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Medical advances have come a long way in protecting us against disease and illness, but some of the best defenses are ones naturally present within the body. In this article and video, I’ll discuss the microbiome and why it’s so important.

Due to the growing interest in the microbiome and the importance of your microbial community in relation to your health, an initiative was created in 2008 to study the human microbiome and how microbes relate to health and wellness. It was called The Human Microbiome Project (1).

The Human Microbiome Project was developed by the United States Institute of Health (or NIH) in order to identify and characterize the microorganisms that lead to health and disease within each and every person. It also looked at the genes that encode the microbiome. It was a five-year project with a budget of $115 million.

The five main areas studied were:

the nose and airways
the mouth
the skin
the digestive system
the urogenital tract

Thanks to this amazing project, we now know that our microbiome is as unique to us as our fingerprints are!

What Are Microbes?

Microbes are what researchers refer to as single-celled or unicellular organisms. This means they are tiny microorganisms made up of one single cell. In fact, they’re so tiny that you can fit millions of them into the eye of a needle! Together, they make up the microbiome – a community or ecosystem of microbes.

Some important microbes, or single-celled organisms, are bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Unlike these single-celled organisms, humans are more complex and are made up of around 30 trillion cells, which make us multi-cellular organisms.

Microbes are some of the oldest living cells on Earth and are found everywhere. They are in the air you breathe and in the food you eat—they are literally all around you, on you, and within you. In fact, microbes outnumber human cells in the body by about ten to one. This means that you have 10 times more bacteria than human cells in your body, which is simply fascinating!

In addition, the mass of microbes in your body weighs about 3-4 pounds on average, which is approximately the same amount as your brain!

What Do Microbes Do?

Let’s look at some of the tremendous benefits that microbes provide to us humans:

Act as a defense system - One of the important roles of the microbiome is to act as a defense system. It prevents some of the bad bacteria from living and “taking up shop” in your body if you will, simply by occupying that space and also by keeping a slightly acidic pH that harmful bacteria don’t like. The microbiome acts like an army guarding your whole body, including your digestive tract (2).
Boosts your immune system - In addition to guarding your body, a healthy microbiome also makes you less susceptible to disease by boosting your immune system. In scientific studies, animals with a sterile gut (aka no microbiome) are especially prone to infections because of their weak immune system. This is because 70-80 percent of your immune system is located in the gut. Having the right balance of microbes keeps your immune system strong and healthy (3).
Prevents disease - Your microbiome can also help prevent diseases far beyond the gut! Studies now show that a healthy gut flora protects you from cardiovascular diseases, neurological conditions, diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. In fact, we know that up to 90 percent of all diseases can be traced back to the gut microbiome (4, 5).
Aid in digestion - But let’s bring it back to the digestive system for the purpose of this course. Did you know that the microbiome helps your digestive organs work better by releasing lactic acid, which stimulates your immune system and promotes the secretion of the digestive enzymes you need to digest your food?
Produces nutrients - Another benefit is that good gut bacteria produce nutrients, like vitamin B12, vitamin K, and biotin to keep you healthy. This is usually not quite enough to meet our requirements, but it is a nice little bonus from our microbes.
Produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) - Another bonus we get from our gut flora is short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which they produce when given specific types of fibers, prebiotics, and even collagen and animal protein (6). These SCFAs are like candy for the cells lining our gut, but a very healthy kind of candy that promotes gut healing and gut health.

Wow – microbes are the jack of all trades! To carry out these functions, they are actually intelligent in their own right. That is, they can communicate – a sure sign of intelligence. Bacteria can release an enzyme that alters signaling in the cells that line the gut. Ultimately, these cellular signals can affect brain function, but I will discuss that more later.

The Human Ecosystem

Perhaps you have studied the larger ecosystem of which you are just a small part. This ecosystem is comprised of water sources, plants, animals, humans, food sources, sunlight, and air as well as the interrelationships between all of these distinct entities. You may never have considered that you yourself house a complete ecosystem – the microbiome!

There is a complex interrelationship between various species of gut bacteria, but together they determine whether you are lush, healthy, and thriving, or down in the dumps.

The Ever-Changing Microbiome

Now let’s look at how the gut flora changes throughout the different stages of life. It was previously thought that babies were sterile until they passed through the vaginal canal. However, researchers have discovered, through sampling placenta and amniotic fluid, that babies are exposed to a small number of microbes while still in the womb (7).

We now know that method of birthing has a significant impact on the microbiome throughout the lifetime. Babies who are born via C-section tend to have weaker immune system and a greater risk for a whole host of chronic diseases, including autoimmune disease (8).

