You may have stumbled upon this page due to its clever title, and now you’re asking yourself what on earth is this article going to be about? Well, to get you started let’s talk a little about what your microbiome is. A humans microbiome is the full spectrum of organisms that live on or in your body. Sounds harmful, but those little organisms are what keep you healthy and thriving! Your gut alone contains around 10 times more bacteria than you have human cells in your entire body. Having a diverse microbiome can also be very beneficial, which is why exposure in a safe way to organisms is healthy. The NIH Human Microbiome Project website is a really good place to learn more about what the microbiome exactly is and the efforts being made to understand its vast role in our lives.
As of now, we know a lot and a little about the microbiota living within us. In an effort to learn more about how it all works a research team at Tuft’s University are working on a 3D-printed pill that samples the bacteria within your gut. This pill maneuvers your tummy and intestines to help better understand what these organisms can do for aiding disease diagnosis and potentially treatment. Looking into the microbiome between healthy and unhealthy individuals can help us understand the differences that are occurring within us, and potentially allow us to makes these changes from within our microbiota. This could also be a huge medical advancement if the process to determine the cause of disease can be accelerated by the use of this pill rather than having to culture an organism. Knowing the varieties of bacteria within each specific individual can also speed up the treatment process by eliminating options based on your unique microbiome!
A man named Sarkis Mazmanian gave Ted Talk about the connection between your gut microbiome and your brain with relation to disease. Your gut is responsible for a lot of things, like digestion and absorption to keep us moving. But, it also directly speaks with your brain with nutrients that are capable of passing through the blood-brain-barrier, nutrients made specifically by the gut microbiota. These organisms are communicating with us in order to direct influence or change on the brains end. This direct communication between the two could be the backbone to understanding disease and diagnosing, treating, and preventing neurological disorders. People are beginning to believe that artificial sweeteners may increase your risk of dementia, and a very intriguing article on this topic was written within the Harvard Medical School. When you think about it as a direct connection to your brain, you may be more careful about what you decide to put in your body. Next time you have your eye on that Twinkie in the back of your cubbard, think about the effects those artificial chemicals will have on your brain.
Take care of your microbi-home ladies and gents!
Ashley Broke's Blog 