study<\/a> found that changing the composition of the GI tract can improve memory and cognition in mice. This adds to previous research suggesting that the gut microbiome may play an important role in regulating cognitive decline.\u00a0<\/p>\nResearchers have also found that some centenarians had gut microbiomes more akin to those of people decades younger\u00a0\u2014 their gut had higher concentrations of a metabolite that compels the body\u2019s immune cells to get rid of proteins that cause neurodegeneration. This suggests there may be a connection between microbiome composition and \u201chealth span\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the length of time we remain active, independent and disease-free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what to know about the gut microbiome and aging:\u00a0<\/p>\n
What does the gut microbiome do, and why is it important for overall health?<\/p>\n
Microbes in the gut interact with the body to ramp up or ramp down the immune system, which, in turn, shapes human health, Lynch said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The microbiome converts plant fibers in food into short-chain fatty acids, a critical energy source for cells that line the gut. They are anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative, meaning they stop cells from dividing and becoming too numerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can think of the distal gut or colonic microbiome as the metabolic powerhouse of the human body,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many studies have found an association between the gut microbiome and various diseases, but it\u2019s not always clear whether changes in the microbiome happen first or if the disease happens first and causes changes in the microbiome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t always know if microbiome changes precede the onset of disease, or if microbiome changes are a consequence of the disease,\u201d said Christoph Thaiss, an assistant professor of pathology at Stanford and senior author on the recent study on the microbiome and cognitive function in mice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How does the gut microbiome change as we age?<\/p>\n
Everyone is born with a simple gut microbiome that evolves over time. The composition of the gut microbiome does change with age, but the specifics\u00a0\u2014 like which specific bacteria become more or less plentiful, and the consequences of those changes\u00a0\u2014 are still being studied, and can vary greatly from person to person.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe microbiome is extremely heterogeneous to start with,\u201d Thaiss said. \u201cMany have concluded that the microbiome composition is like an individual\u2019s fingerprint. There\u2019s little overlap from person to person. If the starting composition is so different, how the GI community evolves over the decades would also look very different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers are learning a lot about gut microbiome diversity in babies and how it can predict disease later in life, which may lend clues on how to rebuild the gut microbiome in older adults, Lynch said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For instance, researchers have found that infants with a less mature or slowed diversification of gut microbiome have a higher risk of developing allergies and asthma, and that babies with accelerated diversification of gut microbiome are more likely to develop obesity. That suggests there\u2019s a \u201cGoldilocks effect in early life diversification,\u201d Lynch said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re not too far away from thinking about how to manipulate the gut microbiome in older populations to promote health span and life span,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this in infants\u00a0\u2014 that\u2019s why I\u2019m optimistic for later stages of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
What can I do to promote a healthy gut microbiome as I age?<\/p>\n
A healthy gut microbiome in the lower gut is generally considered one that has a diversity of microbes. Aging into older adulthood is associated with less microbial diversity, and the faster you lose bacterial diversity, the more likely you are to be frail, Lynch said.<\/p>\n
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Older adults who live in long-term care facilities often have less microbiome diversity than their peers who live in the community, possibly because they\u2019re exposed to a different type of diet and lifestyle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The general consensus is you should try to prioritize behaviors and foods that promote diversity in the gut, and minimize things that deplete it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Things associated with loss of diversity in the microbiome are anti-microbials (antibiotics), ultra-processed foods and lack of exercise, Lynch said. Stress and depression also affect the microbiome in ways that affect immune response.<\/p>\n
Lynch recommends focusing on \u201call the things that we\u2019ve been told for many decades are good for us\u00a0\u2014 eating whole foods, eating a high-fiber diet, avoiding processed foods, these all shape the microbiome,\u201d she said. \u201cIn particular, anti-microbials and processed foods are associated with greater loss of diversity in the gut microbiome.\u201d<\/p>\n
In early life, taking anti-microbials can disrupt the microbiome at a critical period in its development and raise the risk of developing allergies and other diseases later. Similarly, taking anti-microbials in later life, when the microbiome is disassembling, can also increase the risk of bad outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean you should completely avoid antibiotics, which can be lifesaving, Lynch said. Healthy adults\u2019 microbiomes are resilient and can withstand some perturbances. But common and frequent perturbances over time, like a poor diet over decades or repeated rounds of anti-microbials, can cause long-term loss of critical microbes and functions necessary for promoting health, she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exercise and avoiding ultra-processed foods are ways to promote a healthy gut microbiome as you age, experts say.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[241574,97,78759],"class_list":{"0":"post-539416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-graying-bay","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-us-and-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}