Various species of microbes represented in our gastrointestinal tract, also known as gut flora or microbiota. Microbiome often refers to the combined genetic material of these species, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists and viruses. Internal microbial communities are responsible for appetite, behavior, consuming and digesting foodstuffs. Gut microbiome is responsible for about 70% of the total immune response and 90% of the serotonin production in the body.
Composition and functional characteristics of a healthy microbiome remain to be precisely defined, but it is believed that diverse and ecologically-stable microbiota is healthier. Probiotics, prebiotics, getting your hands dirty (gardening, outdoor activities, less packaged food vs fresh-grown vegetables), avoiding antibiotics and stress, maintaining healthy weight could help to achieve it.
Patterns of gut microbiota associated with the following diseases and conditions have been or are being documented:
In May 2016, the White House launched the National Microbiome Initiative. The hope is that it will lead to breakthroughs in health and many other fields of science, but it could be decades before its scientists can unpick the complex interplay of microbe and human biology to develop treatments
- African Hunter-Gatherers and Bangladeshi have more diverse microbiomes than Westerners (even though their diet is less diverse in terms of flavors but more diverse nutritionally and from agrobiodiversity-wise)
- Pet owners have more diverse microbiomes than non-pet owners
- Irish athletes had a far wider range of intestinal microbes than did matched controls who weren't athletes. People who exercised three or more times a week have more diverse gut bacteria than those who exercised less frequently.
- Stressed animals have less diverse microbiome
Patterns of gut microbiota associated with the following diseases and conditions have been or are being documented:
- Aging PMC3956044
- Asthma and Allergies PMC4674907
- Body odor PMC45433236, PMID27892611
- Parkinson's disease PMID: 25476529 (Scheperjans et al, 2015)
- Alzheimer’s disease (AD) PMC4058571 (Hill et al, 2014)
- Depression and Anxiety PMID:23384445 (Foster and Neufeld, 2013)
- Autism PMC4310852 (Toh and Allen-Vercoe, 2015)
- Eating Disorders, including anorexia/obesity prweb12912627
- Celiac Disease (Beres et al, 2014)
- Heart Disease (Griffin et al, 2015)
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Center for infection and immunity
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) PMID: 26629974
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) PMID:25847918
- Multiple sclerosis PMID: 28706993
- Schizophrenia https://peerj.com/articles/1140.pdf
- Bipolar disorder http://www.prechterfund.org/bipolar-research/projects/longitudinal_study/
- Breast cancer http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0083744.
- Dysbiosis and cancerogenesis (Zitvogel et al, 2015)
In May 2016, the White House launched the National Microbiome Initiative. The hope is that it will lead to breakthroughs in health and many other fields of science, but it could be decades before its scientists can unpick the complex interplay of microbe and human biology to develop treatments
