So, What’s This Microbiome, Anyway?
Lately, this term, “microbiome,” has been showing up all over the place. First, I read it in a health newsletter for old folks. Then I took a CLR (Center for Learning in Retirement), class at RVC on the microbiome. Then another health newsletter on the brain and mind features the microbiome/brain interface. Yesterday, Krista Tippett’s On Being radio show was an interview with a British psychologist studying the brain/gut interface. And, finally, today I watched a video forwarded to me by Ed Foster on the microbiome’s affect on menopause.
This microbiome word has definitely hit the popular market. And not just for old folks, like me. This effects every living person on the earth, of any age, from babies to centenarians.
We each have a symbiotic relationship with 10 trillion microbes on and inside of our bodies. This has only been known scientifically since the late 1990’s. Our microbiome constitutes 2 to 6 pounds of our body weight. Some promote good health and some, the pathogenic ones, promote illness or disease.
Lifestyle choices can affect our microbiome — smoking, alcohol, and physical activity among them. While smoking and excess alcohol are negative influences, physical activity promotes good microbes.
The quality of our diet has a huge impact on those little critters. Good bacteria love fiber which provides short-chain fatty acids. What foods have fiber? Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. Not potato chips, candy bars, or sugary sodas.
Simple carbohydrates, like sugar, cause bad effects on our microbiome.
Krista Tippett’s interview with Kimberly Wilson, “Whole Body Mental Health,” a 52-minute audio podcast, introduces the microbiome and its brain/gut connection via the vagus nerve to every organ in the body, culminating in the brain.
https://onbeing.org/programs/kimberley-wilson-whole-body-mental-health/
I recommend some short, enlightening videos to increase your understanding:
Nutritionfacts.org is a study-based website with 112 videos on the microbiobe. Michael Greger, MD, presents short, often conflicting studies of our microbiome on many different aspects of our health. This one, “Microbiome: The Inside Story,” is a good introduction in 5:05 minutes.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/microbiome-the-inside-story/