Just like the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, the microbiome is the powerhouse of the body. See what I did there?? 8)))
Gut health is surging in the wellness community right now. Even in the science world, the human microbiome is one of the most studied fields today. It is also one of my favorite topics so I'm extremely excited to bring this post to you <3. However, the microbiome is so vast and individual, that I can not possibly cover it all. I am just bringing to you the main attractions. I highly encourage you to invest in your health and do your own personalized research/intervention on this stuff (check out my resources page). It is absolutely foundational to your health.
What is the microbiome?
There are 39 trillion bacteria living inside you and on you right now. To put that into perspective, that's about 3 POUNDS of microbes!!!
Healthy bacteria, collectively called the microbiome, are a highly sophisticated group of microorganisms that defend our health and influence our behavior by interacting with our cells and organs in many ways.
The microbiome also consists of fungi, viruses, and archaea. And these friends aren't just in your gut. Microbes are also in your mouth, your nose, on your skin, and in the vagina. But the vast majority are located in the colon.
Cool fact: When you hug or kiss someone, you are giving each other a piece of your microbiome- Idk but I think that's real love XD
Your microbiome and your metabolism
Another reason why we don't count calories:
The bacteria in your gut decide what your body will actually do with the calories that you eat.
Scientists at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis studied two identical twins and discovered that the twin with a higher ratio of firmicutes and a lower ratio of bactreotides absorbed more calories than the other twin.
There are friendly microbes and unfriendly microbes. But even though some are unfriendly, we don't want to bane their existence. Having a good ratio of both is how we achieve optimal health. And the more diverse the microbiome, the greater the health benefits.
Here's a look into some of the microbes you're hosting and what they do:
The good guys:
Bifidobacteria (Actinobacteria):
Help make important gut-protecting fatty acids and vitamins
For example, they make folate (vitamin B9) which influences everything from your gene expression to fat metabolism. It defends your body from infections and protects against fatty liver disease
Akkermansia muciniohila (Verrucomicrobia):
Controls immune system improves blood glucose metabolism, decreases gut inflammation, and combats obesity
L. reuteri (firmicutes):
Benefits immunity, resists development of breast and colon tumors, influences the gut-brain axis to produce oxytocin, stimulates angiogenesis
L. casei (firmicutes):
Protective against gastroenteritis, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and even post-partum depression
The bad guys:
Clostridium (firmicutes):
Pathogenic strains such as C. difficile and C. botulinum (botulism)
C. histolyticum (firmicutes):
Pathogenic, known for causing gas gangrene
Desulfovibrionaceae (proteobacteria):
Injures the gut lining, can result in permeability and inflammation
Our gut, the second brain
Having a supportive microbiome is not only beneficial for our metabolism, but it is imperative for our emotional/mental health too.
Also called the enteric nervous system, the gut contains millions of neurons and neurotransmitters. It produces and hosts the majority of serotonin. It contains enterochromaffin cells which produce hormones. And it communicates to the brain constantly via the vagus nerve.
The man behind the curtain; Serotonin
As stated above, the majority of our serotonin is in our gut. But serotonin is way more than a "feel-good" hormone. Here's what else it does:
Helps intestine motility
Protects the gut lining
Controls bowel function
Allows you to feel focused, calm, and happy at normal levels
Low levels of serotonin can contribute to insomnia and depression
Aids in wound healing by helping with clot formation
Builds melatonin which regulates circadian rhythm; fundamental for adequate sleep
Microbiome and disease
"Although modern civilization spent most of the 20th century fighting diseases caused by bacteria, in the 21st century, we may be fighting diseases using bacteria."
- Dr. William Li, Eat to Beat Disease
With the use of sterilization and antibiotics, we have been bacteria scared for a long time. Now, with new research, we've found that some bacteria can actually make wounds heal faster. As mentioned above, L. reuteri aids in angiogenesis. Specifically, it speeds up angiogenesis in healing skin wounds. But that's not all, it is also shown to reduce abdominal fat, stimulate the growth of healthier, luscious hair (ladies), improve skin tone, boost the immune system, and prevent the growth of tumors in the colon and the breast. Idk about you but I want some more L. reuteri!!!
The microbiome plays a HUGE role in immunity. When operating optimally, certain microbes in our gut stimulate the immune response when needed. They can turn on and off immune cells known as T cells, regulate and down-regulate inflammation, and so so much more.
Role of the microbiota in immunity and inflammation - Cell 2014
But unfortunately, when we take antibiotics and obsessively use hand sanitizer, we aren't just killing the bad bacteria, we are killing all the bacteria in our microbiome. I am not saying don't take your antibiotics or wash your hands, but just be cautious. Ask your doctor if you really NEED the antibiotics. And use soap and water vs. hand sanitizer.
