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I consciously make choose certain foods try to maintain a certain diet that will improve the microbial health in my digestive tract. I was introduced to a lot of different types of foods when I was young because my parents really liked to try new and foreign foods. I took that same mindset into my late teens and early 20’s. Sadly, my financial status as a college student and limited time seem to restrict my diet. However, I still make an effort to keep my microbial community strong. I recently have been drinking a lot of Kombucha to improve my overall health. I try and stay away from fried and fast foods by making my own food. Usually, I stick to lean meats like ground turkey because I know that high concentrations of fats can have a negative impact on microbial health. I also try to incorporate a healthy amount of vegetables and fruits into my diet. Finally, I drink plenty of water.

I don’t take a lot of supplements or consume a may products that would affect my microbial health. I usually try and take multivitamins but I am not very consistent with it. After watching the lecture about probiotics and prebiotics, I concluded that it might be a good idea to take them both, especially if I am not eating a lot of fiber rich foods.

Because I usually eat well, I don’t feel very guilty when I do have some fast food. As long as I keep a diverse diet and limit some of the bad foods, I can remain confident that my microbial community will be diverse and strong.

(1)Espen Enerly a Ph.D researcher at the Cancer Registry of Norway in his research article titled “An observational study comparing HPV prevalence and type distribution between HPV-vaccinated and -unvaccinated girls after introduction of school-based HPV vaccination in Norway”(2019) says that there is a lower prevalence of vaccine-targeted HPV types in vaccinated girls from the first birth cohort eligible for school-based HPV vaccination in Norway. (2) Enerly provides evidence that vaccines eradicate HPV by testing 312 young women in Norway who both have and have not recently received the vaccine. (3) The purpose of this article is to determine the efficiency of HPV vaccines in order to prove that they are safe and should be given on a large scale. (4) Enerly establishes an audience with normal people wondering how effective vaccines are, and with scholars within the field of biology.

A change in diet is a very vague behavior change and can have huge impacts on gut heath and microbial communities. For example, if you start eating more yogurt, you can ingest new types of healthy microbes. These microbes can act individually and with the other microbes in your gut to have better bowel movements, increased metabolism and more. Changes in diet can also have negative impacts on your microbial health. For example, animal protein can lead to inflammation and disease of the gut. Fried foods can also alter the microbial community and lead to gastrointestinal problems, liver disease and more. Almost all food and all diet change can change your gut health and microbial community.

Another way you can change your microbial community is when you eat your food. It is said it’s better to avoid snacking for better microbial health. Constant food in your stomach means that inflammation can occur in your stomach. This inflammation can also lead to diseases and cancers.

Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics can also help your microbial health. Antibiotics target bacteria in your body. Sadly, there is no way to tell the difference between good and bad bacteria in your gut. Antibiotics can help you, but they can also kill good bacteria leading to digestive problems and a lot of other complications.

Another good habit is to drink a little bit of alcohol. This sounds counter intuitive, but a beer (which has a lot of microbes) or a glass of wine can increase the diversity of the microbial community in your gut. However, too much alcohol can have a very negative effect and kill off some of the microbes.

According to Sarid and Gao 2011, six human viruses have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as “carcinogenic to humans” . All in all these account for the majority of virus related cancers (12%) These include viruses that are mostly region related like EBV is to Africa and Japan. Others are frightening because of their aggressive proliferation like KSHV. Some still have controversial ties to cancer even today like MCPyV. However, none are more scary or well known as HPV.

Sarid and Gao claim that HPV is responsible for 80% of cervical cancer. According to the W.H.O, cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women and the 7th most common overall. With a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer throughout your life time, HPV is a huge deal.

There are over 100 different types of HPV today. These can be found in the epithelial cells in the genital areas, mouth and throat. Some types of HPV will go away on its own without leaving a trace that it was even there. Many high risk types however can linger and cause a variety of problems.

With so many types of HPV it would be next to impossible to create a vaccine for every one. However, there are many some types that are more prevalent, and have greater consequences, making them imperative to eliminate. The highest risk types are type 16 and 18, leading to about 70% of cervical cancer. These two types are not likely to disappear after contraction and can prove deadly. While there are some vaccines out there to treat the symptoms, I believe more money, time and effort should be put into a cure for these two.

The most imperative part about this vaccine is the timing in which you take it. Only once the HPV has been in your cells for a long time, is it capable of causing cervical cancer and other complications. Once cervical cancer is contracted, a vaccine won’t do any good. That is why it is imperative for sexually active people to take regular PAP tests. Once diagnosed, that person should get the new vaccine as soon as possible.

As previously mentioned it would be next to impossible to develop 100+ vaccines for the virus types due to financial implications. This is exactly why it would be better to cure type 16 and 18. Since type 16 and 18 affect the most amount of people, the most amount of people would be willing to pay top dollar for the vaccine. Once a large profit was achieved, that money could be spent on less aggressive and harmful types such as type 31 and 35.

Michael Arellano

Prompt: List as many human non-infectious diseases that you can think of that are influenced by microorganisms. 

Cancer is a disease that is caused by the alteration and then replication of DNA in cells. Certain Microorganisms can can alter your DNA and cause cancers.

Malaria is a disease caused by a single celled microorganism that is transferred from a mosquito to a human.

Acne is a very common and can also by caused by an imbalance of microorganisms on your skin.

After much thought, I couldn’t think of any more microorganism related disease that cannot be transmitted. Most diseases caused by microorganisms survive by spreading to new hosts, so most are very infectious. However according to lecture 1, since microorganisms have a large role in the body processes, many diseases could be linked to microorganisms such as depression, diabetes, stroke, pulmonary disease, mental health and more.

Michael Arellano

Prompt: List as many human non-infectious diseases that you can think of that are influenced by microorganisms. 

Cancer is a disease that is caused by the alteration and then replication of DNA in cells. Certain Microorganisms can can alter your DNA and cause cancers.

Malaria is a disease caused by a single celled microorganism that is transferred from a mosquito to a human.

Acne is a very common and can also by caused by an imbalance of microorganisms on your skin.

After much thought, I couldn’t think of any more microorganism related disease that cannot be transmitted. Most diseases caused by microorganisms survive by spreading to new hosts, so most are very infectious. However according to lecture 1, since microorganisms have a large role in the body processes, many diseases could be linked to microorganisms such as depression, diabetes, stroke, pulmonary disease, mental health and more.