New research shows the importance of the “microbiome” on our health. The silent force of our internal microbiome – also known as the bacteria in our gut – has been linked to a variety of positive health end points. Researchers have found that a vibrant internal bacteria has been linked to maintaining a healthy weight, support immune system function, balance hormones, reduced allergies and beyond.
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As someone who has written several times about this incredible topic, I asked myself: are we oversimplifying this microbiome research to be the latest solution to all of our health problems?
Ed Yong seems to think so. He wrote a thought-provoking piece, “There is No ‘Healthy’ Microbiome” in today’s New York Times. Yong goes on to say that we’ll be misguided if we think microbiome science is easy to understand, track, or define as “healthy”. He uses an example that many of us can relate to, describing how the microbes in a woman’s vagina not only changes month to month during pregnancy, but can drastically change within any 24 hour period. If something that is that complex, unique to the individual and rapidly changing how can we create and define an ideal or healthy baseline? Clearly, more research needs to be done.
So in a world where we know that eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed food is a good thing, will there be a way for us to accurately measure and define a “healthy microbiome”? Maybe and maybe not.
Moving forward, will I still take my daily probiotic, eat fermented foods and more fruits and vegetables? Yes, it’s the right thing to do for my health. And I’ll certainly keep writing about what new research comes forth about microbiomes, but only after I eat my sauerkraut.
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I dont care for fermented foods :( But, I do take probiotics and try to eat a healthy diet so hopefully that is enough to keep mine healthy!
I’ll admit it, I love sauerkraut but pretend to like kim-chi just because I know it’s good for me :)
Interesting. I find this with a lot of things. If only we eat more fruits and vegetables, then we wouldn’t have X problem or if we would consume less of Y then we wouldn’t have to worry about Z. I was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago and was like, NO! I eat fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m a lifelong vegetarian. I exercise. WTH? So will I give up an start eating processed foods? No, I’ll continue eating this way because I think it is healthy. And I will add in a daily probiotic – that’s supposed to help breast cancer and is something I’ve only done periodically in the past. Even if the research is changing, we know what is best for our bodies.
I’m so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. It’s true, you can do everything “right” and still end up with health problems and as you said, our bodies know best!
I read that NY Times article. I keep trying to remember to have a spoonful of sauerkraut. What probiotic do you recommend?
I like Dr. Ohhira’s probiotic best, cheapest if you buy it from iherb.com
This reminded me of the book “Why Dirt is Good” – super good read about healthy bacteria! I think the microbiome is fascinating :)
I also find the microbiome fascinating. It’s always tempting to jump on the latest thing as a cure-all, but I do think it is opening our eyes to the consequences of overuse of antibiotics, for example. We can know that it’s important even without being able to pin it down completely.
I’m with you–the microbiome is SO interesting! Yes, we are oversimplifying it….but isn’t that always the case when we’ve just gotten to the tip of the iceberg of a revolutionary new field? It’s so exciting to watch the new research exploding on the topic and unlike many important fields where new research is a downer (toxins etc), I look forward to what we’ll know in 10 years about gut bacteria.