The gut microbiome is vast and while regulated can change based on human behavior. One such behavior is the amount of fiber someone has in their diet. By increasing the amount of fiber an individual consumes they can fill nutritional niches that specific healthy gut microbes need. While we often associate bacteria as being negative, our digestive system is heavily reliant on these microbes so providing them with proper nutrition can increase the health of an individual by improving digestion and nutrient uptake. Another behavior that can have an impact on the gut microbiome is an antibiotic regime. While antibiotics are a common protocol in curing certain diseases, it does have a negative impact on the gut microbiome by killing bacteria that we actually need. This is why antibiotics are often prescribed with specific diet suggestions. This has a balancing effect on an individual’s health because they may recover from their disease, but will also have to rebuild their gut microbiome. Finally, a common behavior that influences the gut microbiome is alcohol consumption. While alcohol is occasionally used to treat outside infection by killing bacteria, it can have the opposite impact in the gut by killing microbes that we need. Not only is this bad for the individual’s gut health but it can help progress things like liver disease. In essence, the gut microbiome is very important so we should be aware of how are behaviors will affect it.
Recent Comments