Prompt: Brainstorm a list of behaviors that an individual could engage in that could cause changes to their gut microbial community. Pick 3 specific behaviors from your list. For each, discuss how that behavior could change the microbial community and the potential health impacts (beneficial, detrimental, neutral) that could result for the individual’s health.
- Consuming probiotics
- Consuming antibiotics
- Exercising regularly
- Environment
- Family health history
- Consumption of Probiotics
Consumption of probiotics changes the microbial community by restoring microbes that may have been missing. This can be beneficial, as it can affect the functionality and effectivity of the gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbial communities are difficult, as they fluctuate a great deal, thus probiotics may not work the same for everyone. Instead, they are thought to influence the gut in positive ways.
- Exercising regularly
Exercising regularly helps to decrease inflammation throughout the body, which is why it has a positive impact on the gut microbiome. Research also states that exercise can help to improve diversity within the gut, helping to improve longer term health of the gut. This is because of exposure to microbes and the body being more able to process them.
- Family health history
While there are a great deal of factors that play into gut microbiome health and diversity, family history is thought to play a large part. For example, if one’s parents had lower gut microbiome diversity, it could be inherited and thus would be detrimental to the overall gut health.
- Citations
Hemarajata P, Versalovic J. Effects of probiotics on gut microbiota: Mechanisms of intestinal immunomodulation and neuromodulation [Internet]. Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology. SAGE Publications; 2013 [cited 2022Apr17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3539293/
Monda V, Villano I, Messina A, Valenzano A, Esposito T, Moscatelli F, et al. Exercise modifies the gut microbiota with positive health effects [Internet]. Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity. Hindawi; 2017 [cited 2022Apr17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5357536/
Schloss PD, Iverson KD, Petrosino JF, Schloss SJ. The dynamics of a family’s gut microbiota reveal variations on a Theme [Internet]. Microbiome. BioMed Central; 2014 [cited 2022Apr17]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4109379/
