How is a Healthy Gut Microbiome Helpful?

One of my Facebook readers recently asked a great question: how is a healthy gut microbiome helpful? Having just read some really surprising things about probiotics in my anatomy & physiology class, I was able to answer with “an astounding number of things.” Here are some of the things a healthy gut flora seems to play a role in — some fairly expected, others quite unexpected:

• digestion (of course!), including notoriously harder-to-digest foods like milk and gluten (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
• weight management (ref. 1, 2, 3)
• immunity and autoimmunity (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
• cancer (ref. 1, 2, 3)
• vitamin production (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
• cholesterol regulation (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• mental health — stress, depression, etc. (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• ADD/ADHD (ref. 1, 2 – The research on this seems to be minimal, but what evidence there is suggests a relationship.)
• liver health (ref. 1, 2, 3)
• atopic dermatitis (ref. 1, 2, 3)*
• allergic asthma (ref. 1, 2)
• yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, & UTIs (ref. 1, 2, 3, 4)
• fertility (ref. 1, 2, 3 Studies regarding female fertility mostly address the vaginal microbiome and aren’t linked here.  But as the links for the previous item show, the vaginal microbiome can be impacted by the gut microbiome.)
• endocrine health (ref. 1)
• insulin sensitivity/blood sugar modulation (ref. 1, 2)
• migraines, probably (ref. 1, 2)
• bone integrity and remodeling (!) (ref. 1, 2, 3)
• Autism may have a microbiota component. It’s well-known that the gut flora impacts the brain, and that children with autism virtually universally have digestive issues, as well. But research is just beginning on what exactly this impact might be. Another interesting link is the recent study that discovered the immune system plays a role in social interaction.

*My personal theory is that dermatitis/eczema is the result of improper bacterial balance in/on the skin. But having a good balance in the gut seems to eventually spill over to the flora of other parts of the body.

The Demise of the Gut Microbiome & What to Do About It

The health of the gut microbiome is so important, and it’s under attack from all directions, right from birth.  Cesarean babies are born with an unnatural balance of bacteria.  Formula-fed babies are nourishing a completely different group of bacteria than breastfed babies.  Antibiotics do massive damage to this microbiome — and they’re not only in prescribed antibiotics, but in vaccines, in our food, and probably even in our water.  The pesticides sprayed on (and taken up by) our produce damages them.  You get the idea.  Plenty of factors are contributing to the demise of these “good bugs,” so we really need to make an effort to support and replenish them!

This is why it’s really important to eat probiotic foods, and real, whole foods (especially grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables) that still have their fiber intact. (Certain fiber feeds the good gut bacteria, so we call it “prebiotic.”)

Supplemental probiotics can help some — and this book will help you learn to identify good ones.

Even better, though, especially over the long-term, is to incorporate probiotic foods, like yogurt; kefir; kombucha; kimchi; (real) sauerkraut; lacto-fermented pickles, vegetables, ketchup, etc.

A couple other fantastic resources for getting started with fermented foods are the book Real Food Fermentation and the GNOWFGLINS Traditional Cooking School (especially Fundamentals of Traditional Cooking I, Cultured Dairy & Simple Cheeses, and Lacto-Fermentation), which has videos to walk you through the process.

I’m not a doctor; nothing in this post should be construed as medical advice (just education), and the FDA did not read or approve my blog.  (I’m sure you’re shocked.)