Download How Your Gut Microbiome Influences Your Mental and Physical Health

How Your Gut Microbiome Influences Your Mental and Physical
Health
By Dr. Mercola
Your body houses some 100 trillion bacteria, and about 1 quadrillion viruses
(bacteriophages). In essence, we're little more than walking microbe colonies, seeing how these
bacteria outnumber your cells 10 to 1, and the bacteriophages in turn out number bacteria 10 to
1.
These organisms perform a wide variety of functions, and we've now come to realize that
they need to be properly balanced and nourished if we want to maintain good physical and
mental health.
While the Human Genome Project (HGP) was expected to result in gene-based therapies
to more or less rid us of disease, it actually revealed that your genetic makeup plays a much
smaller role than anyone imagined.
Your genes, as it turns out, are only responsible for about 10 percent of diseases.
The remaining 90 percent are induced by environmental factors, and researchers are now
realizing that your microbiome may be among the most important factors, as genes are turned
on and off depending on which microbes are present!
Emerging science also shows that your microbiome can be rapidly altered, for better or worse,
based on factors such as diet, lifestyle, and chemical exposures.
This is a double-edged sword, no doubt, considering how many of our modern
conveniences (such as processed foods, antibiotics, and pesticides) turn out to be extremely
detrimental to our gut flora.
On the other hand, your diet is one of the easiest, fastest, and most effective ways to
improve and optimize your microbiome. So the good news is that you have a great degree of
control over your health destiny.
Human DNA Contains Microbial Genes
Remarkably, some of the most recent research suggests bacteria may even have played
a role in the diversification and alteration of human DNA, by way of horizontal gene transfer.
According to researchers, potentially hundreds of microbial genes have slipped into our
DNA over the course of mankind's history, including genes that help your immune system
defend itself against infections. It's possible other genes helped mankind adapt to changing
diets and environmental conditions.
It seems not a month goes by without new revelations about how bacteria influence our
lives. Here, I'll review some of the most recent findings gaining more widespread
acknowledgment.
How Gut Bacteria Influence Your Weight
Bacteria appear to influence human health and disease in two key ways. While an
overabundance of certain bacteria have been linked to various diseases, other microbes appear
to be actively involved in preventing certain disease states.
When they're lacking, you end up losing this protection, which allows the disease process
to set in.
For example, by eradicating four species of bacteria (Lactobacillus, Allobaculum,
Rikenelleceae, and Candidatus arthromitus), researchers were able to trigger metabolic
changes in lab animals that led to obesity.
As time goes on, it seems increasingly reasonable to think that obesity is largely influenced by
gut bacteria. This in no way changes the fact that certain foods will make you pack on the
pounds, the bacteria just play a major role in facilitating that process.
The foods known to produce metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance (such as
processed foods, fructose/sugar, and artificial sweeteners) also decimate beneficial gut bacteria,
and it may well be that this is a key mechanism by which these foods promote obesity.
Chemicals may also contribute to your weight problem by way of your gut microbiome.
For example, a study published in the July issue of Environmental Health Perspectives
found that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) found in food altered the gut microbiome in
mice, thereby contributing to the development of obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
Another study found that one microbe called Akkermansia muciniphila helps ward off
obesity, diabetes, and heart disease by lowering blood sugar, improving insulin resistance, and
promoting a healthier distribution of body fat.
A. muciniphila is associated with a fiber-rich diet, and fiber has long been recognized for
its beneficial effects on health and weight. It's still not known whether A. muciniphila produces
these effects all on its own, or whether it helps promote other beneficial bacteria, however.
According to the authors: "Our findings demonstrate the need for further investigation to
ascertain the therapeutic applicability of A. muciniphila in the treatment of insulin resistance.
A.
muciniphila may be identified as a diagnostic or prognostic tool to predict the
potential success of dietary interventions."
Fiber-Digesting Bacteria Also Influence Your Immune Function
Previous research has also shown that gut microbes specializing in fermenting soluble
fiber play an important role in preventing inflammatory disorders, as they help calibrate your
immune system. Specifically, the byproducts of this fermenting activity help nourish the cells
lining your colon, thereby preventing leaky gut — a condition in which toxins are allowed to
migrate from your gut into your blood stream.
The inflammatory response actually starts in your gut and then travels to your brain, which
subsequently sends signals to the rest of your body in a complex feedback loop.
So in order to address chronic inflammation and inflammatory diseases, it's important to
nourish your gut flora with the right foods. Examples include traditionally fermented foods and
raw foods, and especially those high in fiber.
Sugar, on the other hand, feeds fungi that produce yeast infections and sinusitis. Researchers
have also linked high-sugar diets to memory – and learning impairments, courtesy of altered gut
bacteria. According to lead author Dr. Kathy Magnusson: "We've known for a while that too
much fat and sugar are not good for you. This work suggests that fat and sugar are altering
your healthy bacterial systems, and that's one of the reasons those foods aren't good for
you. It's not just the food that could be influencing your brain, but an interaction between
the food and microbial changes."[Emphasis mine]
Fiber and Fermented Foods Are Key Components of a Healthy Diet
While it's virtually impossible to determine the composition of an ideal microbiome, seeing
how our gut flora is as individual as our finger print, what we do know is that a healthy diet is key
for optimizing your individual microbiome. We've also come to realize that fermented foods and
foods high in fiber are very important components of a healthy diet, as these foods help nourish
a wide variety of beneficial bacteria.
Such foods have been part of the human diet since ancient times, and replacing them
with chemically altered and "sterilized" processed foods has led to many of our current health
problems. Traditional sauerkraut, for example, has been identified as a heart-healthy superfood.
As reported by The Epoch Times:
"Research in the medical journal Food and Function found that unpasteurized sauerkraut
contained a potent probiotic known as wild lactobacillus plantarum FC225, to which many of
sauerkraut's heart-healing abilities could be attributed. Upon investigation, the scientists
conducting the study found that the probiotic-rich sauerkraut helped in the following ways:
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Reduced cholesterol levels
Reduced triglyceride levels
Significantly increased levels of two powerful antioxidants known as superoxide disumutase (SOD)
and glutathione
Decreased the degradation of fats in the body (a process known as lipid peroxidation)"
New Research Shows How Much Fiber Different Diets Provide
American Gut Project is the largest, open source and crowd funded microbiome project in the
world. Below is a box-and-whisker plot of the results. Their research has collected data from
over 5,000 patients who have submitted samples and dietary questionnaires. They've been able
to calculate the fiber and the median daily fiber intake for various dietary groups, which is as
follows:
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Paleo-Like: 19 g/day
Omnivore: 19 g/day
Paleo: 25.1 g/day
Omnivore, but no red meat: 27.8 g/day
Vegetarian: 32.8 g/day
Vegan: 43 g/day