Not all bacteria are bad. There! We said it! In fact, the bacteria that courses through your digestive tract is essential to your well-being. We call this collection of microbes the gut microbiome, and it’s the newest contender for your undivided attention. That’s because nine out of ten Americans have an unhealthy gut, and that lapse in microbiome health often translates into poor digestive, hormonal, immune, and even mental function. So, how healthy is your microbiome? Keep reading to learn what gut health entails, the factors that affect it, and how you can reverse the damage.

Microbiome Overview

Once upon a time, on the long road of evolution, humans made one of the greatest evolutionary deals in history – and it was with germs of all creatures. We developed the gut microbiome to house millions of microorganisms in exchange for digestive help. And boy, did it pay off.

These microbes play a major role in our physical and even emotional health from the moment we’re born. Like our fingerprints, every microbiome is unique to the individual and consists of a varied collection of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Some of these “germs” are helpful to us, some can cause issues, and some don’t bother us at all. However, the makeup of your particular microbiome can become a deciding factor in your overall health journey – so it’s important to keep an eye on that little city within your stomach.

The Microbiome’s Many Jobs

Your microbiome is made up of 10-100 trillion microbial cells (phew), and they all work together to perform essential functions for your body. Here’s what they like to get up to:

The Gut-Digestive Connection

Okay, this one seems obvious. Of course the gut microbiome affects the gut’s ability to function. However, it shouldn’t be underestimated because these microorganisms help you break down foods that the human body can’t digest on its own. It also helps you absorb nutrients, supports the integrity of the gut lining, and influences gut motility (so you know when you need to go if you catch the drift). Certain microbes break down certain foods, so having a diverse ecosystem is key to accessing the nutrients of your diet.

The Gut-Brain Connection

This connection brings “trusting your gut” to a whole new level. Because the brain ultimately makes most of the decisions for the rest of the body, including your microbiome, those microbes have developed a vested interest in how the brain performs. They’ve co-evolved to communicate through signals called neurotransmitters, which can influence your mood and cognitive function. Or, in other words: happy gut, happy brain. Sad gut, sad brain.

The Gut-Hormone Connection

Going hand-in-hand with the gut-brain connection, the gut-hormone conversation can affect both your mental and physical health (because the two often are one and the same, can’t we agree?) Many hormones are produced or metabolized in the gut, including serotonin, cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone. In fact, somewhere between 90-95% of the serotonin in your body comes from your gut. Since both your stress and happy hormones come from the rule of the microbiome, your gut-hormone connection can strongly impact your mental health.

However, it can also impact your physical health. Without proper estrogen metabolism, for example, females could develop excess growth of uterine tissue. Similarly, the microbiome can impact your thyroid function, which can sway your ideal hormone levels across the board.

The Gut-Immune Connection

Remember how we mentioned the difference between “good,” “bad,” and “neutral” microbes? Your microbiome helps your body maintain homeostasis by training immune cells to differentiate between harmful pathogens and benign substances. It also mediates the inflammatory response by producing anti-inflammatory fatty acids and preventing inflammation is a great look for your overall health. Finally, the microbiome’s diversity of life can create a more well-rounded defense system against harmful actors – if you encourage the right ecosystem, that is.

Influential Factors of a Healthy Gut Microbiome

You Are What You Eat

What your mother said when you were six is true. Your diet really does factor heavily into your gut health, which impacts your overall health in turn. That’s because the food you put in your body affects the bacteria that live there. They all feed off of different nutrients, so depending on what you eat, you could be gorging some bacteria and starving others. What you feed multiplies; what you starve dies.

For example, some of us love butter (and who can blame us?). The more buttery foods we eat, the more butter-loving bacteria will grow in our stomachs, and the more we’ll crave the Paula Dean best hits. You’ll also have fewer good bacteria, which could make it harder for your body to access the nutrients you need. Not the best choice.

However, the reverse is also true: the more vegetables we eat, the more vegetable-loving microbes will grow, and the more we’ll want to water, prune, and harvest that Roma tomato plant in the backyard (and as an added plus, the more good bacteria you’ll have available to get those rich nutrients you need from your food).

Which leads us to the last point. Like a garden, your microbiome has a maximum capacity. An overflow of the invasive mint might smell nice, but it’s a ruin for your roses. When there is only so much space for these microbes to grow and thrive, it’s ever more important to encourage the good kind so you don’t end up with a bumper crop of the bad bacteria to run the show.

Your Antibiotics Play a Part

It’s true we need antibiotics to help us heal from certain illnesses and infections. But the unfortunate truth is that antibiotics can’t tell the difference between bad and good bacteria; they wipe it all out indiscriminately. Taking antibiotics can cause you to lose a lot of what makes your gut microbiome flourish, and it can be a long, hard journey toward regaining what you lost.

When taking an antibiotic or new medication, it’s important to ask your doctor how it might affect your gut health and whether there are any alternative treatments that might reach the same end. (We have a restorative solution at Züp when you need an antibiotic, so ask us!)

Your Environment Can Make a Difference

As with most health conditions, your lifestyle plays a key role in how healthy you are. Factors like stress, sleep, exercise, and even comorbidities like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Inflammatory Bowel Disease can affect that lovely microbiome. Other factors like genetics and your age can also affect how well those little bugs do their jobs.

Taking care of your microbiome means paying attention to all of these factors and finding ways to address each of them with careful consideration.

A Holistic Approach to Healing the Microbiome

So, it’s true. We Americans struggle with gut health, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment because there is no one-size-fits-all microbiome. Treating your inner ecosystem requires a personalized plan that addresses the deficiencies that are unique to you. Here are a few ways a holistic approach can help heal your gut microbiome.

Improving Diet

Shocker, but diet ranks at the top of the list. By adjusting your food intake to feed the healthy microbes rather than the couch potato bacteria, you can encourage healthy growth. This process can improve your quality of life from the top down, including boosting your mental health.

Targeted Supplements

Knowing where your microbiome is lacking can be a powerful tool to help you heal your gut. There are several diagnostic tests you can use to assess your microbiome health, including stool samples. After your provider has determined any deficiencies or surpluses, they might recommend taking specific supplements to balance your unique numbers.

Remember: it isn’t a good idea to take supplements willy-nilly. You need to take what your body is asking for. Otherwise, you could further disrupt your system by flooding it with what it doesn’t need.

Lifestyle Changes

If stress, sleep, or other related factors are the reason your microbiome is out of whack, then your doctor may recommend ways to improve these areas. By adjusting these factors, you can stimulate a positive feedback loop that further boosts your mood and makes your microbiome happy.

Revisiting Your Medication Intake

In the pursuit of finding the root cause of your microbiome distress, your doctor should take inventory of your current or previous medications. Overusing antibiotics or over-sanitizing your environment could be the reason your microbiome is dysregulated. Finding alternatives or supplements where necessary can reduce the effects of these issues.

Trust Your Gut

At the end of the day, your gut health is a major indicator of your overall health, and if you think something might be wrong, well…trust your gut. Visiting a provider that offers a holistic approach to microbiome treatment can be the right move for your physical well-being, and there’s nothing more important than your peace of mind.

If you’re ready to assess your own microbiome health, it’s time to schedule an appointment with Dr. Hunt or one of our pharmacist providers.

Posted by ZüpMed

How Healthy Is Your Gut Microbiome?