Magazine Article: Microbiota, the ecosystem of microbial organisms that live inside us

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I came across this magazine article this morning whilst following a link from one page to another and thought that it was an interesting read. http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/04/sonnenburg-family-stomach-bacteria.html

It is about 2 scientists who are examining the microbiota (ecosystem of microbial organisms) that live in the large intestines and how we don't pay enough attention to feeding them to keep ourselves healthy.
Little things like roughage being too finely ground up so that it has all been consumed by microbes higher up in the stomach and small intestines, so that when it reaches the large intestines there is little left for the ecosystem there to eat, thus the ecosystem is in decline and with it our health.

But don't worry, it doesn't go into non dinner table matters too much.

Our colons are home to 100 trillion bacteria, representing some 1,200 different species, which have evolved in symbiosis with their hosts over the course of millennia. Their cells outnumber our own by a factor of ten, but much of the microbiota remains terra incognita, and the precise ways in which it affects our health are still dimly understood. The Sonnenburgs believe, however, that the root of many Western diseases can be traced to our languishing guts, which we’ve done about as good a job looking after as we have the rain forests and the whales. The American diet is high in processed foods digested in the stomach and small intestine, leaving little fuel for the microbes in our large intestine. The result, they say, has been a “mass extinction event,” in which species of bacteria that have lived in our bodies for most of human history have died off, making it harder for our microbiota to perform its role in tuning our immune system and regulating inflammation.

I found it worth reading the entire article and I have just started on some of the links.

 

[Morning Glory]

Yes, interesting. The Probiotics market (in pill or powder form) is booming and I was aware that many experts have the view that these formulas are useless as they can't actually re-populate a depleted gut. This article proposes a more natural way (if extreme!!) way of improving gut health. I liked these bits:

"Dogs are apparently excellent vectors for microbes, spreading bacteria on their fur and tongues to their human co-habitants; dog owners have been shown to have greater microbial diversity than the dogless"

"the growing frequency of C-sections, which rob newborns of a bacteria-rich trip through the vaginal canal, and the use of formula, which deprives them of both good bacteria from Mom and special carbohydrates in breast milk that help infant gut flora bloom"

But I didn't understand this:
"The Sonnenburgs prefer to dose themselves with probiotic foods, like fermented pickles (if they’re not refrigerated, they’re not fermented)"
What does the bit in brackets mean. I'd have thought the opposite.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

What does the bit in brackets mean. I'd have thought the opposite

The only things I can guess at, and at this stage it is a guess, is that if they are not in the fridge, the coldness of the fridge is what is keeping the product fresh and stopping an exponential growth of microbes that would happen if they were not in the fridge... which would suggest that ones that are not designed to be kept in the fridge, just on a shelf are autoclaved to kill off all bacteria... or something like that... just a guess.

 

[sidevalve]

If we stopped sterilizing everything we eat to within [and beyond] an inch of it's life maybe we wouldn't need to dose ourselves with pots of imitation bugs

 

[Lullabelle]

If we stopped sterilizing everything we eat to within [and beyond] an inch of it's life maybe we wouldn't need to dose ourselves with pots of imitation bugs

We are becoming sterilized, adverts tell you to buy stuff because it kills all bacteria, anti-bacterial this and that. A bit of muck never hurt anyone. We are destroying our own immune system so we are unable to fight things.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We are becoming sterilized, adverts tell you to buy stuff because it kills all bacteria, anti-bacterial this and that. A bit of muck never hurt anyone. We are destroying our own immune system so we are unable to fight things.

Very true and it is one of the reasons I do not purchase these things.

 

[Bakemehappy]

The fermented mustard bought from the store also has those beneficial microflora that help the body rid of the bad ones. I am not a big fan of that yellow dressing so I opt to buy a bottle of probiotics and they do work to my surprise but they should be taken with an empty stomach. Some buy cultured milk which also contain certain strains of good bacteria.

 

[Morning Glory]

The fermented mustard bought from the store also has those beneficial microflora that help the body rid of the bad ones. I am not a big fan of that yellow dressing so I opt to buy a bottle of probiotics and they do work to my surprise but they should be taken with an empty stomach. Some buy cultured milk which also contain certain strains of good bacteria.

