The gut microbiome: how does it affect our health?
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We can carry up to 2 kg of microbes in our gut. Within the tens of
trillions of micro-organisms that live there are at least 1,000 species
of bacteria consisting of over 3 million genes. What is more, two thirds
of the gut microbiome - the population of microbes in the intestine -
is unique to each individual. But do you know how your gut microbiota
could be influencing your health?
Most of us know that the bacteria within our gut play a crucial role in digestion. When the stomach and small intestine can't seem to digest particular foods we eat, gut microbes begin to offer a bit of support, ensuring we have the nutrients we want.
In addition, gut bacteria are recognized to aid producing certain vitamins - for instance vitamins B and K - and play an essential role in immune function.
But increasingly, researchers operate to find out more about how exactly gut bacteria - specially the bacteria which is unique to us individually - influence our wellbeing and chance of disease.
Perhaps most studied is just how gut microbiota affects an individual's chance obesity and also other metabolic conditions. In November 2014, for instance, Medical News Today reported over a study claiming our genetic makeup shapes the type of bacteria reside in your gut, which can affect our weight.
In this Spotlight, we examine obesity and many of the other - perhaps surprising - medical conditions that may be driven by our gut microbiota.
The continuing development of gut microbiota
Belief has long held that the progression of gut microbiota will not start until birth, using the gastrointestinal tract of the fetus thought to be a sterile environment.
According to Gut Microbiota Worldwatch - a data service developed by the Gut Microbiota and Health Section on the European Society for Neurogastroenterology & Motility, a member on the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) - this tract of an newborn is rapidly colonized with micro-organisms from your mother along with the surrounding environment.
An infant's gut microbiota, as an example, may be influenced by breastfeeding. Gut Microbiota Worldwatch explain the gut of breastfed babies primarily contains Bifidobacteria - considered a "friendly" bacteria that benefits the gut - while formula fed babies will likely have less with this bacteria.
However, some numerous studies have shown challenged the belief how the fetus is usually a sterile environment, suggesting that the growth of gut microbiota begins before birth.
A 2008 study published from the journal Research in Microbiology identified bacteria, including Enterococcus and Staphylococcus, inside the early feces of baby mice - referred to as meconium - indicating the bacteria was used the fetus through the mother's gut when pregnant.
In these studies, a team of pregnant mice has also been inoculated with all the bacterium Enterococcus fecium, that has been isolated from human breast milk. The baby mice were delivered by Cesarean section day before the predicted labor date, in addition to their meconium was tested. The researchers identified E. fecium of their feces, but no trace was found inside the meconium of an control group.
"Based about the sum of evidence, it's time to overturn the sterile womb paradigm and recognize the unborn baby is first colonized within the womb," Seth Bordenstein, a biologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, told The Scientist this past year.
The more diverse our gut bacteria, the better
While the controversy over whether infants are born with gut bacteria continues, it seems like scientists come in agreement about something: from birth until later years, our gut bacteria is consistently evolving.
As already stated, two thirds with the gut microbiome is exclusive to each person, and why this unique will be the food we eat, mid-air we breathe and also other environmental factors. Some numerous studies have even suggested the makeup on the gut microbiome is affected by genes.
But how does this amazing gut bacteria affect our health and wellness? This can be a question that researchers have become increasingly considering answering.
Past studies have suggested that the broader diversity of bacteria in gut is more preferable for human health. A recent study reported by MNT, as an example, found out that infants with less diverse gut bacteria for the age of a couple of months were almost certainly going to be sensitized to specific foods - including egg, milk and peanut - by the era of 1 year, indicating that insufficient gut bacteria diversity noisy . life might be a driver for food allergies.
But the implications of any low-diversity gut microbiome will not stop there. You may be surprised to master how absence of or overpopulation of specific bacteria may impact your quality of life.
Obesity
More and even more studies are looking in the association between your gut microbiome and fat gain, by incorporating scientists suggesting the makeup of bacteria within the gut may influence your susceptibility to excess weight.
