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 in the individual’s health.
- antibiotics
- tobacco use
- alcohol use
- nutrition/diet
- physical activity
- stress/anxiety
- age
A commonly discussed behavior that has an influence on our gut microbial community is diet/nutrition. The research paper, we read this week talked about nutrition therapy and its effect on the gut microbiota. Certain diets like ones that are high in fats or high in sugar impact the microbiome. Diets with high protein from beef can impact the lower levels of Bifidobacterium adolescentis and higher levels of Bacteroides and Clostridia. A different study found that high protein levels could result in bacteria that can lead to IBD. Fiber can help improve the nutrients available to the gut microbiome. It can also help the bacterial richness in the gut. I found that babies who drink breast milk establish a more stable and better gut microbiome than formula fed babies.
Antibiotics can be helpful and harmful to the microbiome. Antiobiotics lessen the diversity of microorganism in the gut. This can bebeneficial if there is harmful bacteria in the gut but can also decrease the amount of neutral of helpful bacteria.
Research has found that starting and quitting tobacco can change the gut microbiome. Chemicals found in cigarretes like toxic gases and nicotine can decrease levels of certain microorganisms and increase levels of others. These changes to the microbiome can increase the risk of developing Crohn’s disease and ulcers.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385025/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.673341/full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6699480/
https://www.thegutmicrobiome.com/factors-that-influence-gut-microbiota
