Our Microbiome!

Did you know there is a microbiome living in your gut?  Yup, it's true and it begins at birth when you pass through the birth canal.  Those babies who are born via caesarean section are colonized instead with microbes from the hands of their mothers, nurses, doctors, and others that hold them. And, there are many microbiome communities in and on your body like your fingers, hands, ears, navel and mouth!  Though the largest and most complex is found in the large intestine.  The average adult carries 3 to 5 pounds of microbes there.  

Let's take a closer look at our gut microbiome.  For one, the environment can affect it.  If you live with others your microbiome will resemble theirs. In addition, if you have a pet you have picked up some of theirs.  Just like snowflakes, no two microbiomes are the same. However, that does not mean they function differently. In general a healthy gut has many families of microbes.

So, how do we create a healthy microbiome?  Eating dietary fiber helps create a richer one with more bacterial species. The best way to do this is by eating foods derived from different plant materials like beans and green vegetables. Also, taking antibiotics with interfere with your gut, so you may need a probiotic. Plus, our microbiome changes as we age. That means that we must continue consuming fiber rich plant foods throughout our life!

Can our microbiome affect our weight?  Researchers have been trying to get answers to this, but right now it is not clear how it affects our weight.  It is possible that each person has their own "signatures" of obesity.  Researchers are trying to learn what the microbes do, their activity, and what proteins and other metabolites they are producing. Stay tuned!

Scientists are also trying to discover if our microbiome can prevent or treat disease.  For example, in 2010 Dutch researchers decreased insulin resistance in 9 men by actually transplanting into their intestines solutions containing the feces of men who were not insulin resistant. Several studies are looking to finding if this method really works.    Another disease being studied is ulcerative colitis.  Evidently, the gut microbiomes of people with chronic inflammation and sores in the lining of their colon has less diversity of microbes than those of healthy folks.  So, Canadian researchers gave 38 patients weekly fecal-transplant enemas for 6 weeks.  The result, by the end of the study 9 were in remission.  

Other issues like autism, colorectal cancer, and heart disease are being researched, but the most dramatic use of the microbiome has been the cure of difficult-to-treat Clostridium difficile infections using fecal transplants.  However, the FDA will only allow fecal transplants to treat C. diff, and only when all other options have been used due to concerns over safety and effectiveness.  

Clearly, more research needs to be done, but the findings thus far are pretty impressive!

Reference:  Nutrition Action, December 2016, Microbiome It Takes A Village (p.9-11).