The Microbiome and its Many Effects

What is the Microbiome?

The microbiome encompasses the community of microbes that live in your digestive tract. The majority of these microbes live in your colon. Part of their job is to break down the non-digestible fibers that have passed through your digestive tract. A healthy well-balanced microbiome has the ability to turn these remains into vitamin K, short chain fatty acids, and some B vitamins as well.

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However these days it is not unusual for people to have the wrong mix of microbes living in their digestive tract. This is due in part to the pervasive use of antibiotics in the food industry. In fact 80% of antibiotics used in this country are given to live stock. Couple that with our own use of antibiotics, and you can expect to see a very depleted microbiome. Antibiotics kill all microbes, including the ones we need.

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We also have diets that do not support good intestinal health. Processed food does not feed your healthy microbes. Sugar feeds bacteria, which move right into the void left behind when the good microbes are killed off.

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Why Does all this matter?

The effects of an imbalanced microbiome can lead to a state of chronic inflammation affecting not only internal organs, tendons and joints, but can even lead to the development of cancer. Research has supported the impact of the microbiome in numerous physiological, biochemical, and psychological functions. It has been implicated in the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and endocrine dysfunctions.

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There is ongoing research on the relationship between the enteric nervous system, which surrounds the gastrointestinal system, and its effect on mood, the functioning of the central nervous system, and the development of autism, among many other areas.

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One of the reasons the systemic impact of the microbiome is so extensive is because the vegas nerve is attached at several places along the digestive tract. This nerve runs from the digestive tract to the brain. Communication runs back and forth between the brain and the digestive tract, 20% is from the brain to the digestive tract, 80% runs from the digestive tract to the brain. This is part of the gut-brain axis.