There’s endless fascination with the microbiome – that jungle of bacteria, viruses and fungi which live on our skin, in our airways and in our mouths and bowels. In fact, most of our DNA belongs to these microscopic organisms.
The microbiome trains our immune system, keeps our intestines working well and produces messaging molecules that can influence our brain and speed or slow the ageing process. New ways of testing the microbiome using sophisticated genetic analysis (metagenomics) can tell our biological age within five years, whether we smoke, how much alcohol we drink (alcohol is not good for the bugs in our bowel) and what we eat.
What’s known is that the more variety in our diet, the healthier our microbiome – variety means lots of vegetables, not a lot of red meat and getting your protein from fish and legumes like chickpeas and lentils – not to mention the bioactive compounds from extra virgin olive oil. The evidence suggests that such a diet also improves your mood and that’s thought to be because it encourages bowel bugs which have an anti-depressant effect.
On the other hand, it’s known that antibiotics can damage the microbiome which is another reason why antimicrobial drugs should only be used when needed.
It’s tempting when you think you’ve got a problem with your microbiome, that the answer is on the pharmacy shelves in one of the many probiotic products on offer. Sadly, there is almost no evidence of benefit from swallowing these bacteria. The reason is that probiotics have too narrow a range of bacteria and generally ignore the fact that viruses and fungi play a role too.
The evidence still points to the ‘pre’-biotic approach being the most effective. Put simply, prebiotics are the foods you eat. A varied diet which includes some fermented foods like yoghurt is what is recommended and can transform your microbiome in a few days.
What’s also missed are the social and environmental effects on the microbiome. An elderly person who’s lost their partner and is lonely may not exercise (physical activity changes the microbiome), may say to themselves why should I bother cooking for myself, I’ll just have a cheese sandwich for dinner. That person may find themselves with a very limited microbiome which has depressive effects on the brain and reduces the effectiveness of the immune system.
So, when thinking about your gut health and microbiome, don’t look for solutions in a bottle. It’s in life.
