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 Probiotics and gut health The human microbiome: why our microbes could be key to our health Nicola Davis Last modified on Sat 10 Nov 2018 09.20 EST What are microbiomes? Both inside and out, our bodies harbour a huge array of micro-organisms. While bacteria are the biggest players, we also host single-celled organisms known as archaea, as well as fungi, viruses and other microbes – including viruses that attack bacteria. Together these are dubbed the human microbiota. Your body’s microbiome is all the genes your microbiota contains, however colloquially the two terms are often used interchangeably. Microbes Hang on, aren’t microbes supposed to be dangerous? It’s a bit of a spectrum: some are pathogens, but others only become harmful if they get in the wrong place or boom in number, and some are very useful to the body – such as by helping to break down the array of sugars found in human breast milk. “These sugars are not broken down by the infant,” said Prof John Cryan, a neuropharmacologist and microbiome expert from University College Cork. Instead, microbes in the baby’s gut do the job. Other key roles of our microbes include programming the immune system, providing nutrients for our cells and preventing colonisation by harmful bacteria and viruses. Where do my gut microbes come from? Do I just pick them up from my surroundings? Partly. But it is more complicated than that. “It is still a little bit controversial but for the most part it is thought that we are sterile when we are in utero, and as we are being born, as we emerge through the birth canal from our mums, we get this handover bacteria,” said Cryan. “It is like a gulp at birth. Those bacteria are really important for starting the whole process.” Cryan notes that during pregnancy a mother’s microbiome shifts, apparently to an optimum mix for offspring. “If you are not born by vaginal delivery, but are born by [caesarean] section, things start off being different,” he said. Indeed, studies have suggested that these differences could be one of the reasons why babies born by caesarean section have a higher risk of conditions including asthma and type 1 diabetes. That said, doctors have cautioned parents against attempting to seed babies born by caesarean section with vaginal bacteria. Our gut microbiome changes quickly over our first year or two, shaped by microbes in breast milk, the environment and other factors, and stabilises by the time we are about three years old. But our environment, our long-term diet, stress and the drugs we take, such as antibiotics, continue to play a role as we age, meaning our microbiome can change throughout our life. It seems like microbes are everywhere – how many are we talking about? The figure that has been bandied out since the 1970s is that microbes outnumber our own cells by about 10 to one. But a study from 2016 suggests that in fact microbial cells and human cells coexist in somewhere around a 1.3 to one ratio – suggesting they only slightly outnumber our own cells, although that doesn’t count viruses and viral particles. Does this mean I am not human? Some say we should be seen as a holobiont, a term that reflects the intimate, co-dependent relationship humans have with microbes. “I tell this joke that the next time someone goes to the bathroom and they get rid of some of their microbes they are becoming more human,” said Cryan. But Ellen Clarke, a philosopher of biology at the University of Leeds, is not convinced. “It all depends on what you mean by ‘human’ in the first place,” she said. “If you think that a human is a collection of cells that all share copies of the same chromosomes, then it is shocking to be told that our bodies contain cells with bacterial DNA.” But as Clarke points out, human cells don’t just contain chromosomes, but also carry DNA within our cellular powerhouses, mitochondria, which are evolutionary descendants of bacteria. Our genome also contains stretches of genetic material called transposons that, at least in some cases, are thought to have been introduced long ago by viruses. “I prefer to define a human in evolutionary terms, and if we do this then mitochondria are parts of a human, and so are transposons, but gut microbes are not, and neither are prosthetic limbs nor unborn foetuses,” said Clarke, pointing out that microbes can escape the body and live without us. Are microbes the same in my gut as on my skin? No, different parts of the body – the skin, vagina, gut – all have very different, distinct communities of microbes. While gut microbes have gained a lot of attention, microbes elsewhere are also important: in recent studies, scientists have found that bacteria commonly found on the skin might help to protect against skin cancer. Microbiomes also differ from person to person. “When you look at the overall active microbiomes between two healthy people, even if they are living in the same city, you see a tremendous amount of disagreement in their microbiome,” said Rob Knight, professor of paediatrics, computer science and engineering at the University of California San Diego and an expert on the human microbiome. Variability in the gut microbiome, Knight notes, helps to explain why people respond differently to the same foods. “Whether tomatoes are good or bad for you, whether rice is good for you or worse for you than ice cream and so on is explained by your microbiome,” he said. Why has the microbiome become such a hot topic for research? Over recent years the gut microbiome in particular has been linked to a plethora