PROMPT:
Step 1: Free write: What are some of the most interesting or surprising things you’ve learned and/or want to learn more about, in regards to microbes and human health? Set a timer for 5 minutes and type out your response. Please don’t edit or worry about correct grammar/spelling/sentence structure… just write!
Step 2: After your 5-minute timer is up, read back through your response and underline a word or short phrase that you wrote that stands out as being particularly interesting.
Step 3: Free write: Start your next free write with the word or phrase that you underlined in step 2. Set a timer for 5 minutes and type out your response. Please don’t edit or worry about correct grammar/spelling/sentence structure… just write!
Step 4: Reflection. Based on your free write exercises above, write about your thoughts on what you might do to begin preparing for your final paper.
The most interesting thing that I have learned about so far in this course is the major role that the gut microbiome plays in our everyday lives. It is crazy to think that the bacteria in our gut influence almost all the areas of our lives. With that being said, the one thing that I want to learn more about is how inflammation within the bacteria of our gut microbiome affects the human body long term. I want to know more about the benefits of the beneficial bacteria and the detriments of the detrimental bacteria. It is important to me to understand how a shift in our gut microbiome can influence our entire lives.
It is important to me to understand how a shift in our gut microbiome can influence our entire lives. The previous phrase is particularly interesting to me because I believe that the composition of our gut microbiome plays a more important role on the longevity of our lives than the majority of people think that it does. Studies have shown that our gut flora and the inflammation associated with it has a large influence on many of the health issues in the world today. Correlations have been made between inflammation in the gut and obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and various other cultural issues. These things are important to me because I believe that the gut microbiome will play an extremely large role in future when it comes to longevity and the idea of treatment methods in humans.