Earlier inside the article, we mentioned a 2014 study that claims our genes may know very well what bacteria live inside our gut, knowning that this bacteria may influence how heavy we're also.
In detail, the analysis - conducted by researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and King's College London within the UK - learned that a certain strain of bacteria - Christensenellaceae minuta - was more prevalent in those with a low body mass, understanding that the presence of that strain is extremely influenced by genes.
What might be more, introducing this bacteria to your guts of mice caused the animals to realize less weight, indicating the bacteria may reduce or prevent obesity.
"Our findings show specific sets of microbes surviving in our gut could possibly be protective against obesity - knowning that their abundance is depending our genes," said study author Prof. Tim Spector of King's College London. "The human microbiome represents a thrilling new target for dietary changes and treatments aimed towards combating obesity."
In 2012, another study published from the Journal of Proteome Research suggested that your lack of bacteria within the large intestine may drive obesity by reducing the activity of brown fat, which protects against fat gain when stimulated by burning calories and white fat.
A more modern study provides further evidence that gut bacteria may influence extra weight. A case report published inside the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases revealed the fact that women who underwent fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) utilising an overweight donor rapidly became obese herself following a procedure.
While the jury remains out on whether gut bacteria is directly connected with obesity, it's an area that certainly warrants further investigation.
Cancer
In the past several years, scientists have increasingly investigated the connection between gut bacteria and cancer.
In a 2013 study published in The Journal of Cancer Research, US researchers claimed to get a specific bacteria within the intestines - Lactobacillus johnsonii - which will play a role inside development of lymphoma, a cancer on the white blood cells.
Another 2013 study conducted by UK researchers learned that a common gut bacteria called Helicobacter pylori might result in stomach cancer and duodenal ulcers by deactivating a part on the immune system included in regulating inflammation.
And in 2014, MNT reported on research from your Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, where investigators associated a unique combination of gut bacteria with the continuing development of colorectal cancer.
For these studies, they gave antibiotics to mice that possessed gene mutations seen to cause colorectal polyps, which may develop into cancer. The antibiotics were administered to interfere using the gut bacteria in the mice. The researchers found out that these mice wouldn't develop polyps, suggesting that gut microbes may be linked to their development.
But and also being associated with cancer development, research has discovered that gut bacteria might be important for increasing the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
In 2013, research by researchers through the National Cancer Institute found out that immunotherapy and chemotherapy were less efficient in mice lacking gut bacteria, by using these treatments working significantly better in mice which has a normal gut microbiome.
Similar outcome was found in another 2013 study by French researchers. An antitumor drug - cyclophosphamide - is discovered to be much less powerful in mice with limited gut bacteria, in contrast to mice with normal gut bacteria.
"Both studies are extreme fun in that they reveal initial links between gut microbiota and [response to] therapies," Harvard University's Peter Turnbaugh told The Scientist. "The papers underscore the significance [of] microbes in shaping besides our initial predisposition to disease, but additionally our recovery as a result."
Mental Health
Not we're all likely to contemplate how gut bacteria change the mental state, nonetheless they actually play an essential role.
According to your American Psychological Association (APA), gut bacteria produce numerous neurochemicals the brain uses of the damaging physiological and mental processes, including memory, learning and mood. In fact, 95% with the body's way to obtain serotonin is made by gut bacteria, according on the APA.
What might be more, introducing this bacteria to your guts of mice caused the animals to realize less weight, indicating the bacteria may reduce or prevent obesity.
"Our findings show specific sets of microbes surviving in our gut could possibly be protective against obesity - knowning that their abundance is depending our genes," said study author Prof. Tim Spector of King's College London. "The human microbiome represents a thrilling new target for dietary changes and treatments aimed towards combating obesity."
In 2012, another study published from the Journal of Proteome Research suggested that your lack of bacteria within the large intestine may drive obesity by reducing the activity of brown fat, which protects against fat gain when stimulated by burning calories and white fat.
A more modern study provides further evidence that gut bacteria may influence extra weight. A case report published inside the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases revealed the fact that women who underwent fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) utilising an overweight donor rapidly became obese herself following a procedure.
