Prompt: What choices do you make in terms of food/nutrition/product use and consumption that may have an impact on your microbial communities?
I think it is difficult to say how much of an impact any choices I am making have on my microbial communities. After reading the Ghouri 2014 article it seems that some probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have significant effects while others do not at all. It did not seem like the research could come to a solid conclusion.
A Harvard article discussed the role of diet on the microbiome and the importance of high fiber and prebiotics in our foods. Bananas and oats were mentioned to have high levels of prebiotics. There were foods listed that make up a large part of my current diet. I currently do not ingest a lot of fermented foods or drinks. In the past, I would have kombucha pretty often so that would have altered my microbiome. I think my diet would have a large impact on my microbiome. Antibiotics are known to deplete the microbiome. Last year, I believe I was on antibiotics twice so it would make sense to say that my microbiome was not as stable during those times. There are microbes that live and protect our bodies from the skin’s surface. An NIH article mentioned that using lotion can help keep the microorganisms on the skin fertilized. A less intentional choice I make has been the environments I have lived in. I would assume the choices my parents made and the choices I make when I am out in public can impact which microorganisms are living in my body. Stress and anxiety can also have an effect on gut composition. Being a college student can result in times have high stress with less time for physical activity. I try to balance these out by making exercise a priority. Therefore, I think these could have influences on my microbiome.
References: https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2012/11/your-microbes-you https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/#diet-microbiota https://www.thegutmicrobiome.com/factors-that-influence-gut-microbiota
