Keep the Tiny Bugs Inside You Happy by Doing This One Thing

Dear Natural Health Solutions Reader,

Chances are that by now you’ve heard the term microbiome.

I devoted the entire October 2015 issue to the topic.

The microbiome refers to the roughly two pounds of bacteria and other microbes that live on, and — mostly — in us, particularly in our digestive systems.

Categorizing these tiny bugs and figuring out precisely which ones benefit health the most is a central research project of 21st-century medicine. But in the meantime, we do know one general thing about the microbiome:

More diversity usually means better health.

For example, a major benefit associated with more microbiome diversity is smaller waist size, which in turn correlates with a lower risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.¹

Why is more diversity healthier? Well, imagine the difference between some “monoculture” crop — say, a field of potatoes — and a jungle.

The monoculture is fragile. A single invading organism can wipe it out. This is more than mere theory, as any gravedigger during the Irish potato famine of 1845–1852 could attest.

But if you dropped Phytophthora infestans, the nasty bug that caused that famine, into a jungle, it might kill a wild tuber or two, but the tremendous genetic diversity of the surrounding plants would quickly squelch it.

Whether the ecosystem covers a million acres or a few cubic inches, diversity means stability, resilience, and health.

Feeding the Jungle in Your GI Tract

So now there’s wonderful news for anyone who enjoys coffee, tea, and wine.

Consuming any or all of these drinks is associated with a more diverse collection of gut microbes.

The flip side? Sugary drinks, whole milk, lots of carbohydrates, and eating too often all reduce that diversity, according to a new report in the journal Science.

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found 60 dietary factors that either improve or hamper gut diversity.²

They examined the gut microbes in more than 1,100 people. Then they identified factors that lined up with microbe diversity. Some findings:

• Those who ate more vegetables, fruit, yogurt, tea, wine, coffee, and buttermilk had better microbial diversity in the gut

• Soda drinkers, frequent snackers, and those whose diets were high in carbohydrates had lower diversity

• Taking antibiotics was associated with significantly lower levels of bacteria from the genus Bifidobacterium. That’s too bad, as another study indicates that one reason polyphenol-rich foods (such as red wine) are good for health is that they boost Bifidobacteria levels in the gut.³

Bottom Line

It’s reassuring to see that the foods and lifestyle practices I’ve recommended for robust health also tend to lead to greater microbiome diversity.

Traditionally, we’ve believed that something is “healthy” because it supplies necessary nutrients that somehow find their way to tissues and organs.

Microbiome research may rewrite that rule.

It may turn out that when it comes to being healthy, our first responsibility is to eat and live in such a way that we have a diverse, robust microbiome… and that, in turn, will largely create and supply the nutrients we need.

It’s a bit like the difference between industrial and organic farming. Industrial farmers feed the plant, treating the soil like a sterile medium for holding the plant erect.

Organic farmers feed the soil confident that a robust soil ecosystem will support plant health in complex ways that we may never fully understand.

So cultivate your most intimate organic farm — the one in your abdomen. It will reward you with a rich harvest of health.

Sincerely,

Brad Lemley
Editor, Natural Health Solutions

Citations

1. Falony G, Joossens M, Vieira-silva S, et al. Population-level analysis of gut microbiome variation. Science. 2016

2. A. Zhernakova, A. Kurilshikov, M. J. Bonder, E. F. Tigchelaar, M. Schirmer, T. Vatanen, Z. Mujagic, A. V. Vila, G. Falony, S. Vieira-Silva, J. Wang, F. Imhann, E. Brandsma, S. A. Jankipersadsing, M. Joossens, M. C. Cenit, P. Deelen, M. A. Swertz, R. K. Weersma, E. J. M. Feskens, M. G. Netea, D. Gevers, D. Jonkers, L. Franke, Y. S. Aulchenko, C. Huttenhower, J. Raes, M. H. Hofker, R. J. Xavier, C. Wijmenga, J. Fu. Population-based metagenomics analysis reveals markers for gut microbiome composition and diversity. Science, 2016

3. Boto-ordóñez M, Urpi-sarda M, Queipo-ortuño MI, Tulipani S, Tinahones FJ, Andres-lacueva C. High levels of Bifidobacteria are associated with increased levels of anthocyanin microbial metabolites: a randomized clinical trial. Food Funct. 2014