By Kelly Sadlemyer
The human microbiome…what does this even mean? In general terms, this refers to the groups of microbial cells (microscopic life forms) that inhabit our bodies, both inside and out. These little guys are the core defenders against poor health. When microbial cells are in balanced numbers, they not only keep one another in check, they keep other bacterias from gaining a foothold in your system, keeping some of the pressure off your immune system!
However, when this balance of cells is disturbed, you guessed it, you get sick! This can range from experiencing food poisoning to sore throats to “trapped-in-bed-for-days” flus. These slight imbalances can be caused by poor sleeping habits, picking up some bad take-out, or even using prescribed antibiotics.
These influencing agents disturb the balance by either killing off healthy microbes or introducing an overwhelming number of unhealthy ones. Think of your microbiomes as your first line defense! If the odds are stacked against them, or if they feel as if they’re strong enough to start calling the shots, all you have left is your immune system to keep you healthy.
The immune system can be doubly hampered as well, since unruly microbiomes will start hijacking your body’s resources so that they can continue to thrive in your system.
One of the most common and taken-for-granted ways people throw off their microbial balance and get sick is by taking antibiotics. Now this may seem contradictory, since you take them to fend off those big bad bugs, but this is due to the fact that most antibiotics are SO powerful when it comes to attacking the bad microbes (by killing them completely) that they in turn wipe out all the healthy biomes in the same sweep. Reduced to a clean slate, your body needs to replenish its healthy biomes fast, especially after being sick.
One of the easiest ways to help maintain the health of your many microbiomes is to make sure that you eat healthily. Be mindful of this when you are preparing meals; try to incorporate fresh foods that are full of vitamins and minerals that will maintain your microbial homeostasis and, in turn, your immunity!
But even healthy eating isn’t always enough to maintain healthy microbiomes. To keep your gut flora (your internal microbiomes) at healthy levels, it can sometimes be important to “reseed” your stomach. You can do so by chowing down on fermented foods like yogurt, consuming some probiotic supplements, or even drinking a fermented drink such as kombucha. As all of these products contain healthy bacterial cultures, they can help to provide a good base for you internal microbiomes.
You’ve seen those commercials with flat-stomached, yogurt eating, belly dancers, right? Instead of antibiotics, think “PRObiotics!”
Keeping your gut flora in top shape can also help with digestion itself. Many kinds of gut flora microbes have been seen to aid in the digestion of certain compounds. While you may not be familiar with the exact names of some of these microbes, bacteroides help to break down carbohydrates, prevotella act upon proteins called mucins, ruminococcus microbes like to snack on both mucins and sugars, and that’s just to name a few!
Be mindful of your inner machine, people, and take good care of those little warriors that help you thrive!
This article first appeared in the Leveller Vol. 8 No. 3 (Nov/Dec 2015).
