Remember the Dr. Seuss book “Horton hears a who” Where an elephant goes a bit nutty after discovering the existence of an entire world living in a spec of dust? This is how I imagine our microbiome to be, an entire universe of crazy looking Seussian characters co-habitating the spec of dust that is our gut, skin and mouths. That’s right folks, despite our best 2020 inspired OCD hygiene efforts we are literally crawling with bugs, and it’s fabulous! Like any civilization our microbiome plays host to thousands of organisms, from average joe’s to attention seeking heroes and villains unwittingly impacting everything from our immune system to our emotional health. The influence of our micro-bacteria societies are so complex and far reaching that scientists are only scratching the surface of understanding the important role they play in our health. After decades of focusing our attention on the eradication of bad bacteria we missed the incredibly crucial role good bacteria (which we were accidentally annihilating as well) play in our immune health.
YOu can now learn exactly who is living in your own spec of dust
I’m excited to have teamed up with Microbiome labs to offer an incredibly in-depth Biomfx stool test. These take home tests utilize some of the most advanced and accurate sequencing technologies to give us a complete picture not only of the bacterial characters you’ve got onboard, but of the specific metabolic functions affected by your very own colony.
And you thought you were in control (haha)
Aspects of your health actually critically influenced by your microbiome:
Allergies: Seasonal and food.
All aspects of digestive health; crohns, IBS, candida, etc..
Cardiovascular health: heart disease, high blood pressure ect..
Diabetes: the mirobiome has a direct influence the metabolism of lipids and glucose.
Depression: The gut-brain axis via the Vagus nerve shows a direct link with depression and gut dysbiosis.
Autoimmune disease : Leaky gut plays a major role in all autoimmune diseases, so whether you’ve got Hashimotos, celiacs, lupus, rheumatiod arthritis, ect..
Addiction: Gut bacteria influence neurologic pathways involved in addiction: see this Study.
Obesity: Probiotic supplementation was shown to increase weight loss in this study.
Cancer: While certain microbes are believed to be linked to cancer risk by modifying DNA, specific probiotics are being used to treat certain types of cancer.
Arthritis: Due to inflammation caused by microbial dysbiosis.
Immune system: The key to our immune system lies in the gut health, diverse microbiomes have been linked to healthy immune systems in several studies.
Neurodegenerative disease: Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s. Recent studies have shown a high percentage of Parkinson’s patients to have a history of H-pylori, crohns or IBS. The Vagus nerve which connects the digestive system to the brain is thought to carry alpha-synuclein pathology from the ENS directly to the brain where it causes neurodegenerative disease. Check out this study for more info.
It’s a well researched fact that the more abundant and diverse our microbiome, the healthier we are likely to be. The moment we’re born we pick up bacteria from our mother’s birth canal (“that’s disgusting mom!” -my daughter’s response to this fun fact) and continue to diversify our microbiome through breastfeeding as our mother’s milk produces the bacterial antidote to different pathogens that we acquire as infants (see? Your mom really does have super powers). As we toddle barefoot in the backyard introducing every object we meet to the depths of our mouths, play with pets or eat dirt, we further equip our immune system with beneficial bacteria. In fact, several studies show that children who grow up in homes with dogs are far less likely to develop respiratory or ear infections than those without. It turns out that man’s best friend is your gut’s best friend too. In my Master’s program, the biology teacher informed us that children who grow up in homes with three or more pets tend to have healthier immune systems. I took this advice to an extreme, as we’ve always had two dogs and a cat, plus an endless stream of chickens and foster kittens and puppies. Our tendency as a culture however is to shelter our babies from germs, keeping them safe from the threat of sickness in the hyper-santized sanitariums of our homes. This well intended, protective kind of parenting can often backfire however as studies show that children who grow in more sterile environments tend to develop greater environmental sensitivities or allergies.
The more we sanitize and sterilize our homes the less happy our microbiomes can become, so while your neighbor’s squeaky clean kitchen may make you feel inadequate, just know that you’re likely outshining her in the gut bacteria department. Our collective endeavor for cleanliness has gone a bit overboard with anti-bacterial everything and the overuse of antibiotics and other medications along with an overall indoor inclined culture. Our very necessary efforts to thwart the spread of COVID through isolation, sanitization and mask wearing over the last year has likely taken a bit of a toll on our gut bacteria, but desperate times call for desperate measures and there are several ways for us to keep our good bacteria on board.
7 tips for supersizing your microbes:
Get a comprehensive look at your microbiome inhabitants with specific supplementation recommendations on how to bring them into balance with a biomfx test at the clinic.
Get a pet (or three), dogs are great because they get you outside and carry a wealth of mostly beneficial bacteria in their slobbery kisses. Dogs and cats also pick up microbes on their feet and transfer them to your skin when you rub them.
Choose hand washing over hand sanitizing whenever it’s an option and avoid the antibacterial soap. Hand washing is always a great idea and won’t kill off those good bugs.
Eat local and organic. Local fruits and veggies from the farmers market are packed with pre-biotics from the soil.
Get pinned: Acupuncture has been shown in several studies to modify the microbiome by inhibiting bad bacteria while encouraging the growth of good bacteria, resulting in a more efficient metabolism and reduction in depression and anxiety via stimulation of the vagus nerve or gut-brain axis.
Supplement: choosing the right digestive enzymes and probiotics can be a hassle, I’m here to help. When your digestion is on the fritz, chances are you’re unwittingly flushing your vitamins and herbs down the drain, the right digestive aids can remedy all your digestive woes and have you assimilating and reaping the benefits of your pricey supplements.
Ramp up your microbe friendly foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, Kim chi and anything pickled while also increasing pomegranates, dark cocoa, red wine, blueberries and green tea.