In Case You’re Curious…about Microbiomes

What if the solution to obesity lay not in what we eat but in what eats us?

by Lori Melichar, Senior Director - Pioneering Ideas, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Current estimates suggest that half of me (and you) is not human. Yes, you read that correctly. Our body is home to trillions of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea — what is called the microbiome. And we are only just beginning to understand what a crucial role it plays in our health.

Take the microbiome that lives in our gut. It’s associated with conditions you might expect, such as food allergies, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer, but researchers are discovering that it plays a role in seemingly unrelated diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, and can even influence our mood, sleep and other behaviors. Importantly, the research points not only to the impact our microbe has on these conditions but is also identifying ways, for example with colon cancer, that microbes can enhance treatment.

So what does this this emerging understanding mean for our efforts to build a Culture of Health? While our initial response may be to view these creatures as strictly negative home invaders, could they play a more positive role in creating healthier people and communities? For example, fecal transplants have shown promise to promote more healthy gut microbiomes. That may gross you out, but what if proximity to healthy microbiomes can make you healthier in the same way sitting next to someone with a cough might make you sicker?

Curious?

Here are three resources worth checking out:

1. Read. My own curiosity piqued several years ago when I read this opinion piece by Sendhil Mullainathan. As a behavioral economist, Sendhil naturally views the issue of obesity as one defined by our behaviors. After learning about the role gut bacteria plays in everything from our metabolism to our cravings, he realized that there might be another explanation worthy of future exploration. As evidence of the potential vast research opportunities, Pioneering grantee, Rob Knight, notes that “The field as a whole is moving from observational studies towards intervention studies, in which temporally resolved study designs offer considerably more power to detect and understand changes.”
2. Listen. This series from NPR examines the microbiomes’ potential applications in raising our children, treating diseases, and even solving murders. I was thrilled to learn that one study showed that when moms cleaned pacifiers by putting them in their own mouths (a practice I employed), lower incidences of eczema and asthma were observed for their kids, while another suggested “gut feelings” might be more than an interesting metaphor — examining the potential connections between gut microbes and brain structure.
3. Watch. Did you know that everyone has a different team of microbes working inside of them? Each team has a different job to do and is largely impacted by factors like genetics and the types of food we eat. Watch this clever video below to give you a peek at what’s happening inside your gut as you read this now.

And if you’re curious about the microbiomes inside all of us, you might want to learn about the microbiomes all around us where we live, learn, work and play. Start with the MicroBEnet, a treasure trove of information about the microbiology of our built environment.

Do you have a hunch?

Curiosity is a journey capable of limitless fascination. Each discovery sparks another question worthy of exploration. This is especially true with our microbiome. If you have a hunch about how the microbiome might impact our health, we want to hear it. Visit our new site www.shareyourhunch.org and let us know what is driving your curiosity on this (or any other) topic.