of diseases and conditions, from diabetes to autism and anxiety to obesity. The gut microbiome has also been linked to how individuals respond to certain drugs, including how cancer patients respond to chemotherapy, and it has even, tentatively, been suggested that it could be linked with how well we sleep. Meanwhile, a range of studies have raised the importance of other aspects of our microbiome, including that the vaginal microbiome is important in whether an HIV-prevention drug applied to the vagina is effective. Why do we think the microbiome is linked to all these conditions? While some links have come from comparing the microbiomes of different groups of people, such as those with a particular disease compared with healthy individuals, a big player in microbiome research is the germ-free mouse. This organism is raised in a sterile environment and can then be exposed to particular microbes, or groups of microbes, to explore their impact. Such studies have been key in raising possible links between the gut microbiome and numerous aspects of our health, including mood and obesity. Is it that particular microbes are important, or is it about the microbial community as a whole? This is the knotty issue. In some experiments, particular strains of bacteria have been linked to particular effects or conditions, while others have shown that the diversity of the microbiome, or relative abundances of species, is important. “It is a bit like a rainforest: you might have a very nice fern that is very happy but if that is the only thing in your rainforest and you don’t have a diversity it is not going to be good [for the] soil,” said Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and author of The Diet Myth. When it comes to the microbiome, “it’s having the right community of bacteria that are working together and together producing the right chemicals for your body.” Microbes So might microbes be affecting our weight, or even our brains? That sounds a bit sci-fi. When it comes to obesity, there are several ways gut microbes might influence matters, including through appetite, production of gases, efficiency of using food, and impact on the immune system and inflammation. When it comes to affecting mood, there are also several mechanisms. One is via the vagus nerve, a two-way highway that runs from our brain to various organs in the body, including the gut. With the microbiome linked to so many conditions, does tinkering with it promise a whole range of new treatments? It is worth being cautious: many studies show associations rather than cause and effect, and some are based only on studies in germ-free mice and have not been explored in humans. Even in mice things aren’t straightforward – effects are not always the same for both sexes and can differ for different strains of mice. And there are other factors to consider: “For obesity what it looks like is in different human populations, different kinds of microbes are involved in the differences between lean and obese humans,” said Knight. Spector said: “I think everyone is right to be sceptical, and a lot of the links may just be that [microbes] are not necessarily the cause of [a disease], but they might be a secondary effect of it.” Others say it isn’t surprising that our microbiome might be closely linked to our health. “All of human development and all the systems in the body have all evolved, or co-evolved, with our microbes,” said Cryan. “As humans we are very much human-focused and we feel that human cells and genes have primacy, but the microbes were there first.” Does any of this actually affect patients? Up to a point. The field has already led to advances in the treatment of C difficile – an infection that causes serious diarrhoea and can prove deadly. Patients can now receive faecal transplants from a donor with a healthy microbiome to “reset” their inner community – a procedure that has been shown to rapidly cure the condition. Some researchers, including Cryan, believe microbiome research could lead to the development of new mental health therapies. “We have coined the term ‘psychobiotic’ [by which we mean] a targeted intervention of the microbiome for brain health,” he said. While that may be some way off, Cryan believes it will become routine for doctors to keep an eye on the makeup of patients’ microbiomes. “I think personally that bacteria- or microbiome-derived medicine is the future of precision medicine,” he said. Let’s cut to the chase: what can I do to keep my microbiome in good shape? This is where prebiotics and probiotics come in: the former are substances, such as the fibre inulin, on which useful microbes can thrive, while the latter are microbes themselves that are thought to be beneficial for health, such as the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. While both prebiotics and probiotics can be taken as supplements, whether you should shell out for them is another matter: there is little advice on which prebiotics or probiotics people should consume for a particular situation, and when it comes to probiotics it isn’t a dead cert that the microbes will colonise your gut when they get there, or if they will offer benefits to already healthy people, such as preventing diseases. That said, if you are taking antibiotics or have IBS, there is some evidence probiotics might be a good idea. “It is not clear yet whether you’re better off just having lots of yoghurt and other fermented foods or actually taking these formulations,” said Spector, adding that in general he recommends opting for tweaking your diet to get a