Your body is loaded with billions of bacteria. Combining it with other tiny organisms, they produce the microbiota or the microbiome. The combination of bacteria in your body is unique to you. It’s partly determined by your mother’s microbiome and partly by your diet and lifestyle. About 300 and 500 different forms containing almost 2 million genes live in your gut. They line up your entire digestive tract. But most of them live in your intestines and your colon. They help to digest food. Also, they affect everything from your metabolism to your mood to your immune system. Furthermore, they can be related to your risk of diabetes, obesity, depression, and colon cancer. In this article, we will discuss the importance of gut bacteria in the human body.
Key Points
- The largest populations of bacteria are in the gut. Other popular habitats are the skin and genitals.
- Microbial cells and their genetic material have been living with humans since birth. This relationship is important for normal health.
- Microorganisms that live inside the gastrointestinal tract are about 4 pounds of biomass. Each individual has a special mix of species.
- Microbiota is essential for nutrition, immunity, and brain and behavioral changes. It is implicated in a lot of diseases that disrupt the normal microbial balance.
What is the gut microbiota?
Gut bacteria used to be called gut microflora.
In 1996, Dr. Rodney Berg of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of Louisiana State University wrote about the gut microbiota. He summarized the “profound” importance of gut bacteria.
This natural flora, including microorganisms, is present in nearly all animals in the same habitat.
However, these native microbes often contain harmful bacteria. They can overcome the body’s defenses that separate them from vital systems of the body.
In total, there are beneficial bacteria in the gut. And there are harmful bacteria that can pass into larger systems and induce local GI infections. These illnesses include food poisoning and other GI diseases that induce diarrhea and vomiting.
Gut microbiota contains more than 3 million genes. This makes it 150 times more genetically modified than the human body. Each individual’s gut microbiota is different. It may make a major contribution to how a person fights sickness, digests food. It may even contribute to their mood and psychological processes.
How Does It Affect Your Body?
Humans have been living with bacteria for millions of years.
During this time, bacteria have learned to play a very important role in the human body. In fact, without the gut bacteria, it would be very difficult to survive. So the importance of gut bacteria is so crucial for the human body.
The gut microbiome starts to affect your body when you are born. You are first exposed to bacteria as you pass into the birth canal of your mother. Recent research indicates that babies may come into contact with certain microbes while in the womb.
As you grow, your gut microbiome starts to diversify. This means that it begins to produce several different forms of microbial species. Higher microbiome diversity is known to be beneficial for your health. Interestingly, the food you eat impacts the diversity of your gut bacteria.
When your microbiome grows, it affects your body in a range of ways, including:
Digesting of breast milk. Some of the bacteria that first tend to develop in the intestines of children are called Bifidobacteria. They digest healthy sugars in breast milk, which are essential for development.
Digesting fiber. Many bacteria digest the fiber. This way, they create short-chain fatty acids that are essential for the health of the gut. Fiber can help reduce weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer risk.
Helping to control the immune system. The gut microbiome also controls how the immune system works. Through communicating with immune cells, the gut microbiome will control how the body responds to the infection.
Helping to control brain health. Recent evidence shows that the gut microbiome can also affect the central nervous system.
There are various ways in which the gut microbiome can affect key body functions.
The importance of gut bacteria in the human body
1. The Gut Bacteria can affect your weight
Gut dysbiosis can lead to weight gain. But probiotics may improve the gut’s health and help reduce weight.
There are thousands of different varieties of bacteria in your intestines. Most of them are helpful to your health. However, having so many unhealthful microbes can lead to disease.
Healthy and unhealthy microbes imbalance is sometimes referred to as gut dysbiosis. This may lead to weight gain. Studies suggest that microbiome dysbiosis can play a role in weight gain.
Luckily, probiotics are good for a healthy microbiome and can help with weight loss. However, reports suggest that probiotics’ effects on weight loss are likely to be very small. An individual may lose less than 2.2 pounds (1 kg).
2. The Gut Microbiome may benefit the health of the heart
Certain bacteria within the gut microbiota can develop chemicals. These chemicals may block arteries and cause heart disease. Probiotics, however, can help to reduce cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.
Interestingly, the gut microbiome may also affect the health of the heart. New research in 1,500 people showed that the gut microbiome played an important role in supporting “good” HDL cholesterol and triglycerides.
Some microbiome bacteria convert choline and L-carnitine. These nutrients are present in red meat and other animal-based food sources. It may potentially raise risk factors for heart disease.
However, other bacteria within the gut bacteria, especially lactobacilli, can reduce cholesterol. You have to take them as a probiotic.
3. It may help to control blood sugar and reduce the risk of diabetes
The gut microbiome plays a part in controlling blood sugar. It can also affect the onset of type 1 diabetes in children. The gut microbiome can also help control blood sugar. This can affect the risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
New research examined 33 children at a genetically high risk of developing type 1 diabetes. It was found that the diversity of the microbiota had suddenly decreased before the onset of type 1 diabetes. It also showed that a variety of unhealthful bacterial species increased just before the onset of type 1 diabetes.
4. It may affect the health of the brain
The microbiome may affect the brain’s health by developing brain chemicals. It can also interact with the nerves connected to the brain. The gut microbiome can also benefit brain health in a variety of ways.
First, some bacterial species may help produce chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Serotonin, for example, is an antidepressant neurotransmitter that is mostly produced in the gut.
Second, the gut is functionally connected to the brain by millions of nerves.
A variety of studies have found that patients with multiple psychological disorders have different kinds of bacteria in their gut than healthy people. This indicates that the gut microbiome can affect the health of the brain.
However, it is not known if this is simply due to different eating and lifestyle habits. A limited number of studies have also found that certain probiotics can improve symptoms of depression and other mental health conditions.
The Bottom Line
Your gut microbiome is made up of lots of bacteria, fungi, and many other microbes.
The gut microbiome plays a key role in your health by controlling digestion. It benefits your immune system and many other aspects of your health.
The imbalance of unhealthy bacteria in the intestines may contribute to weight gain. It may also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, and other diseases.
To help develop good bacteria in your gut, consume a large number of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and fermented foods.
