Intestinal microbiome 101
Microbes, microbes, microbes – we have published a number of articles discussing microbes in some capacity from looking at pandemic-causing viruses to diving into how microbes impact mental health. All of these posts were written with the goal of sharing why microbes are so important in our everyday lives. Today, however, we wanted to take a step back and write a post that talks about the basics of microbiomes, more specifically the basics of the intestinal microbiome. In this article, we cover what the intestinal microbiome is and why you should care about yours.
What is the intestinal microbiome?
The intestinal tract is home to a huge diversity of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, viruses, and more), forming a densely packed ecosystem called the intestinal microbiome. This community plays an important role in our overall state of health. Interestingly enough, not only do the types and concentrations of intestinal microbes vary between different types of animals –e.g., the human intestinal microbiome is very different from that of a tiger– but there are also variations between individual people.
Factors like diet, exercise, and genetics have all been shown to impact the types of microbes found in someone’s intestinal tract.
Why is the intestinal microbiome important?
The intestinal microbiome has a variety of functions from obtaining nutrients from the food that we eat to helping regulate mental health [1]. Generally speaking, it plays a key role in helping us maintain our overall health.
A disrupted intestinal community allows for unsavory microbes to flourish, which can cause a number of problems such as bloating, gas, a weakened immune system, and skin problems such as acne. Things like antibiotics, poor diet, stress, or chronic illnesses (inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)) can all upset the balance of the intestinal microbiome.
Are there ways to balance your intestinal microbiome?
For most healthy individuals, it’s likely your intestinal microbiome doesn’t need ‘balancing’. Since the intestinal microbiome is so unique and distinct between people, it can be tricky to say what a truly balanced intestinal microbiome looks like. However, for people with a chronically disrupted intestinal microbiome, one promising therapy that doctors are using is called a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), where someone with a ‘healthy’ microbiome donates a fecal sample that is then transplanted in the individual with the unbalanced community. The idea is to encourage the donated microbial community to colonize the intestine it is placed into and establish a balanced microbiome in the person with the intestinal illness. More specifically, FMT has been implemented to treat people with a Clostridium difficile infection (also called C. diff) and more recently, IBD [2].
If you aren’t struggling with a chronic illness, but you’re still enamored with the idea of microbial-self improvement, you're not alone. Personal regulation of the intestinal microbiome is a hot topic of discussion both within the scientific community as well as within health and wellness circles. There are even companies that take fecal samples from people and profile them –think 23andMe® but for poop– promising insights into the health and well-being of your intestinal tract.
It's worth keeping in mind that there are a few important caveats to the insights you may gain from these tests. While researchers have characterized what a generally unbalanced intestinal microbiome looks like, as mentioned above, the definition of a truly ‘healthy’ community isn’t necessarily well defined. Additionally, the overall understanding of the role that specific microbes play in specific processes as well as how microbes interact with each other on a micro-ecosystem level is still developing. New discoveries are constantly changing our understanding of what a ‘good’ microbiome looks like.
In conclusion
For now, researchers seem to agree that in humans:
Higher levels of diversity in the intestinal microbiome are a generally good thing.
Certain lifestyles and diets can decrease the levels of diversity in the intestinal microbiome.
Fruit and vegetables rich diets can increase diversity in the microbiome.
Exercise and active lifestyles have been shown to positively impact the intestinal microbiome.
All that being said, it may be more productive to think in terms of implementing practices that can support the intestinal microbiome you already have, rather than seeking to balance or change it.
This article was written by Courtney Thomas and edited by Alexey Vorobev.
References:
Butler MI, et al. The Gut Microbiome and Mental Health: What Should We Tell Our Patients?: Le microbiote Intestinal et la Santé Mentale : que Devrions-Nous dire à nos Patients? Can J Psychiatry. 2019 Nov;64(11):747-760.
Wang, et al. Fecal microbiota transplantation: Review and update. 2019 Mar;118(1):S23-S31
Cowan, C. Is high diversity always a good thing? Accessed. 19 March 2024. https://worldmicrobiomeday.com/blog/is-high-diversity-always-a-good-thing/
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