Science has just started unraveling the marvelous world of the gut biome. The more science learns about it, the greater the awe and realization about its role in health. The role of gut microbiome or microbiota shows that humans cannot survive alone or without the help of microscopic organisms.
The gut biome consists of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even protozoa, though a vast number of them are bacteria. There are trillions of these beneficial bacteria in the human body, and their number is greater than the number of body cells. Together, they contain 100 times more genes than the human genome. 95% of microbiota is in the gut. Researchers estimate that the total weight of the gut biome is more than one kilogram (Ferranti et al., 2014).
Why It is So Important To Maintain A Healthy Gut Biome?
After considering the figures above, it is evident that the gut biome plays an important role in health. These microorganisms live in symbiosis. This means that the human gut provides them with food and residence, and in return, they help strengthen the human body.
Figure 1 Gut Biome imbalances increase the risk of various diseases (Hou et al., 2022)
The role of the gut biome is yet not fully understood by science, as they have so many roles. They help with digestion and produce vitamins and other beneficial compounds. They produce certain bioactive compounds that have a widespread role in health.
For example, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These fatty acids play a vital role in the gut-brain axis or gut-brain communication. These fatty acids also play a vital role in the human immune system (Silva et al., 2020).
The gut biome helps train the human immune system. This protects the body from infections and lowers the risk of autoimmune disorders, inflammation, allergies, and other issues.
Since the gut biome plays such a vital role in immunity and regulating metabolism, science now realizes that gut biome changes or reductions in diversity (dysbiosis) contribute to almost all non-infectious diseases. This only highlights the importance of correcting the gut biome. It appears that maintaining a healthy gut biome can reduce the risk of most chronic health issues.
How To Maintain a Healthy Gut Biome
One must know what to do and what not to do to boost the biome.
Dysbiosis is widespread due to certain lifestyle choices. So, stopping substance abuse, limiting alcohol intake, not abusing medications, limiting intake of processed foods, and reducing intake of sugars will enable the gut microbiome to thrive. These foods or substances are known to promote bad bacteria growth and reduce beneficial microbiota growth.
For example, abusing antibiotics may kill beneficial bacteria. On the other hand, certain dietary choices may boost the growth of non-beneficial microorganisms, thus reducing the beneficial gut biome population.
Next, focus on making certain dietary changes known to promote the gut biome.
Increase intake of dietary fiber: It is well known that the Western diet is low in dietary fiber, causing inflammation, allergies, autoimmune diseases, and even some cancers. It appears that dietary “fiber gap” is a major contributing factor to the risk of chronic ailments. Dietary fiber normalizes metabolism, promotes gut motility, and, more importantly, positively impacts gut microbiota. Humans cannot digest dietary fiber, but gut microbiota can break it down and utilize it (Makki et al., 2018). Additionally, eating a diverse array of fruits and vegetables introduces various healthy gut bacteria to the body.
Consume foods rich in prebiotics and postbiotics: These foods have compounds that promote the growth of the gut biome. Thus, increase intake of garlic, chicory, oats, bananas, onion, artichoke, asparagus, and more.
Increase intake of probiotics: Next, increase intake of fermented foods, as they are naturally rich in good bacteria. They not only boost the gut biome population but may also help revive it. Thus, fermented products like coconut yogurt or kimchi are especially good for gut health, as they are known to contain beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus (Balamurugan et al., 2014). Similarly, increasing the intake of other fermented foods like, various pickles, and more are very beneficial.
Consider probiotic supplements: They are especially good for reviving the population of gut microbiota. Science has identified a few species of bacteria and fungi that are really good for gut health. Quite often, probiotic supplements contain multiple probiotic strains.
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Some other ways to boost the gut biome include stress management, sufficient sleep, regular exercise, limiting the use of antibacterial products, and eating mindfully.
What To Remember
The gut biome is not visible to the naked eye, but it is one of the keys to a long and healthy life. Trillions of microscopic organisms living in the gut form massive colonies, playing a vital role in regulating immunity and helping the body fight ailments in multiple ways. Science has just started to understand the role of the gut biome in health.
Thus, to stay healthy, focus on boosting the gut biome. This can be done in many ways, such as increasing the intake of dietary fiber and fermented foods (coconut yogurts, kimchi) and consuming foods rich in prebiotics, and probiotics. It is equally vital to reduce the intake of foods that alter the gut biome balance.
If you are chronically ill, it is important to know that your gut microbiota may be off. If you need help with rebalancing your gut the right way, and would love to feel your best, book a wellness consultation with us: https://www.earthandvitality.com/service-page/holistic-wellness-consultation?referral=service_list_widget
Balamurugan, R., Chandragunasekaran, A. S., Chellappan, G., Rajaram, K., Ramamoorthi, G., & Ramakrishna, B. S. (2014). Probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria present in homemade curd in southern India. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 140(3), 345–355.
Ferranti, E., Dunbar, S. B., Dunlop, A. L., & Corwin, E. J. (2014). 20 Things you Didn’t Know About the Human gut Microbiome. The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 29(6), 479–481. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCN.0000000000000166
Hou, K., Wu, Z.-X., Chen, X.-Y., Wang, J.-Q., Zhang, D., Xiao, C., Zhu, D., Koya, J. B., Wei, L., Li, J., & Chen, Z.-S. (2022). Microbiota in health and diseases. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 7(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-00974-4
Makki, K., Deehan, E. C., Walter, J., & Bäckhed, F. (2018). The Impact of Dietary Fiber on Gut Microbiota in Host Health and Disease. Cell Host & Microbe, 23(6), 705–715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2018.05.012
Silva, Y. P., Bernardi, A., & Frozza, R. L. (2020). The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00025
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