While the jury remains out on whether gut bacteria is directly connected with obesity, it's an area that certainly warrants further investigation.
Cancer
In the past several years, scientists have increasingly investigated the connection between gut bacteria and cancer.
In a 2013 study published in The Journal of Cancer Research, US researchers claimed to get a specific bacteria within the intestines - Lactobacillus johnsonii - which will play a role inside development of lymphoma, a cancer on the white blood cells.
Another 2013 study conducted by UK researchers learned that a common gut bacteria called Helicobacter pylori might result in stomach cancer and duodenal ulcers by deactivating a part on the immune system included in regulating inflammation.
And in 2014, MNT reported on research from your Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, where investigators associated a unique combination of gut bacteria with the continuing development of colorectal cancer.
For these studies, they gave antibiotics to mice that possessed gene mutations seen to cause colorectal polyps, which may develop into cancer. The antibiotics were administered to interfere using the gut bacteria in the mice. The researchers found out that these mice wouldn't develop polyps, suggesting that gut microbes may be linked to their development.
But and also being associated with cancer development, research has discovered that gut bacteria might be important for increasing the effectiveness of cancer treatment.
In 2013, research by researchers through the National Cancer Institute found out that immunotherapy and chemotherapy were less efficient in mice lacking gut bacteria, by using these treatments working significantly better in mice which has a normal gut microbiome.
Similar outcome was found in another 2013 study by French researchers. An antitumor drug - cyclophosphamide - is discovered to be much less powerful in mice with limited gut bacteria, in contrast to mice with normal gut bacteria.
"Both studies are extreme fun in that they reveal initial links between gut microbiota and [response to] therapies," Harvard University's Peter Turnbaugh told The Scientist. "The papers underscore the significance [of] microbes in shaping besides our initial predisposition to disease, but additionally our recovery as a result."
Mental Health
Not we're all likely to contemplate how gut bacteria change the mental state, nonetheless they actually play an essential role.
According to your American Psychological Association (APA), gut bacteria produce numerous neurochemicals the brain uses of the damaging physiological and mental processes, including memory, learning and mood. In fact, 95% with the body's way to obtain serotonin is made by gut bacteria, according on the APA.
With this in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that gut bacteria continues to be associated with a amount of mental health conditions, including panic attacks and depression.
In 2014, as an example, a work published inside journal Psychopharmacology learned that prebiotics - carbohydrates that boost healthy bacteria inside the gut - could be effective for reducing panic and anxiety.
For case study, 45 healthy adults were randomized to take delivery of the prebiotic or perhaps a placebo daily for 15 days. All participants were then come across both positive and negative stimuli.
The team learned that the participants who received the prebiotic were not as likely to pay attention towards the negative stimuli compared to those who received the placebo - suggesting lower anxiety in negative situations. They also had lower levels in the "stress hormone" cortisol.
"Time and time again, we hear from patients which they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing difficulties with their gut," said lead study author Dr. Kirsten Tillisch, the investigation's lead author. "Our study demonstrates the gut-brain connection can be a two-way street."
Autism
Autism is estimated to affect one out of 68 children within the US. While research has associated environmental factors - like pollution - and genetics as potential causes from the disorder, researchers are increasingly going through the role of gut bacteria in their development.
In 2013, research by researchers from Arizona State University found out that children with autism possessed lower numbers of three varieties of gut bacteria - Prevotella, Coprococcus and Veillonellaceae - in contrast to children free with the condition.
A newer study from the team learned that concentrations of specific chemicals made by gut bacteria - called metabolites - in fecal samples of kids with autism differed for the concentrations found from the fecal types of children minus the disorder.
This led they to hypothesize that gut microbes modify the metabolites regarding communication relating to the gut along with the brain, which disrupts brain function.
Further strengthening the association between gut bacteria and autism is usually a 2013 study published in Cell that found the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis reduced autism-like symptoms in mice.
Can we alter our gut bacteria?
Since the gut microbiome is relying on the food we eat and also the environment around us, it seems sensible that there are approaches to make it healthier.