How do you know they work? I've read evidence which says that stomach acids will actually kill off any pro-biotics before they enter the gut... there is so much hype around health foods. Spirulina has been a recent fad. Its claimed to be super high protein and to contain B12. The U.S. National Library of Medicine said that spirulina was no better than milk or meat as a protein source, and was about 30 times more expensive. And the B12 it contains is pseudovitaman B12 which is inactive in humans.

 

[Bakemehappy]

How do you know they work? I've read evidence which says that stomach acids will actually kill off any pro-biotics before they enter the gut..

I did not elaborate the reason why I said they worked because some people may find the story repulsive. Anyway I bought it from healthy options. the bottle says it contains bifidus and other combination of good bacteria. I could not remember if the label said they can resist stomach acids but they worked. I was suffering from an upset stomach with loose bowels for a week and the doctor would not prescribe me any medicine because that stuff need to come out of my system. I searched and found probiotics, After taking a few capsules I got better the next day. The bowels got bulkier with no putrid odor to my surprise and no more upset tummy. Ever since then I became a fan of probiotics

 

[Morning Glory]

I did not elaborate the reason why I said they worked because some people may find the story repulsive. Anyway I bought it from healthy options. the bottle says it contains bifidus and other combination of good bacteria. I could not remember if the label said they can resist stomach acids but they worked. I was suffering from an upset stomach with loose bowels for a week and the doctor would not prescribe me any medicine because that stuff need to come out of my system. I searched and found probiotics, After taking a few capsules I got better the next day. The bowels got bulkier with no putrid odor to my surprise and no more upset tummy. Ever since then I became a fan of probiotics

Well perhaps they did work! Its always hard to know because there can be placebo effect and the upset might well have got better by itself in any case. The placebo effect is extraordinary. I once saw a documentary about a drug trial for IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome). In the trial, some patients were given a sugar pill and some the drug (the test was 'blind'). Surprisingly for the researchers a significant proportion of patients taking the sugar pill got better! When the results were revealed to the patients, a number of them insisted that the pill had made them better and wanted to go on taking it! In one case they followed, a woman had continued to take the sugar pill, knowing it was a placebo,for several months until the particular supply that had been made for the trial ran dry. As soon as she stopped taking it her symptoms returned!

 

[Bakemehappy]

I like probiotics and the pill or capsule is not the only source. I get it from yogurt, from the sour milk from middle east, from a well known cultured milk available in the grocery. You see you need to replenish these good bacteria because they get depleted by stress or by taking an antibiotic. It does not matter if I got better because of a placebo effect what matters is I know the importance of probiotics. People are smart enough to search and ask so to each his own

 

[Berties]

There Was a lot of press a few months ago about lower gut illnesses being helped by introducing healthy faecal matter from a healthy donor by a tube
And apparently can help !

 

[Morning Glory]

There Was a lot of press a few months ago about lower gut illnesses being helped by introducing healthy faecal matter from a healthy donor by a tube
And apparently can help !

I heard that too. Really quite vile! And unproven... its a bit like all the opposite of that ghastly procedure, colonic irrigation, which was fashionable decades back.

 

[Morning Glory]

I like probiotics and the pill or capsule is not the only source. I get it from yogurt, from the sour milk from middle east, from a well known cultured milk available in the grocery. You see you need to replenish these good bacteria because they get depleted by stress or by taking an antibiotic. It does not matter if I got better because of a placebo effect what matters is I know the importance of probiotics. People are smart enough to search and ask so to each his own

Of course. Whatever works! . I wasn't trying to suggest that you had the placebo effect. I just think the placebo effect is fascinating and your post reminded me about the documentary I saw.

 

[Bakemehappy]

There Was a lot of press a few months ago about lower gut illnesses being helped by introducing healthy faecal matter from a healthy donor by a tube
And apparently can help !

Oh no fecal matter? I know you said healthy I wonder how other people will react to that. I do not mean to be disrespectful but it will take time before I might want to consider such an alternative treatment. If it is worth the risk then why not? I am willing to try anything to get better.