Microbiome and the Good Life |
Imagine a lively town with roughly 100 trillion inhabitants, all going about their daily affairs—eating, working, sleeping, communing with friends, squabbling with foes. This could describe any (albeit slightly overpopulated) corner of our planet. But in fact, it’s a snapshot of your gut.
Meet your microbiome: a jolly congregation of 500-1000 species of bacteria, microbes, archaea, eukaryotes, fungi, and viruses that call your body home. It is an entire micro-universe of tiny powerhouses, complete with their own genes and immune and metabolic profiles, playing a significant role in your health and well-being.
Much about how they accomplish this feat remains a mystery. From what scientists have uncovered so far, the microbiome helps with everything from extracting energy from food and setting up a gut-brain connection to producing key neurotransmitters, enzymes, and vitamins.
Professor of Microbiology Sarkis Mazmanian researches the microbiome at Caltech. “Versatile” is how he chooses to describe the microbiome in a single word. Studying it has changed him in several ways, he says. Notably his diet. He avoids processed foods and consumes between 30 and 40 different plant-based foods each week.
Along with diet, Mazmanian identifies three additional factors that influence the microbiome—and, by extension, brain function: sleep, exercise, and stress management. “The brain does not function in isolation,” he says. “What we expose ourselves to affects our brain.”
Here’s Dr. Mazmanian on the mysteries of the microbiome and how it impacts our well-being.
What supports a healthy and thriving microbiome?
SM: One finding is strikingly consistent across hundreds of conditions and........