Author: NorthLaker

What Is The Human Micro Biome?

It turns out that the human body really has two digestive systems.  The stomach and small intestine are designed to deal with proteins, simple carbohydrates, fats and some of the dietary fiber that we eat.  However, the things that we eat that cannot be broken down by this first digestive process are passed along to the large intestine – the home of billions of bacteria.  These bacteria break down the dietary fiber and most other un-digested food components into edible components and in exchange produce a variety of byproducts that are important to our health and well being.  The composition of this bacterial community is as unique to each individual as our fingerprints and this unique community is what makes our own unique microbiome.  While the microbiome is an important part of our digestive system it also plays a complex but increasingly well understood role in maintaining our physical and mental health.

The composition of each person’s unique microbiome is based on two key inputs: what bacteria we have been exposed to and what we eat.  The more diverse and robust our microbiome, the better it seems to function.  Antibiotics that indiscriminately kill both good and bad bacteria and our hyper-clean world of hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial cleaners are both hostile to a robust and diverse microbiome.  Interestingly, the microbiome seems to thrive on both diversity and adversity in that it can accommodate hundreds of different bacteria and it seems to get stronger when it is called on to confront incompatible or harmful bacteria.  However, each type of bacteria is unique in what it can eat and a diverse microbiome requires a diverse diet that feeds both the primary digestive system and our gut bacteria as well.  In order to cultivate a diverse, active and well-noursihed microbiome we need to eat foods that include helpful bacteria and a variety of dietary fiber that can nourish the entire spectrum of the microbiome we want to cultivate.

A healthy and well nourished microbiome acts as our body’s first line of awareness and defense with respect to the enormous variety of bacteria that we encounter every day.  It attacks those bacteria that are harmful and, grudgingly, makes room for those that are helpful.  More than that, the microbiome interacts with our immune and nervous systems to pass on what it learns about hostile bacteria.  It is increasingly clear that a healthy microbiome programs our immune system and boosts its effectiveness. Beyond that, there is strong evidence that the microbiome’s impact on our well being extends beyond our physical health and influences the body’s ability to combat many mental health disorders that have physical origins.

 

The Mystery of Western Lifestyle Afflictions

We pay lip service to the importance of a healthy life-style and a balanced diet but it is clear that the general population and the medical communities in most developed countries are focused on “cures” for our ailments rather than their root causes.  While statistics show that afflictions such as obesity, asthma, autism, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, auto-immune diseases and even cancer occur in affluent western societies at a much higher rate than they do in the developing world, only a tiny fraction of our medical spending is devoted to finding and eliminating the root causes.  Of the root cause research that is being done, much of the focus is on cellular malfunctions rather that the failure to address unhealthy cells and invasive microbes before they can cause major problems.

As we gain a better understanding of the Micro Biome and how it interacts with our bodies and, in particular, with our immune systems it is clear that our failure to cultivate and nourish our Micro Biome has been a major contributor to the rise of western afflictions.  Our Micro Biome interacts with the bacteria that we ingest every day and in the process it learns which are benign and which need to be suppressed.  Research has shown that this learning is then passed along to the immune system to assure that hostile microbes are effectively confronted wherever they appear.

Unfortunately, our widespread use of antibiotics and increasing preference for Caesarian Section births have dramatically reduced both the diversity and health of our Micro Biomes.  We have further aggravated the situation by substantially reducing our consumption of the dietary fiber that provides the nourishment that our micro biome needs to flourish.  As a result, western Micro Biomes are in general much less diverse and much less healthy than those commonly found in the developing world.  The unfortunate result is that those of use that live the “western lifestyle” have become much more susceptible to diseases that all seem to trace back to an under populated, under fed Micro Biome and an under performing immune system.

Whats The Big Deal?

Scientists estimate that at any given time there are 5-6 nonillions (thats 30 zeros) of bacteria on the earth.  They live everywhere – in the soil, in the air and in and on every living thing.  Humans have interacted with bacteria since we emerged as a species and we have truly become “life partners”.  We rely on the bacteria that live on our skin, in our mouths and in our gut for many functions that are vital to our existence and we provide them with the food and environment that they need to flourish.  The bacteria that live in our gut (our microbiome) are particularly important because they perform digestive functions and provide disease fighting services and compounds that truly qualify them as another vital organ.

