The microbiome is going mainstream—and it’s about time

When I wrote my book Boost Your Health with Bacteria over a decade ago, I had no idea that we would be entering a whole new era of trying to solve some of the world’s biggest health problems by way of the gut.

Well, maybe on some level I did know—or I wouldn’t have been so passionate about the subject in the first place.

Nevertheless, even I have been amazed by some of the discoveries we’ve recently made in this field. And I’m thrilled that mainstream research is finally coming around to my way of thinking.

Conventional medicine finally catches up

Nobody’s more shocked than I am, but conventional medicine is finally beginning to embrace a more holistic approach…and microbiome research is proving to be the bridge we needed to get there.

According to a recent review, new discoveries are setting up the development of microbiome-based therapies aimed at preventing and treating heart disease—not to mention a long list of other chronic conditions, too.

Research is revealing that the gut plays a significant role in mediating heart disease risk factors. So now, we just have to put these discoveries in action. And part of that is acknowledging that prevention requires balancing the body’s entire ecosystem.

Medical scientists are actually trying to understand how the metabolites from gut bacteria affect different human organs. Get this (and I quote):  “Now we appreciate that much of our gut bacteria are likely beneficial and their compositions in our healthy gut are often difficult to alter, yet their metabolism can be modulated by dietary exposures that are unique across individuals.”

Yes, they’re actually starting to consider that the food we eat affects the bugs that live inside us—despite dismissing both as virtually useless over the years. Oh, and here’s another wild thought on their behalf: Because these bacteria directly impact the body, eliminating them with excessive antibiotics could wreak havoc.

What else can I say? We’ve come a long way, baby! It’s just a shame that they’re at least a decade behind (yet again).

You are what you eat

Those of us in the complementary medical field have been shouting about gut bacteria for years now—and we were shunned and ridiculed for it.

I don’t mind that, really—if anything, I’m used to it by now. But what I do mind is that patients have been deprived of effective, risk-free preventive care because of modern American biases.

Because here are the facts: Metabolites from gut bacteria have a huge impact on the health of your whole body—especially your heart’s health.

Short chain fatty acids modulate blood pressure—while compounds like trimethlyamine N-oxide (TMAO) negatively impact cholesterol metabolism, arterial flexibility, and clotting mechanisms. And let’s not forget the crucial byproducts of probiotics like ME-3—which, unlike any other probiotic, can actually replenish glutathione, the body’s most essential antioxidant.

The real take home here is this: What you feed your gut matters. The diet you provide to your microbiome influences the metabolites it generates. So in that sense, you very much are what you eat.

And you can completely reshape your health by reshaping the activity of your gut’s bacterial population.

I devoted lengthy discussions to the necessary steps of a complete microbiome makeover in both the March and April 2019 issues of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives (“EXCLUSIVE: Your ultimate guide to a complete microbiome makeover” and “Building the perfect microbiome: Better gut health goes beyond probiotics”).

Subscribers have access to all past issues in my archives. So if you haven’t yet, consider signing up today. These are exciting times we live in—and if you stick with me, you’ll never be behind them.

Source:

“New Approaches Targeting the Microbiome in CV Disease.” Medscape Medical News, 04/25/2019. (medscape.com/viewarticle/912240)