Similarly, diet shortly after birth also determines microbiome health. Breastfeeding is much more beneficial in terms of gut flora than bottle-feeding.

As infants grow into small children, their microbes start to resemble their close family members and food becomes another big factor that influences the microbiome. By the age of three, the microbiome is similar in number to that of an adult. During childhood, illness, injury, and antibiotic use present challenges for the dynamic balance of microbes.

Hormonal changes, such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, are other periods of life where we can see alterations in the microflora. For example, changes in skin microbes during puberty explain why teens get unwanted acne popping up on their face.

Also, pregnant women will experience changes in their vaginal and gut microbiomes in order to prepare for birth. In fact, the microbiome can change so much that pregnancy can put a chronic disease in remission or trigger another chronic disease process.

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Age is another factor that impacts microbes. There is a natural decline in the amount of bacterial species in the gut as you age. This is one reason why digestion and absorption are reduced after the age of 65. This also explains why aging is often associated with a compromised immune system. That being said, many elderly people suffer from very poor digestive and immune function, which is not “normal” and could be helped by an improved diet.

Now, just as the microbiome evolves throughout the lifespan, it also changes based on diet and environmental influences, including:

Diet
Exercise
Antibiotic Use
Environment
Roommates
Climate
Alcohol
Drugs
Gender
Pets
Stress
Pollution

Gut Microbiome

How do we know so much about the microbiome? Good question! A relatively new scientific discipline has emerged called metabolomics. Researchers in this field are looking inside both human and nonhuman cells to see exactly what is happening at the molecular level. Specifically, they look at metabolites, or the molecules involved in metabolic reactions – the reactions that sustain life.

Because of this line of inquiry, researchers have discovered just how many roles gut bacteria play in helping us maintain homeostasis, or optimal internal conditions. Without the right balance of gut bacteria, it is impossible to be healthy. On the flip side, a balanced microbiome can shield you from the negative health effects of stress.

So what do I mean when I say a “balanced microbiome?” Microbes can be classified as symbiotic, pathogenic, or commensal. There must be a proper balance between the three for wellbeing.

Symbiotic bacteria, aka “good bacteria,” help to heal the gut lining and can defend against disease-causing bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria, aka “bad bacteria,” can cause illness and disease when too abundant. However, they also challenge your immune system to strengthen your reaction to invaders. Lastly, commensal microbes are like a roommate you live with but don’t really want to hang out with. Some of these commensal microbes can also be good in small amounts, and dangerous in larger amounts.

Researchers still have a long ways to go to figure out exactly which bacteria are most beneficial in certain situations. But in the future, it may be possible to treat illnesses with a certain strand of bacteria rather than an antibiotic!

Beyond The Gut

You already know that the microbiome is critical to digestion. But let’s quickly cover some roles these microbes play beyond the gut:

Gut-Brain Axis: The gut-brain axis is the term used to describe the communication between the central nervous system in the brain and the enteric nervous system in the gut. Due to these close connections, what we feel (our emotions), and what we think (our cognition), have a direct link to our digestive system.
Immune System: Gut flora affect issues related to immunity, such as allergies and autoimmune conditions.
Cardiovascular System: Cardiovascular disease is one of the top causes of death, and diet can contribute to cardiovascular diseases possibly because processed foods contribute to imbalances in the gut flora that can then lead to chronic inflammation and cardiovascular diseases.
Cancer: There is a wealth of emerging research showing that a healthy gut flora can prevent or ward off cancer cells since microbes help to strengthen the immune system (9).
Neurological Microbiome: Researchers have found that many mental disorders are closely related to the gut flora (10).
Vaginal Microflora: The immune system and microbiome must have a presence on outside surfaces and openings of the body, acting as a first line of defense. This explains why the vagina has an active and (hopefully) thriving microbial community. When this community is unbalanced, yeast infections and other uncomfortable conditions can result.
Maternal Immune Activation: You may remember that I mentioned the important roles of vaginal delivery and breastfeeding in the development of an infant’s microbiome. Think of it as material immune activation, as the strength of the immune system depends on the degree of exposure to microbes at this stage.
The Nose, Mouth, and Lungs: These body parts each have their own microbiome, which attempts to maintain homeostasis in the local environment.
Skin: The skin is covered in microbes – you just can’t see them! Interestingly, when this microbiome becomes unhealthy and unbalanced, you can tell – there will be dry, patchy, or flaky skin.

Closing Thoughts

The microbiome plays many roles in our health as a whole, but we still need to learn much more. If you are looking for ways to improve your gut health then sign up for our Ultimate Autoimmune Reset™ today. Be sure to leave a comment below and share this article out with someone you feel needs it most.