dose of probiotics, since it isn’t clear which strains individuals should take. The same goes for prebiotics: “there is more variety in food in terms of the fibre, therefore more variety in the microbes,” he said. “Ideally you combine a prebiotic and a probiotic: something like sauerkraut or kimchi.” What next? The spotlight is on unpicking the mechanisms by which microbes are linked to human health. Among the conundrums is how and why the different strains of bacteria have different effects, while researchers are also developing studies to explore how the microbiome influences our response to food, and how different diets can tweak the microbiome. There is also a need to take more of the exciting findings from mouse studies and probe them in humans, preferably through randomised control trials. Further reading: I Contain Multitudes, by Ed Yong Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ, by Giulia Enders The Psychobiotic Revolution, by Scott C Anderson with John Cryan and Ted Dinan Follow Your Gut: How the Ecosystem in Your Gut Determines Your Health, Mood, and More, by Rob Knight |
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You are what you eat. I did grill a lean burger outside on my Bar B Que and kept it simple, 1/4 pound lean ground round, 1 slice of American cheese, on a Onion bun. I did add horseradish mustard and some ketchup. served with some cole slaw and steamed carrots. What did you eat recently? |
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pawntificator 17-Mar-20, 01:46 |
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pawntificator 17-Mar-20, 01:50 |
i've applied to his club but there is not an acceptance of alternate opinions. The man does not accept diversity. |
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Just seen this. IMO our society is probably greatly weakening our physical bodies by eating so much red meat instead of more nutritious meals like the one Thumper has shared with us here! We're not eating the food which has the nutrients it requires, and I for sure am not exercising as much as I know I need to! Years ago I was always VERY active because of the kind of work I did. One of the weakest areas of poor quality of health is our immune system I have heard. Heads up, since this COVID19 Pandemic, my wife and I are boosting our immune system with suppliments designed to strengthen it. Good post, Thumper. Any other recipes for us? |
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IHS I'm certain that a learned biologist like Stahlandske would strongly disagree with that premise, sir. My guess is that life's immune system is strongly responsible for Man's existence --- Not that Man's Science isn't helping it along a bit. |
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IHS |
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@Mo-one What with all the GMO'S now in our foods, plus all the pesticides and insecticides (ROUNDUP for example!), well need to look closer at what we're eating. "Helping Your Immune System" Some unhealthy practices can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness. Find out how diet and sleep affect your ability to stay healthy. The winter months are notorious for spreading illnesses like cold and flu, and sometimes your immune system is the only thing keeping you from getting sick. Most people’s immune systems are quite effective most of the time, but unhealthy practices can decrease the body’s ability to fight off illness. “The control that you have is just maintaining general healthful habits, which will keep your immune system in check,” says Jonathan Rich, DO, a physician with Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Think your immunity is at its optimum level? Here are a few bad habits that could sabotage it. www.everydayhealth.com |
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GMO's and poor health habits But our Immune system is still the most important tool Man has to protect us from disease. Your earlier comment argued otherwise --- not to say that a damaged immune system might not work well. Man's immune system is currently the near sole source of the on-going curing we are seeing in the Covid-19 crisis among those who have become afflicted with the virus, because Man has yet to find a cure or even an inoculation. Do you agree of not? That was the basis of my comment --- not weakened immune systems. Might you have miss read my comments, sir? |
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Currently, man's only defense against CV is our immune system. That's why keeping it healthy is important. |
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We watched a movie on Netflix and enjoyed some popcorn. I've been losing weight and now using weight watchers to track online with their app. Everything I have consumed since early January has been journaled and I am able to scan some of the foods I eat daily! I have committed to this way of eating for the first 1/2 year and hopefully by then I will have lost maybe 60 pounds. At 20 pounds lost so far and able to maintain or lose a couple pounds a week. |
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I tried the keto diet, but ended up eating more healthy foods and diet until the end of December 2019. I lost 23.5 pounds. So now being on Weight Watchers since the beginning of 2020, I've lost another 20 pounds. I have 2 jars with some stones in them, 1 labeled pounds to go. The other jar is labeled pounds lost! I'll say this so far the fuller jar is the pounds to go, but I have committed to losing the weight this year. I'll be 59 in June and I want to do it before the end of 2020. I've donated my clothes that were too large for me. At work I turned in my uniform pants for a smaller size. They are understanding that I'm in a weight loss mode, and are aware that I will keep turning in my uniforms when they become too big. |
