The Olympics is a time to marvel at human health and performance.
A large-scale cross-border study (1) has identified a panel of 15 gut microbes associated with lower risks, and 15 with higher risks, for common illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease,
After undertaking microbiome testing, an individual would receive dietary advice to facilitate a rebalancing.
Our microbiome has been found to be highly personalized with only a minor contribution being attributable to genetics.
The research also supports the notion that it is better to avoid processed foods with added sugar and salt, since they are more likely to be associated with the ‘bad’ gut microbes.(2)
The excitement around the results is captured in the following quote from one of the research team:
“We were surprised to see such large, clear groups of what we informally call ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes emerging from our analysis,” affirmed Nicola Segata, PhD, professor and principal investigator of the Computational Metagenomics Lab at the University of Trento, Italy, and leader of the microbiome analysis in the study. “It is also exciting to see that microbiologists know so little about many of these microbes that they are not even named yet. This is now a big area of focus for us, as we believe they may open new insights in the future into how we could use the gut microbiome as a modifiable target to improve human metabolism and health.” (3)
References
- Microbiome connections with host metabolism and habitual diet from 1,098 deeply phenotyped individuals, by Asnicar, F., et al., 2021, in Nature Medicine
- Research: Study finds powerful links between gut microbiome, diet, and long-term health, by Megan Whitby, June 2021 in Spa Opportunities: https://www.spaopportunities.com/index.cfm?pagetype=news&codeID=347949
- Study uncovers strong links between a person’s diet, gut microbes and health, reviewed by Emily Henderson, January 2021, at: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210111/Study-uncovers-strong-links-between-a-persons-diet-gut-microbes-and-health.aspx