Unfortunately, our evolution to a “modern lifestyle” with antibiotics, industrialized foods, sanitized environments and very little dietary fiber has taken a serious toll on the health and diversity of our microbiome.  Broad spectrum antibiotics that kill both harmful and helpful bacteria have been particularly damaging to both the diversity and strength of our microbiome.  Also, because our gut bacteria survive on the dietary fiber that our primary digestive system cannot process, the reduced fiber in our diets has literally starved them.  The combined damage has impacted our gut bacteria enough that they are no longer able to perform some of their digestive and disease fighting functions. In the worst cases they cannibalize the mucous lining of the large intestine in ways that produce a variety of gastric ailments and allow bacteria and toxins to leak into our bodies.  There is growing evidence that the increased occurrence in western societies of obesity, asthma, irritable bowel, auto-immune diseases and even cancer are a result of our weakened microbiomes and leaky gut linings.

The exact links between the rise in these “western ailments” and the diminished capacity of our microbiomes are being pieced together by a world-wide research effort.  Extensive field studies and experimental laboratory evidence make a compelling enough case that I am convinced that it is important for me to act now to restore the health and diversity of my microbiome.  As a first step I have read all of the literature and scientific studies that I can in an effort to understand how the microbiome works and what I can do to make it work better.

This blog is an effort to collect what I have learned and some of the conclusions that I have drawn into an understandable package that I can share and discuss with friends.  As I learn more and gain experience from some of the changes I have made in my own lifestyle I will update the appropriate sections of the blog.

The Mystery of Western Lifestyle afflictions

We pay lip service to the importance of a healthy life-style and a balanced diet but it is clear that the general population and the medical communities in most developed countries are focused on “cures” for our ailments rather than their root causes.  While statistics show that afflictions such as obesity, asthma, autism, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, auto-immune diseases and even cancer occur in affluent western societies at a much higher rate than they do in the developing world, only a tiny fraction of our medical spending is devoted to finding and eliminating the root causes.  Of the root cause research that is being done, much of the focus is on cellular malfunctions rather that the failure to address unhealthy cells and invasive microbes before they can cause major problems.

As we gain a better understanding of the Micro Biome and how it interacts with our bodies and, in particular, with our immune systems it is clear that our failure to cultivate and nourish our Micro Biome has been a major contributor to the rise of western afflictions.  Our Micro Biome interacts with the bacteria that we ingest every day and in the process it learns which are benign and which need to be suppressed.  Research has shown that this learning is then passed along to the immune system to assure that hostile microbes are effectively confronted wherever they appear.

Unfortunately, our widespread use of antibiotics and increasing preference for Caesarian Section births have dramatically reduced both the diversity and health of our Micro Biomes.  We have further aggravated the situation by substantially reducing our consumption of the dietary fiber that provides the nourishment that our micro biome needs to flourish.  As a result, western Micro Biomes are in general much less diverse and much less healthy than those commonly found in the developing world.  The unfortunate result is that those of use that live the “western lifestyle” have become much more susceptible to diseases that share the common thread on an under populated, under fed Micro Biome and an under performing immune system.

What Does The Human Biome Eat?

The bacteria in the lower intestine have evolved over thousands of years to feed on and extract nutrients from the dietary fiber that our primary digestive processes cannot digest.  In a sense, they are scavengers but it is perhaps more accurate to say that we are eating to feed two digestive systems – the one that processes proteins, simple carbohydrates and fats and the one that processes complex carbohydrates or fiber.

If the human biome didn’t provide us with solid benefits then it might be OK if we didn’t feed it.  However, the reality is that these bacteria are vital to our health and well being.  In addition to extracting added nutrition from dietary fiber they constantly monitor the blizzard of bacteria that enter our bodies through our mouths.  Those that are friendly and can live in the anaerobic (oxygen free) environment on our large intestine are given a chance to join our diverse gut community while those that are harmful are attacked and eliminated.   The biome then passes on what it has learned about the invading bacteria to our immune system.  In ways that are not yet fully understood the biome also triggers the production of enzymes that play a vital role in everything from our mental health to our appetite and metabolism.

The evolution of Western diets toward more fats and carbohydrates and less fiber has left our microboimes undernourished and in extreme cases driven to cannibalistic behavior just to survive.  When that happens we lose the helpful byproducts from the Micro Biome’s digestion of dietary fibers and drive our gut bacteria to subsist on the mucous membrane that lines our large intestine.  That membrane is in place to act as a barrier between the good and bad bacteria in the colon and the rest of our body.  When it is cannibalized due to the lack of fiber in our diet then the inner wall of the colon is exposed to attack and some toxins seep into our blood stream.  The unhappy results can include Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis, Crohn’s Disease and a breakdown of our immune response to a variety of health threats.

Fortunately, dietary fiber is the preferred diet of gut bacteria.  If we feed them what they like with a regular diet that is rich in dietary fiber then they are our allies and not our enemies.  They produce that short chain fatty acids that contribute to the maintenance of the mucous membrane, interact with our immune system to flag potential threats and produce a wide variety of enzymes that contribute to our physical and mental health.