Should we GERMinate or Terminate Our Gut Bacteria?
Do bacteria make you sick or prevent sickness? Well… both! Everyone knows that germs have potential to cause disease, but fewer people know that there are trillions of essential bacteria dwelling in and on us that play a crucial role in sickness prevention. While there are healthy bacteria all over our body, a majority of our microbiome reside in the lower intestine and fight off pathogenic bacteria. Lack of sufficient bacteria has also been linked to allergies/intolerances.
As well as being crucial for immune response, the microbiota in the lower intestine has been found to have implications on weight management and even mental health.
Experiments have actually been done to test the effects of our gut flora on weight gain. The study showed that mice injected with the bacteria from an obese person gained more weight than those injected with the bacteria from an individual at a healthy weight. This suggested that our microbiome actually plays a big part in metabolizing food, and managing weight. Underdevelopment of certain specific bacteria in the gut, as well as a lack of diversity in the gut flora can both contribute to obesity. While it hasn’t been determined exactly how the bacteria aid in weight management, the speculation is that the presence of a healthy flora helps the body retain the nutrients and calories that it needs, while also disposing of toxins. Researchers also believe that bacteria may play a role in hunger levels and insulin sensitivity (https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/tips/advice/gut-bacteria/).
A healthy gut flora can also help with various mental illnesses. We know that our physiological and mental states are bidirectionally linked, but a lesser known topic is the gut-brain axis. This refers to the direct connection between our mental processes and our intestines. The brain must be in communication with the gut in order to maintain homeostasis within the body in response to digestive processes, but it has been found that, while the connection does allow the brain to regulate physiological functions, the gut in turn has the ability to influence neural processes. “Gut microbiota have been shown to have a significant relationship with perception of stress and the ability to handle stressors,” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611854/). By manipulating levels of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, flourishing intestinal bacteria have the potential to reduce heart disease, anxiety, depression, and even the effects of autism, as these are all related to elevated cortisol levels.
So, the moral of the story is, germs are good and you should never wash your hands or clean your body again... well, not exactly! How do we promote the health of our gut flora then? There are some factors pertinent to our intestinal health that we can't control, such as genetics, methods of birth (vaginal births provide infants with a vast selection of essential microbes that act as a base/starting point for their microbiome, whereas alternative birthing methods lack the crucial transfer of bacteria from mom to baby) as well as infant feeding methods (Breast milk also transfers good bacteria from mother to child, as opposed to formula fed infants). With that said, there are also various ways in which we can nurture our own intestinal bacteria. One of the best ways is through the ingestion of probiotics. This can be done in the form of probiotic pills or a variety of foods such as yogurt, fermented veggies and grains/beans, and my personal favourite, kombuchas. Other ways to promote gut bacteria growth are by eating lots of fibre, avoiding artificial sweeteners, and also limiting antibiotic intake.
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