When brainstorming a list of behaviors an individual could engage in that could change their gut microbial community, multiple ideas come to mind: the environment one lives in, in take if things such as fiber or antibiotics, diets, alcohol consumption, prebiotic use, probiotic use and exposure to stress. Three of these factors I find interesting in particular are antibiotic use, diet and alcohol consumption.
Antibiotic Use: The use of antibiotics can actually hurt one’s gut microbiome community. Extensive use of antibiotics can lead to dysbiosis which quickly develops a decrease in bacterial diversity, and change certain bacteria’s abundances. Most importantly antibiotics also increase antibiotic resistance which the gut bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. This could be detrimental to an individual’s health. It is recommended to limit use of antibiotics to lessen the likelihood of these events occurring to one’s gut microbiome community.
Diet: Looking at one’s diet it is important to keep it varied and colorful to benefit an individual’s gut microbiome community. Every food group provides important nutrients to promote good health. It is important to balance intake of foods such as fruits, vegetables, grass fed meats and almonds for just some of the many examples. There are several different sources to choose from but a well balanced diet is beneficial to diversifying microbes and creating strong microbiome communities.
Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol consumption also influences an individual’s microbiome community. With excessive use this can be detrimental to a person’s health. Specially, gut microbiota composition and function are affected. One prime example it the bile acid physiology. Alcohol use can also affect the gut-brain axis which could lead to even further issues. Prolonged alcohol use can not only affect one’s microbiome community but also lead to a numerous amount of associated diseases. Therefore, it is recommended to limit the use of alcohol.
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