

Its really quite remarkable the effect microbiome has on our health.  On the evolutionary scale, bacteria are pretty much at the very bottom and humans are sitting at the top of the evolutionary tree.   The most advanced species on the planet.

Yet every one of our cells has these organelles called the mitochondria which originally are bacteria that got engulfed by a bigger cell and their symbiosis (the bacteria produced something the cell could use, in this case energy) was beneficial to the host and so it remained and allowed life to evolve to this level.

In the last decade, the study of the role of bacteria in the gut and their influence on health has been exploding, and for good reason.

Trillions of bacteria, up to 30 different kinds, secrete molecules that modulate the overall health of the body!   The different bacteria colonizing the colon, and their ratios (relative numbers) to each other, control many important functions such as inflammation, cognition, metabolism, depression, response to pharmaceuticals, and so much more, including……ready for this?…..motivation towards exercise!

There are good bacteria and there are bad bacteria when it comes to the gut.   There is a pharmacy in our gut.  Those bacteria, as they do their thing, living and reproducing, secrete small soluble compounds which are then absorbed into the blood and circulate throughout the body.  If the gut microbiome is healthy (correct gut bacteria in the correct ratio relative to each other), we are much healthier than we would be other wise because evidently the right small molecules circulating in the blood act as co-factors or substrates which are used to build other molecules.

When the gut microbiome has been altered from a healthy mix to one that is not so beneficial, all sorts of problems will follow.   The wrong bacteria, just like the beneficial bacteria in the gut, produce small soluble molecules that also get absorbed and circulate thru the body.  But these compounds are not providing what is needed and in turn produce molecules that interfere with the correct functioning of the body.

The gut microbiome is affected by many factors.  Poor diet, diet high in processed foods, frequent use of antibiotics, alcohol, and many other factors.

Recently it has been observed that much younger people are being affected by colon or colorectal cancer!  The reasons are not fully known but processed foods which changes the microbiome are certainly a culprit.  Recently they found that subjects who for one reason or another had frequent use of antibiotics early in life are at a much greater risk for colon or colorectal cancer!

The bottom line is lowly bacteria play a big role in our health, including brain health, the immune system and therefore our susceptibility to catching viruses that are going around at any given time.  the gut microbiome affects our motivation, energy, mental state, and much more.

Recently it was found that a fecal transplant from a young mouse to an older mouse resulted in better performance for the older mice.  They had found similar results with blood exchange between young and old mice a few years ago!  The composition of the microbiome is key to our overall health.

How to have a healthy microbiome:

yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, other fermented foods, vegetables (the fiber helps the good bacteria grow), and prebiotics (foods with the type of starch or poly sugar molecules that humans cannot digest but the beneficial bacteria in the gut can).

worst foods for your microbiome:

anything made by humans: processed foods, factory meat, refined sugar, refined grains, artificial color, artificial flavor, artificial sweeteners, fried foods.

I hope this article has been helpful.  I find it amazing that the gut microbiome contributes to the smooth functioning of life.