A lot of people talk about it, but I rarely see any studies linked. I have spent a few hours looking into it and I see a lot of people saying it’s a myth, or it doesn’t matter, or there’s just not enough research into it ect. But I also see a lot of people talk about it like it’s the most important part of the diet.
After reading up on it a bit, I still don’t have any clue as to what exactly the Microbiome effects in the body. I’ve read articles that says it effects everything from libido to blood pressure to mental health.
If you are an advocate for a healthy microbiome, please come share what you know about it, because at this point, I’m inclined to believe it’s mostly propoganda.
I have only recently started looking in to this as well. I was put on an antibiotic and the warnings indicated there is a higher chance of getting c-dif bacterial infection when taking the antibiotic due to it killing off good gut bacteria. After looking further into c-dif, it is terrifying enough that I am taking a probiotic while on the antibiotic and am eating fermented foods to replace the good bacteria. Assuming all goes well, I will reevaluate in a few weeks to decide whether to continue.
There are numerous free classes online through places like Coursera and similar (run by research universities) about microbiology. Super interesting. They separate what science has learned so far from the leaps some people have made based on little info or really small studies. I also enjoyed “I Contain Multitudes” by Ed Jong and “The Human Superorganism” by Rodney Dietert.
There are some really interesting connections between gut health and the rest of the body. Some might be coincidental, some might be correlative and some might be causative. It takes a really long time to get that information fully researched and published, it’s a fairly new field that scientists are still learning about so you aren’t going to find 100% solid information on it. In the end, the recommendations for a healthy gut are the same as most recommendations for a variety and healthy diet. So, there isn’t anything too extreme out there that should make anyone question whether the advice for a healthy gut will be harmful or helpful. It’s pretty basic nutrition advice with some fermented foods thrown in.
To over simplify something quite complex.Large instine breaks down the food you’ve had move through and broken down chemically. It does this via bacteria, however bad bacteria can also live here (or bacteria that have become unbalance). By improving the gut microbiome you can break this food down properly. Bacteria that break this food down also produce other enzymes and molecules that are linked to your mentioned benefits (as for specifics, I’m not as deeply in the knowledge space). Think of the microbiome as a separate being from you, it’s working to break this food down (that is of good quality I hope) and provide you with components in order to “pay rent” or to be symbiotic with you.One major area to look is that gut microbiome health is often extremely poor in those with morbidity and some linkage to colon cancer (being that obviously bad microbiome = poor large instine health = damage, etc).We’ve also been using fermented foods in our diets for absurdly long times, if you google “every countries fermented food” you’ll see just how deep that rabbit hole goes. Wine, cheese, yogurt, fermented meats, etc are all a part of the human diet for a good reason. (No our ancestors weren’t stupid people smashing clubs or each others heads like many would paint)Again, very over simplified but the fact that you may think it’s a myth scares me. Because the average person already has a trash diet, lacking in the amazing fermented foods our ancestors have eaten for so long and are eating the very foods ruining the gut (fake plant meats, seed oils, etc). If they begin thinking the very thing that (almost) every animal needs to live well and long is a myth then we’re extra doomed.
It’s a relatively new field of research and so there’s a lot of shaky conclusions out there in the research. It doesn’t help that companies make products based on research that is still being sorted out, confusing the public. It’s not a myth but it’s still in infancy as a subject.
Read “I Contain Multitudes” by Ed Yong. The microbiome is not a myth and there are many interesting studies focusing on it, but they have been emerging in the last 15 years of so which makes this a fairly new and emerging area of science.
My favourite study that I came across was looking at mice and fruit flies during sleep deprivation to see what kills them. They discovered that their guts became extremely inflamed and by feeding anti-oxidants, they were able to prolong their life. Or the studies that look at mice that grew up in a completely sterile environment. They require a lot more food than regular mice, as it is hypothesised that they lack gut microbes to help break down food.
Whenever you see two extreme stances, the reality almost always lies within the middle.
Is the gut biome critically important? Yes. Is it associated with basically everything? Sure.
But anybody thinking they can manipulate it beyond
Is just trying to sell you something. Nobody has this figured out yet.
From what I’ve seen, it’s real, it has a job, but what you can do to “improve” it or “deteriorate” it is grossly exaggerated. I’ve learned that there are many “buzzwords” in the nutrition and fitness world that make things sound like bigger deals than they are. Every time I see something about the gut microbiome it’s usually from someone that has no idea what they’re talking about, but somehow “sound” like they know what they’re talking about. Fitfluencers are great motivators, but rarely actually have a clue about the science of anything, yet they still try to “educate” their following.
TLDR, gut microbiome is real, and you are most likely not going to do anything to “adjust” it with really any diet. It’s such a small thing to worry about you can safely ignore it.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, nor a scientist. Just an avid reader and these are opinions I’ve formed over the years based on the plethora of information currently out there.
i’ve seen studies to suggest 36% of the circulating compounds in your blood originated from the microbiome. make of that what you will, but the science would suggest the microbiome plays a HUGE role in all aspects of the body.
The importance of the gut microbiome is one of the most important discoveries over the last 10 - 15 years.
Dr. Claire Fraser is one of the key researchers of the Human Microbiome Project. Here is a video of a very informative presentation she gave which is a great introduction to the subject and which discusses the importance of the gut microbiome in human health and disease.
Drs. Erica and Justin Sonnenburg are scientists at Stanford University who study the gut microbiome. They wrote a great book about the subject titled The Good Gut. Here is a link to a nice interview they gave in which they discuss their research.
To me, one of the most surprising findings of the research into the gut microbiome has been the discovery of the connection between the gut microbiome and the immune system. This graphic helps explain this. When people who have a “healthy” gut microbiome eat food which contains fiber, the bacteria in their gut ferment the fiber, producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) like butyrate which flow into the body of the human host. These SCFA induce regulatory T-cells (called “Tregs”) which regulate the immune system, preventing it from overreacting and from causing auto-immune disorders. Here is a link to an article about some fantastic research which demonstrated this. The researchers were able to modulate the severity of asthma attacks in laboratory mice by adjusting the amount of fiber in their diet. It was like turning a dial–when the animals were fed a low-fiber diet, they suffered a more severe asthma attack when exposed to an allergen. When the fiber content of their diet was increased, the severity of their response was decreased. The researchers directly linked the response to the amount of fiber-fermenting bacteria in the feces of the animals and to the amount of SCFA in their feces and circulating in their bodies.
It’s a real thing but not necessarily something where more bacteria are always better, which is how it is often marketed. A sterile stomach and small intestine is desirable. The colon is more populated with bacteria of which some can have positive or negative health effects