What’s going on in your gut? It’s a busy place! Your intestinal tract has one of the densest populations of bacteria in the human body, with a staggering 100 trillion bacterial cells hanging out in its dark wet environment. Where do they all come from? These bacteria establish themselves within the first 72 hours after birth, but lifestyle can modify them, including diet, drugs, and toxins.
By the time you were 3 years of age, your gut microbiome, the population of organisms living in your gut, was well established. However, the composition of the microbiome, as mentioned, can change throughout life due to factors like diet and lifestyle habits. That’s why a gut-healthy lifestyle is so important.
Be glad you have those tiny critters in your gut. Although microbes have a bad reputation–and indeed, some of them are harmful, many are beneficial to your body. In fact, they are critical to your health. A diverse and healthy gut microbiome helps with food breakdown, fights harmful pathogens, and promotes the absorption of nutrients. They even synthesize some vitamins, including B-vitamins and vitamin K.
A Snapshot of Your Gut Microbiome
You might wonder what types of bacteria make up your own gut microbiome. Since the gut microbiome plays a vital role in physical health, mental health, and weight control, more people are questioning the make-up of their own gut ecosystem and the way it affects their health. You might wonder whether the tiny microorganisms that live in your gut are friends or foes. Is there a way to find out?
Gut microbiome testing is a rapid, inexpensive, non-invasive technique for evaluating healthy digestive function and its impact on overall health. It is already used to evaluate the gut in certain conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, IBS, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). But it’s only recently become available to the average person.
What’s the purpose of analyzing your gut microbiome? It could be helpful to know what organisms live in your gut if you have digestive issues or other tough to explain or difficult to treat health problems, including mental health issues. Scientists now believe the gut microbiome affects brain health and mental conditions, such as depression. Gut microorganisms affect what’s going on in the brain through the vagus nerve.
How Gut Microbiome Testing is Performed
To get a gut microbiome analysis, you would need a home collection kit from a reliable distributor that does testing. The kit would contain instructions on how to collect and submit your stool sample. All include written instructions, while some will even include a link to a video. Once you send the sample in, the company isolates the DNA (genetic material) from the bacteria in your stool and analyzes it. Some companies will allow you to access the results online.
How Reliable is Gut Microbiome Testing?
Gut microbiome testing may be beneficial sometimes, but no one knows exactly what the composition of a healthy microbiome should be. Unlike a blood test where there’s a range for what’s normal, there’s no reference point for what constitutes a healthy gut microbiome. So, it’s not as simple as sending in a stool sample, getting a readout, and knowing exactly what you need to eat to improve your gut ecosystem.
However, there are a few things you can take away from recent research without testing your own microbiome. The greater the diversity of bacteria in your gut, the healthier your gut is and the better it is for body weight. Studies show obese people often have less gut microbiome diversity than leaner folks. Factors that can affect your microbiome include the food you eat, the medications you take, stress, alcohol intake, where you live (seasonal changes), and how often you exercise.
It would be remiss to mention the gut microbiome without bringing up antibiotics. Taking antibiotics and other medications can disrupt the microbiome. Antibiotics destroy the bacteria in a person’s system, often causing diarrhea. In the long run, they can affect your digestive and immune health. That’s why new guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend doctors prescribe antibiotics only when necessary. To prevent these antibiotic-related issues, some physicians recommend taking probiotics to repopulate the gut. You can also get probiotics by eating fermented foods, including yogurt with active cultures, kefir, and fermented vegetables.
What’s in Your Gut Microbiome?
Around 90% of the gut microbiome within a healthy digestive tract is made up of two types of bacteria: Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. However, the gut microbiome can change in certain disease states and health problems, including inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes. Also, what a healthy gut microbiome is for one person may differ from what’s healthy for another person. For example, genetics influence the gut microbiome, and a person of one ethnicity may have a microbiome different from another, but both may be healthy. Gut microbiome testing may be worthwhile once scientists know more about what constitutes the ideal microbiome for each individual.
The Bottom Line
The 100 trillion bacteria that make up your gut microbiome are important for mental and physical health. Scientists are still learning how gut bacteria relate to obesity and mental health. Some researchers think the gut microbiome could even be the key to treating autism and mental health conditions like depression.
There’s still more to learn about the tiny bacteria that make up your gut, and you can get your microbiome tested, but at this point, there’s not enough information to know what to do with that data. Until then, make sure you’re getting plenty of fiber-rich, plant-based foods to keep your gut microbiome balanced and diverse.
References:
- “Gut Microbiome | American Gastroenterological Association.” gastro.org/research-and-awards/gut-microbiome/.
- “About – Gut Microbiome Laboratory – Mayo Clinic Research.” mayo.edu/research/labs/gut-microbiome/about.
- “Are Gut Microbiome Tests Accurate Or Worth It? What To Do ….” microbeformulas.com/blogs/microbe-formulas/are-gut-microbiome-tests-accurate-or-worth-it.
- “Microbiome Testing | Are gut biome tests legit? [2021].” 11 Mar. 2021, .innerbody.com/home-health-tests/microbiome-testing.
- Fülling C, Dinan TG, Cryan JF. Gut Microbe to Brain Signaling: What Happens in Vagus…. Neuron. 2019 Mar 20;101(6):998-1002. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.008. PMID: 30897366.
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