Last month the Health Report reviewed the role of microbes and bacteria as part of the human microbiome which scientists are discovering performs complex and vitally important functions that keep us alive.
This is especially true in the human gastrointestinal tract where a vast community of trillions of bacteria and fungi inhabit every nook and cranny. These microbes mostly live in your lower intestine (the colon) and outnumber all the other cells in your body put together. They manage to live in partnership with us, surviving a hostile environment of darkness, high acidity and low oxygen while an ever-changing of liquid chemicals flow through them. These microbes mostly live in your lower intestine (the colon) and outnumber all the cells in your body put together.
What does our microbiome do?
The microbes in your gut can help you to get thinner, be happier and live longer with less risk of disease. The gut microbiome controls the storage of fat and assists in activating the genes in human cells involved with absorbing nutrients, helping us avoid diabetes. Gut bacteria break down toxins and create blood vessels, replenish the linings of the gut and skin, replace damaged and dying cells with new ones and create blood vessels. They help us have strong immune systems by competing with invading bacteria.
The gut microbiome controls the storage of fat and assists in activating the genes in human cells involved with absorbing nutrients, breaking down toxins and creating blood vessels. These helpful microorganisms replenish the linings of the gut and skin, replacing damaged and dying cells with new ones. Our native microbes compete with invading ones, helping our immune system by resisting diseases.
Can the microbiome even affect my mood
The gut microbiome can affect our mood through what is known as the gut/brain axis. In an article published by Prevention magazine “Why Your Gut Could Be the Key to Preventing Anxiety, Alzheimer’s, and More” explains that millions of tiny organisms live in your gut and they are affected by what you eat and how you live. They communicate with your brain and your brain responds in what Harvard professor Laura Cox calls a “two-way street” between the gut and brain. For example, specific gut bacteria can detect and increase the production of serotonin, which is associated with feelings of contentment. Another kind of bacteria commonly found in the human gut contains a neurotransmitter that can help calm anxiety.
How can we help our microbiome continue helping us?
1. Eat as many types of fruit and vegetables as possible and try to eat seasonally. Because research has shown the richer and more diverse your community of gut microbes is, the more effective.
2. Increase your fiber intake aiming for more than 40g per day, which is about double the current American averages.
3. Minimize use of antibiotics unless totally necessary.
Those micro-preserving steps are fairly well known, but here are three that may surprise you:
4. Eat plenty of fermented foods containing live microbes. Good choices are unsweetened yoghurt; sauerkraut; kimchi, a Korean dish made from garlic, cabbage and chili; and soybean-based products such as soy sauce, tempeh and natto.
5. Spend more time in the countryside People living in rural areas have better microbes than city-dwellers. Gardening and other outdoor activities are good for your microbiome.
6. Pet animals. Studies have shown that people living with dogs have more microbial diversity.
To learn more about helping your microbiome, check out this article published by the BBC The Science Focus. This resource outlines 15 strategies to boost your gut microbiome:
The future of food: what we’ll eatin 2028 BBC The Science Focus (Published by the BBC Science Focus)
