When the viral "kombucha girl" video was circulating around the internet a few years ago, I was inspired to try the fermented drink to see what the hype (or disgust) was all about. I'm going to be honest - I didn't like it, but I found the claimed benefits to be very interesting. The tea-based drink claimed to be able to help with everything from boosting metabolism and aiding in weight loss to reducing the risk of cancer all because of the bacteria it contained. That's right. Bacteria. While some bacteria have the ability to give us a cold or salmonella, certain strains of bacteria can actually help boost our health and improve bodily functions. Both can be found in our microbiome, but as long as we maintain the balance between the "good" and the "bad" bacteria we consume, our microbiome can function properly. Finding this balance starts in the gut, here a majority of these bacteria reside.
Essentially, the microbiome is made up of the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, found in our bodies. These microorganisms sometimes referred to as microbes or microbiota, are essential for our body's immune system, heart health, weight management, and other bodily functions. The number of bacterial cells in our body outweighs the number of human cells we have. According to Harvard Health, microbes are vital as they help the body "stimulate the immune system, break down potentially toxic food compounds, and synthesize certain vitamins and amino acids, including the B vitamins and vitamin K."
Every microbiome is unique and begins to form when we are born - actually, while we're being born, though some researchers suggest that they form in the womb.
Our mother's birth canals provide us with essential bacteria that help developing infants grow in various ways from forming their immune systems to breaking down essential nutrients and sugars found in breast milk. The microbiome grows and changes a ton in the first two years of life, and is heavily influenced by the microbes found in breast milk as well as environmental factors. This rapid growth usually evens out by the time we are three years old, as our diet becomes more stable and the immune system is fully formed, but our microbiome still changes as we age with the influence of environmental factors, diet, medications, and stress. All of these variables can impact the microbiome and our overall health.
So how does the microbiome affect our gut? Well, a majority of the microbes that make up our microbiome are located in the gastrointestinal tract, which is made up of our esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Microbes, by nature, cannot live in the acidic conditions of the stomach for very long, so more of them can be found in the small and large intestines. The gut bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract fall into five main categories, or phyla:
Each of these five main categories has its own subcategory of gut microbiota species that can is usually generalized as "good" or "bad" bacteria, i.e. Lactobacillus (good bacteria) or E. coli. (bad bacteria). These bacteria can obviously impact our gut health, but they also play a huge role in overall health and wellness. When all is well, the bacteria in our bodies and gut work in a symbiotic relationship to help our bodies out with the following processes:
But what happens when our gut microbes are thrown off balance or damaged?
Keeping our microorganisms happy and balanced is clearly important for maintaining overall health and wellness, but when this harmonious balance is thrown off-kilter, a slew of health concerns could arise. The bacteria living in our gut could start doing more harm than good when the bad bacteria start to outweigh the good bacteria. This imbalance is called dysbiosis. There are technically three types of dysbiosis - Type 1 is caused by losing good bacteria from the gut. Type 2 occurs when there is too much growth of harmful bacteria in the stomach.
Finally, Type 3 dysbiosis is when overall gut microbiome diversity (both good and bad bacteria) is lost. It's fairly common to have more than one dysbiosis type! But, what causes this imbalance? Well, you may throw off your gut health with the following :
Because the gut microbiome influences so much in the body, when the balance is off, the rest of the body feels off. A less than healthy gut microbiome can contribute to the following health concerns and their symptoms:
Clearly, the repercussions of poor or less-than-perfect gut health can be serious and lead to a number of health concerns. So, how do we support a healthy gut microbiome? Diet, lifestyle changes, and supplements can all work together to ensure the growth of beneficial bacteria and prevent further growth of harmful bacteria.
Prebiotics are found in foods high in fiber such as fruits and vegetables but can be found on their own in some cases. Prebiotics can also help with weight management and diabetes, "Certain prebiotics have also been shown to reduce insulin, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels in people with obesity."
Probiotics don't stay in our gut permanently, but while they're there, they help to support metabolism and can alter the composition of the gut microbiome. While researchers believe that probiotics are most successful at returning a damaged microbiome back to a healthy state, they're also useful for helping improve the function of existing gut bacteria and the chemicals they produce. Probiotics are usually found in fermented foods.
