https://medium.com/a-microbiome-scientist-at-large/gut-microbiome-may-be-a-secret-to-reversing-aging-5550f7a0833e

This is an interesting article about a study where new microbiomes were transplanted into mice. The results offer a promising angle on the future of longevity research.  

Humans have been playing around with fecal transplants for some time now; for a while, people thought it might help people with autism (it still might), and others felt it could be the answer for things like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn’s disease. This study took a different angle and looked at whether or not a change in the microbiome could make an older mouse appear more youthful. Turn out it could!

The older mice that received a transplant of a “youthful” microbiome had significant improvements in muscle strength and skin quality. Grip strength increased in these mice by approximately 30–50%, and their muscle fibers grew significantly thicker. Their skin also grew thicker, retained more moisture, and had significant brain growth! 

Researchers found that the microbiome seems to be able to alter the expression of genes in the host, so the bacteria in the gut can influence how much our own cells are making of certain proteins. While much more research is needed in humans, it’s worth considering your microbiome when you think about health.

In fact, teams in Europe gather people’s stool samples to keep them ‘on ice’ because it appears that the more homogeneous our diet becomes, the more homogeneous our microbiomes become. I forget the project’s name, but the scientist likens it to collecting seeds or endangered plants….one day, we might need them.

What can you do to improve your microbiome?

1. Eat a diverse array of plants.  The more colors, the better.  Bonus points for organic.
2. Eat fermented foods.
3. Avoid things that damage the microbiome, like antibiotics and alcohol.

Dr. Terry Wahls once challenged me to try and eat 200 different things in a year (tea and spices count), as the average American usually only eats about 15 different types of food a year.  Think coffee, wheat, pork, and potatoes, and you have pretty much most of them!

I think I managed about 150…

In her new book “Unprocessed,” Kimberley Wilson, a clinical psychologist with a degree in nutrition, argues that your diet can play a huge role in your mental health.

Whenever I ask a client on anti-anxiety medication if their doctor has addressed their diet, the answer is always no.

By now, we know the answer to this… there is no monetary gain in asking people to stop eating processed food when there are huge profits to make in having a patient develop a lifelong dependency on a synthetic chemical.

For those of you who are paying attention, medicine is fragmenting into different camps. 

We have:

1. Nanotechnology hopes to fix all the damage we do to ourselves on a microscopic level.
2. Pharmaceutical-led interventions have co-opted most mainstream media to tell us that our problems are genetic and we can do nothing about them.

 For example, I recently read that obesity is considered a genetic disease just as the new obesity drug #Wegovy is approved by the FDA – no coincidence!

3. Lifestyle medicine, where doctors and patients are empowered to take action over their everyday activities to live healthfully.

Everybody would agree that a healthy lifestyle is the best form of medicine. Still, I can now see that when our evolutionary traits of expending the least amount of energy possible while seeking out high-calorie, high-salt foods. Combining all of this with a bit of marketing spin, most people will opt to sit on the couch, eat processed food and take a shot or a pill to prevent mental health problems or obesity.

There are great leaps forward coming down the medical pipeline. I’m very optimistic about the future, but drugs that allow us not to exercise and eat crap are not part of the healthcare future I want to be part of.

 #stayclean, think for yourself, and try to choose your health over convenience daily. Over time these daily healthy decisions will pay off.