There are many ways which we can alter our actions to influence microbial communities. One of which is the use of prebiotics and probiotics. Probiotics are typically compounds that act to repair. These would be important for those who had taken antibiotics, to get rid of unwanted microbes such as H. pylori. Prebiotics are compounds that allow the microbial community to flourish, which can greatly impact the health of our GI tract. Another important factor that we could change to improve microbial communities would be to change our diet, in class we learned that a Mediterranean diet allowed for an increase of the microbial communities, the big red flag for microbial growth is red meats. Mediterranean diets allowed for probiotics to grow, but not only did it aid in microbial communities, a diet like this, or similar would promote overall health as it consisted primarily of vegetables and fish. We also found in class that damage to the liver can greatly impact the gut microbial community. HCC causes dysbiosis in patients, to some extent we are able to prevent HCC by not consuming heavy amounts of alcohol so long term liver damage is not caused. The change in microbiota would be negative and only cause more damage for us. Our actions play a key role in the health of microbial communities, many of which come from choosing for healthier alternatives, such as the greens and fish over red meat, and the moderation of alcohol to prevent liver damage.