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Your success with determining to make a positive change in your life encourages and challenges me to do the same! Care to share how you started? What kind of changes did you make in your grocery shopping and tell about the journalling. I've cut out the sweets, however I eat two sandwiches each day at work, and lots more with snacking. Sitting most of the night; a security guard. 4 second shift periods per week. I like the idea of using the jars with stones as a visual motivator. I'm going to do that. |
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tomorrow I going to make it simple with a bowl of special K with almond milk. I pack my lunches with a sandwich. This week I have had a yogurt too. pack fruit like a banana or an apple. I bring with me low calorie sports drinks, and extra water. When I get home I have a healthy dinner with meat usually and salad and vegetables. sometimes I'll make a fruit smoothie for something sweet. As for journaling I will keep track of the foods with on-line app. I also try to make better choices when at the grocery store. I buy whole foods or frozen vegetables, can fruits and vegetables. Usually buy the more expensive eggs, bananas, apples. With all the issues of the covid-19. I have been buying plain ole food and what ever else is available. Celery, carrots, avocado, beets, greens, spinach, lettuce, radish, cucumber, squash, are the veggies I buy. also grapes, berries, melon's, pears, apples, organic bananas, and any other fruits The jars was suggested by my wife, we now both have them. |
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Have a scale right in the bathroom to help track myself. Before breakfast, the scale reads me at 180. Not sure how accurate it is. Maybe what I am after is the little "six months along" pouch on my stomach. Could this be a different issue I wonder? Did not always have these love handles back when I had a smaller waist line. Still I think eating fruits rather than peanut butter sandwiches has to be healthier. |
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My wife and I went for our daily walk of 30 mins, feels good to be doing the right things |
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This video is on "Operation Freedom" on the Internet with Dave Janda. Been following him for years, and he's big on exposing Big Pharma and the Medical Industrial Complex. "Exhausted and Tired? What Big Pharma Won't Tell You" youtu.be |
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My take watching this video I went further and looked for some more videos from the Doc on the right. There used to be 10 foods never to eat and now he added two more soy and corn. The first four are all gluten rye,wheat,oats,rice I think.. He says never evr drink carbonated drinks with a meal Never!! He talks about people having weak stomach acids. He goes on to say a gross thing like a chopped off finger swallowed with be digested down to the bone in a highly acidic stomach. He also explains that gluten has amino acids that do not get digested in a weak stomach acid situation and that the chains of the amino acids end up in your small intestines like strings of pearls. So basically they are not digested well nor do you get the nutrients from that food. Stay away from nitrates in foods and Never ever eat red meat well done! He gives reasons that charred food is cancerous and that the nitrated food is a preservative and is bad for consumption I think he is for selling supliments, vitemans and other products That is my take from the video shared about operation Freedom |
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Foods I consume I consume carbonated beverages including Kombucha which is a probiotic drink with natural fermentation I also like sparkling water. I eat yogurt fresh fruits, like watermelon cantaloupe, blue berries, strawberries, I eat bananas, and mango's Mango's are so good. Apples, cherries, oranges all vegetables including corn, and soy tofu hey the stuff is good in my opinion! Recently started using Avocado Oil in place of the regular oils, I still use olive oil. Butter and lard from duck or pork are used in moderation. I'll share more later about the smoothies I make |
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Found Myself Flat On My Back - Helpless! Have discussed diet and exercise and the importance of these matters, with Fox rising, and have thought, these are great ideas and I really should start following Nike's advice (Just do it), but I never did. Last month I was going through routine house chores and while folding my T-shirts on the bed I pulled a back muscle - OUCH! Had I been following easy and not too troublesome exercises I probably wouldn't have hurt myself like I did. Today I'm much better, and I've started a walking regimen right outside my front door. The first day I barely walked 3/4 of a mile, and my legs were like rubber when I returned home! A few weeks later I went out for a good 25 min walk and continued with home chores when I returned home. I'm out of a job because the place I worked at decided this was a good time to get rid of me - another story there. The point is I'm doing something other than vegging and I feel great! |
