But we don’t yet know how to link the contents of a person’s gut to its impact on a person’s overall health, said Rachel Carmody, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University who studies diet and the microbiome. To tell. Research shows that healthy people tend to have more diverse microbiomes. However, it is not clear whether this is the cause or effect of health.
Additionally, microbiomes vary greatly from person to person, says Joel B. Mason, professor of medicine and nutrition at Tufts University and gastroenterologist at Tufts Medical Center. “The right microbiome for one person isn’t necessarily the right microbiome for another,” he says. Microorganisms are also not as variable as you might think. Research shows that for most people, consuming dietary supplements packed with bacteria and yeast known as probiotics, and eating bacteria-containing foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, help shape the microbiome. It turns out that this is not a very effective method.
Still, people are curious about whether they should try to change their microbiome in any way, says Megan Rossi, a researcher at King’s College London and founder of TheGutHealthDoctor.com. I admit it. “There are poop tests that customize your diet based on your microbiome,” she says. “In fact, this is just a little bit further along in the research.”
With such uncertainty, it’s difficult to say what a healthy gut is and how to maintain it. Still, one reasonable definition of a healthy gut is one that doesn’t cause discomfort, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea, Mason says. And we know some important things about how to maintain it.
1. Remember, you are what you eat.
Your diet helps shape the health of your microbiome and the gut tissue itself, but it doesn’t always work out the way you expect. A common misconception is that if you eat foods containing live microorganisms, such as yogurt, they will take up residence in your intestines. But “most of these bugs that come in don’t survive,” Carmody says. They are destroyed on their way through the stomach.
Those who survive face a gut clogged with existing microbes that may not have room for newcomers. And because the relationship between individual microbes and health is not yet clear, it’s difficult to say whether you want certain bacteria found in certain foods to live in your body. The unsatisfying truth, Carmody says, is that we don’t really know.
It makes more sense to think of food as the raw material for something that lives inside you. Eating only crackers and cheese encourages the growth of bacteria that thrive on those ingredients. “If you eat a lot of yogurt or kombucha, it definitely changes your microbiome,” Carmody says. But that’s because you’re selectively feeding something in your intestines that likes yogurt and kombucha.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing your gut health,” she says. “It all depends on the situation.”
2. Eat a variety of plants
Rossi says it’s been known for a long time that making plant-based foods an important part of your diet can improve your overall health. But when it comes to gut health, variety may also be important. A 2018 study found that people who ate more than 30 different plants a week had significantly more diverse microbiomes. That makes sense if each different plant feeds the growth of a different subset of gut bacteria. If you’re interested in a diverse microbiome, eating more plants is a reasonable, science-based approach.
“Plant-based foods contain many things that can maintain and promote gut health,” says Teresa Huang, registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at Simmons College. Substituting beans or peas for meat is an easy way to incorporate more plant diversity into your diet, she says.
If you are a person with intestinal problems, for example, if you are part of the 11 percent of the world’s population who are thought to have irritable bowel syndrome, then all plant foods may be right for you. Remember, you’re not alone, says Rossi. For example, beans, onions, and garlic may be beneficial for many people, but “we know that for people with IBS, these can irritate sensitive intestines,” says Rossi in his clinical work. , we help patients start with small amounts and gradually increase the amount to help them digest these foods more easily.
3. Pay attention to what comes out.
As gross as it sounds, one of the basic ways to maintain gut health is to pay attention to changes in what your gut produces. And you don’t have to bring up the topic of water coolers to understand what’s normal. There are numerous charts created by medical professionals that show the range of stool shapes and textures that are considered healthy. For example, search for Bristol Stool Chart on Google to see where you stand. If you think something is wrong, talk to your doctor.
4. Stay up to date on probiotics
It’s easy to feel like probiotic supplements are a shortcut to improving your gut health. Check the shelves at your local chain pharmacy. But there isn’t much support for it at this point, Mason said. “People have gotten the idea that probiotics are a panacea and that everyone should take probiotics,” he says. “And I think if you’re going to follow the scientific evidence, there are only a few scenarios where they’re convincingly shown to have some health benefit.”
Some studies have found that taking certain probiotics may help prevent traveler’s diarrhea, but an analysis of existing research published in 2018 found that the effects It turns out that probiotics contain a yeast called . S. Braudy. A number of studies have investigated whether taking certain probiotics can help people recover from acute infectious diarrhea. However, a 2020 review of 82 studies on the topic found that there was no significant difference in the time needed to recover from this type of diarrhea when given probiotics, a placebo, or nothing at all. It turns out there wasn’t.
There is some evidence that certain probiotics may help prevent antibiotic-induced diarrhea, a side effect experienced by up to a quarter of people. The Office of Dietary Supplements suggests: S. Braudy, Among other things, it may reduce the risk in people under 65, especially if taken within two days of the first dose.
Indeed, if probiotics were to find a niche in routine clinical practice, it would likely be related to specific strains used for specific purposes, Rossi says. “They’re not all nonsense. But the majority of them on the shelves are nonsense,” she says. “If you just want to improve your gut health in general, don’t take probiotics. Just eat plant diversity.”
It may seem like there’s no harm in taking probiotics, but for some people, especially those with weakened immune systems, it can be a fatal miscalculation. “When you take probiotics, you introduce billions of bacterial and yeast spores into your body,” Mason says. “And even though those microorganisms are considered to be ‘good’ bacteria or yeast under normal circumstances. . . There are now reports of bacteria that are normally considered beneficial causing serious infections in these people. ”
It is always wise to consult your doctor when considering taking dietary supplements.
5. Please be patient
Rossi hopes that at some point we will be able to actively use information about our microbiome. She and her colleagues are studying the role of the microbiome in menopausal symptoms. Meanwhile, Carmody is part of a team studying how exercise affects the microbiome, using mice transplanted with the gut microbiomes of ultramarathon participants. When people decide to become healthier, they usually turn to diet and exercise first, she says. “However, little is known about how exercise affects the microbiome.”
In fact, there seem to be more questions than answers when it comes to microbiome management. But that is likely to change. “This is a rapidly changing field. What I say today may not be scientifically correct in three years,” Mason says. “We are learning more and more about the importance of the microbiome… but we are currently at a stage where we do not know exactly how to translate the knowledge we are accumulating into clear recommendations for healthcare. Masu.”
But what is clear is that the next frontier for understanding our health will become increasingly connected to the world that lives inside each of us.
Veronique Greenwood is a science writer based in the UK. Please send your comments to magazine@globe.com.