Dysbiosis
Dysbiosis is a severe disturbance in the bacterial ecosystem. AKA microbiome mayhem. When our microbe ratios are unsupportive, trouble starts.
An imbalance of gut bacteria is linked to diseases such as:
Diabetes, obesity, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, infectious colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, asthma, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, heart failure, celiac disease, liver disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, cavities, schizophrenia, and depression.
THIS IS EVERYTHING. See why I'm passionate about this??? We need to take care of our microbiome.
In healthcare, there is something called fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) where they ~literally~ put someone else's poop in your colon to treat dysbiosis. CRAZY. This is common in patients with severe C. difficile colitis (a complication of the overuse of antibiotics).
Your microbiome and stool tell you so much about your health. You can even get your stool analyzed and see a full report on your microbiota and gut DNA. This can be helpful if you have gut issues. And a functional medicine practitioner can tell you if there are any bad actors and what actions to take.
Microbiome and diet
The microbiome isn't solely dependent on your diet, but it is heavily influenced by what you eat because what you eat either feeds or starves your bacteria.
I want to touch base on pre and probiotics because these terms are thrown around a lot in the gut health community.
Prebiotics
Nondigestible foods that feed healthy bacteria (probiotics) in our gut
Sourced in apples, garlic, onion, artichoke, chicory root, asparagus, leeks, bananas, cocoa
Improves our bacterial function by providing food for them to thrive
Postbiotics
Food containing living bacteria
Sourced in kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, natty, miso, tempeh, kombucha, pickles, kefir, Camebert cheese
Modifies the environment of your gut, making the growth of some bacteria more favorable
These bacteria can't sustain themselves or proliferate without prebiotics
Now what you've been waiting for: A LIST
There's so much more to the following foods/interventions, but I can't cover every single detail... Here's the main things:
Gut helpers
PLANTS
Vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes
Specifically: Kiwifruit, brassica vegetable family, bamboo shoots, walnuts, beans, mushrooms, pomegranate, cranberry, concord grapes
Diversity is key and eat seasonally to get the most nutrients
Bread (for some people)
Specifically: whole grain, sourdough (contains L. reuteri), and pumpernickel
Dark chocolate (>85%)
Fermented foods
Yogurt (without added sugars)
MCT oil
Intermittent fasting (starves the bad bacteria)
ORGANIC red wine
Herbal tea
Specifically: licorice, peppermint, marshmallow root, and slippery elm
Exercise
Adequate sleep
Gut destroyers
Alcohol
Pesticides, fungicides, herbicides (BUY ORGANIC)
Processed foods (excessive sugar feeds pathogenic bacteria)
Artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners = autoimmune disease
Reduces good bacteria by up to 50%
Dairy (for some people)
Chemical food additives and preservatives
Chlorinated water
Haphazard or repeated antibiotic use
Overuse of hand sanitizer and antimicrobial soaps
Toxic cleaners and fumes
Medications
Stress
Sleep deprivation
The big picture
The sooner you make healthier changes to what you eat, the better. You can start small, it pays off. This is so important because the legacy of your lifestyle can be passed on to future generations. New research is showing that, if we're not careful, the way we eat can actually force the extinction of some gut bacteria
In addition, unhealthy diets wreak havoc on your microbiome and leave a scar that takes time to recover even after you return to a healthier diet.
There was a study in mice that were switched from a plant-based diet to a high-fat and low-fiber diet for 7 weeks. The switch caused 60% of the diverse bacteria that WERE present to be reduced by HALF. When the mice were switched back to a plant-based diet, only 30% of the decreased bacteria recovered. And it took 15 weeks!! After only 7 weeks of an unhealthy diet!!
The bottom line here is that unhealthy foods and lifestyle choices don't just cause you to gain weight, they damage your microbiome which damages your other health defenses because your microbiome is tied to your immune system, mental, emotional, and sleep health. And this doesn't only affect you in the here and now. It affects your health, your kid's health, and your kid's kid's health. The fetal GI tract is considered sterile until introduced to skin-on-skin contact and breast milk, both containing live microbes, metabolites, and immune cells. These bacteria influence the beginning of development and determine their metabolism as they age.
Your body is a temple, treat it as such.
References
Belkaid, Y., & Hand, T. W. (2014). Role of the microbiota in immunity and inflammation. Cell, 157(1), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.011
Cole, W., & Lidicker, G. (2021). Intuitive fasting: The flexible four-week intermittent fasting plan to recharge your metabolism and renew your health. Yellow Kite.
Li, William W. (2021). Eat to beat disease: The new science of how your body can heal itself. Grand Central Pub.
Stevenson, S. (2021). Eat smarter: Use the power of food to reboot your metabolism, upgrade your brain, and transform your life. Little, Brown.
Comentários