The microbiome is the term for the microbes that live in and on your body. This ecosystem is an exciting frontier in health and fitness because it may have a direct effect on everything from digestion, to our immune systems, to our brains. How much do we know about these microbes and their effect on our health?
The Potentials Of The Microbiome
There are basically two topics of interest to researchers that we regular health seekers would care about. One is whether changes in the microbiome cause or contribute to disease? The other is whether a healthy microbiome makes a healthier person? When you compare the microbial ecosystems of a person with cardiovascular disease, for example, to a person without cardiovascular disease, you can find differences. If these observed differences have an effect, like making the disease worse or even causing it in the first place, then it might be possible to treat the problem simply by fixing the microbes. Similarly, if a healthy microbiome could simply make us more fit overall, maybe strengthening our microbes could help us prevent diseases from arising. Imagine addressing heart health without resorting to surgeries, heavy drugs, or very difficult fitness interventions. That would be quite a breakthrough indeed!
So is something like that possible? Are there meaningful connections between diseases and our microorganism ecosystems? Would microbiome maintenance make us fitter and healthier? A few such associations have in fact been established.1 However, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of these connections2 and there are still many complicated questions to answer. Do 100 individuals with cardiovascular disease all show the same changes in their microbiomes? Are the changes causing the disease, or are they merely a symptom of it? If we find changes in the microbiome are causing a disease, can we learn how to change the microbes in the right ratios to fix the problem? Is the microbiome alone really that powerful, or is it only one factor amongst many? These are not easy questions because of the sheer complexity of it all. The interactions between trillions of microorganisms are so numerous that it will likely be quite some time before we have any kind of reliable overview. To sum up, the potential is certainly exciting, but putting it into practice is a daunting effort and we are far from being ready.
It’s Probably Not Time For Probiotics
Probiotics are getting pretty popular, but probably prematurely. As mentioned, the number one difficulty here is the fact that our knowledge is still in it’s infancy. While we know that our microbiomes can change and have some evidence that those changes are connected to our overall health, we are nowhere close to understanding all the ins and outs of how it works. Without an intimate grasp of these connections and relationships, we simply can’t be certain what microbes we should be boosting or reducing. Adding a probiotic might change the balance or it might not. Changing the balance might have a predictable and useful effect, or it might not. Worst case, a change might actually disturb an already healthy ecosystem. In short, while probiotics are an exciting concept, putting it into practice is still mostly guesswork at this time.
Related: Probiotics: It’s All About The Details
General Healthy Habits Help Maintain A Healthy Microbiome
The good news is that habits which are healthy for you are more than likely automatically healthy for your microbiome. Whole foods that are free from chemicals deliver microbes to your gut. They also nourish the colonies that are there. That means that focusing on eating a lot of different plants and animals from organic or small operations—which we should be trying to do anyway—is a great way to cover your bases without having to actively manage what probiotics you are or are not taking.
Also, spend some quality time outside. There are microorganisms all around us, but indoor environments are more sterile than outdoor. Taking a walk through nature, and even taking a moment to lie on the ground while you are at it, exposes you to a variety of microbes. So while you are exercising and destressing, you can be boosting your bugs.
Finally, maintaining your general health will keep you out of the hospital or doctor’s office. That means fewer medications or anti-biotics that might wreak havoc on your microbiome. Don’t misinterpret—this is not to say that medications or anti-biotics are bad. They are often life-savers. But, as any good doctor will tell you, the best medicine is avoiding needing medications in the first place. That’s certainly true for the microbiome, which can be pretty negatively effected by heavy medications. So if you are worried about your microbiome, remember the power of simply staying in shape.
References
Editor’s Note – This post was revised. It originally stated that there are 100 trillion microbes living in and on your body, outnumbering human cells by far. This is a commonly cited statistic, even in scientific papers. The number, however, may very well be false. For an interesting explanation, see You’re Probably Not Mostly Microbes at The Atlantic.