According for the Mayo Clinic, a healthy diet plan can encourage the presence of excellent gut bacteria. They remember that consuming fermented foods - for example miso and sauerkraut - improves the level of fermenting bacteria inside gut. In addition, fruit and veggies contain fibers and sugars that could boost the health of gut bacteria.
Exercise will also be key to improving gut bacteria diversity, according to research reported by MNT in June 2014.
The study, published within the journal Gut, compared the gut bacteria of 40 professional rugby players achievable of two control groups. They found out that the rugby players had better levels of Akkermansiaceae into their gut - a bacterium that may be associated with reduced likelihood of obesity.
In an editorial linked to the research, Dr. Georgina Hold, from the Institute of Medical Sciences at Aberdeen University in Scotland, noted that your better understanding of methods to improve health via gut bacteria is vital:
"As life-span continues to increase, it can be important that we know the way best to maintain good health. Never has this been more relevant compared with respect of our own resident microbiota. Understanding the complex relationship among might know about choose to eat, activity levels and gut microbiota richness is vital.
Developing new methods to manipulate the beneficial properties individuals microbiota by finding solutions to integrate health-promoting properties into modern living ought to be the goal."
In 2014, as an example, a work published inside journal Psychopharmacology learned that prebiotics - carbohydrates that boost healthy bacteria inside the gut - could be effective for reducing panic and anxiety.
For case study, 45 healthy adults were randomized to take delivery of the prebiotic or perhaps a placebo daily for 15 days. All participants were then come across both positive and negative stimuli.
The team learned that the participants who received the prebiotic were not as likely to pay attention towards the negative stimuli compared to those who received the placebo - suggesting lower anxiety in negative situations. They also had lower levels in the "stress hormone" cortisol.
"Time and time again, we hear from patients which they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing difficulties with their gut," said lead study author Dr. Kirsten Tillisch, the investigation's lead author. "Our study demonstrates the gut-brain connection can be a two-way street."
Autism
Autism is estimated to affect one out of 68 children within the US. While research has associated environmental factors - like pollution - and genetics as potential causes from the disorder, researchers are increasingly going through the role of gut bacteria in their development.
In 2013, research by researchers from Arizona State University found out that children with autism possessed lower numbers of three varieties of gut bacteria - Prevotella, Coprococcus and Veillonellaceae - in contrast to children free with the condition.
A newer study from the team learned that concentrations of specific chemicals made by gut bacteria - called metabolites - in fecal samples of kids with autism differed for the concentrations found from the fecal types of children minus the disorder.
This led they to hypothesize that gut microbes modify the metabolites regarding communication relating to the gut along with the brain, which disrupts brain function.
Further strengthening the association between gut bacteria and autism is usually a 2013 study published in Cell that found the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis reduced autism-like symptoms in mice.
Can we alter our gut bacteria?
Since the gut microbiome is relying on the food we eat and also the environment around us, it seems sensible that there are approaches to make it healthier.
According for the Mayo Clinic, a healthy diet plan can encourage the presence of excellent gut bacteria. They remember that consuming fermented foods - for example miso and sauerkraut - improves the level of fermenting bacteria inside gut. In addition, fruit and veggies contain fibers and sugars that could boost the health of gut bacteria.
Exercise will also be key to improving gut bacteria diversity, according to research reported by MNT in June 2014.
The study, published within the journal Gut, compared the gut bacteria of 40 professional rugby players achievable of two control groups. They found out that the rugby players had better levels of Akkermansiaceae into their gut - a bacterium that may be associated with reduced likelihood of obesity.
In an editorial linked to the research, Dr. Georgina Hold, from the Institute of Medical Sciences at Aberdeen University in Scotland, noted that your better understanding of methods to improve health via gut bacteria is vital:
"As life-span continues to increase, it can be important that we know the way best to maintain good health. Never has this been more relevant compared with respect of our own resident microbiota. Understanding the complex relationship among might know about choose to eat, activity levels and gut microbiota richness is vital.
Developing new methods to manipulate the beneficial properties individuals microbiota by finding solutions to integrate health-promoting properties into modern living ought to be the goal."
