It’s not just diet that helps: Alarm in the intestines: Our invisible helpers are disappearing – now we have to take countermeasures
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Thursday, March 21, 2024, 11:16 a.m
A new study shows an alarming development: valuable intestinal bacteria are being lost. That can make us sick. Intestinal expert Michaela Axt-Gadermann explains what our lifestyle has to do with it and why it’s not just diet that helps restore intestinal diversity
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A recent study concludes that valuable bacteria in our intestines are disappearing. How come?
Our modern lifestyle is damaging the gut ecosystem and the bacteria that live in it. Important microorganisms are decimated through antibiotics and hygiene measures. We also eat differently than our ancestors. Above all, fiber is missing from our food. But it is precisely these indigestible plant fibers that most of the useful microorganisms in the digestive tract need, for example in order to reproduce again after antibiotic treatment.
A recent study showed that bacteria that can break down the fiber “cellulose” are declining in industrialized countries.
Another factor for the increasing microbiome depletion in industrialized countries is infrequent exposure to fields, forests and meadows. But these are precisely the habitats in which our microbiome can “refuel” with new bacteria. Many germs that live in our digestive tract can also be found in the garden soil or in the forest air.
About the expert
Michaela Axt-Gadermann is a doctor and professor of health promotion in the “Integrative Health Promotion” course at Coburg University. She has written numerous books on nutrition, microbiome and gut health, as well as dermatological topics. She has also developed a licensed online nutrition coaching program (“Healthy with a Gut”) that is recognized by health insurance companies. You can also find more information on the “Slim with a gut” website.
How important are these helpers and why do we need them?
Very important! It is certain that an intact microbiome forms the basis for our overall health. If the microbiome lacks species diversity because certain bacteria are becoming fewer and fewer or are completely missing, and other germs that promote inflammation, for example, are spreading, then this can have consequences for our well-being.
It has now been proven that a disruption of the microbiome increases the risk of numerous diseases. This applies to “civilizational diseases” such as obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure as well as to inflammatory bowel diseases, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis and also to diseases of the immune system such as allergies or autoimmune diseases.
Even for depression and other mental illnesses, the risk increases significantly when the microbiome becomes impoverished and certain species disappear.
Why are these cellulose-degrading bacteria in the intestine disappearing now?
This can clearly be linked to our modern way of life, because we only consume cellulose with plenty of plant food and most of us eat far too little of it. Cellulose is a fiber that is indigestible for us humans and serves as food for beneficial bacteria in the intestines. If cellulose and other so-called “prebiotic fibers” are missing, the number of microorganisms and the species diversity of the microbiome decline. This has now been proven by numerous studies.
By comparing more than 90,000 microbiome analyses, the team led by Sarah Moraïs from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was able to demonstrate that fiber-degrading microorganisms such as Ruminococcus strains are regularly found in large numbers in the intestines of native hunter-gatherers However, test subjects from industrialized countries with a typical Western diet are hardly detectable or are even missing (source). You can use a microbiome analysis to determine the state of your own Ruminococcus bacteria and other important microorganisms in your intestines.
Book recommendation (advertisement)
“Healthy with your gut” by Michaela Axt-Gadermann
What significance does this discovery have for our health?
Ruminococcus bacteria are important members of the microbiome because they produce short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate and propionate from fiber, which in turn have anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulating effects. If we lose these bacteria little by little, it affects our health. For example, depression is often accompanied by a lack of Ruminococcus bacteria (source).
It is interesting that even fit and healthy older people have a large number of Ruminococcus in their microbiome, along with other bacteria such as Eubacterium limosum and Akkermansia muciniphila. Ruminocoscus bacteria appear to have beneficial effects on inflammation and mental performance and reduce the risk of diabetes.
But other bacteria that we find in the soil and air also benefit health. In animal experiments it was shown that simply by administering such “environmental bacteria” the stress resistance of mice could be increased (source).
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The bacterial impoverishment of our living environment and the decline in biodiversity in the intestines have long-term effects that we probably cannot yet fully assess. In order to protect important intestinal bacteria from extinction before we have really understood their importance, Swiss experts are collecting stool samples from all over the world.
Can we reverse the disappearance of these bacteria with our diet and lifestyle?
To a certain extent this is certainly possible. Since the bacteria in the intestines rely on fiber, there should be plenty of plant-based foods on the menu. In addition to fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes should not be missing. Ruminococcus strains also need plenty of “resistant starch”. These can be found, for example, in cooked and cooled pasta, potatoes or rice, because the starch in these carbohydrate-containing foods changes during the cooling process and is therefore usable by the intestinal bacteria. Nuts and almonds are also good sources of fiber.
In one study, college students who ate almonds every day improved their gut microbiome. Among other things, the species richness of the microbiome increased and at the same time the relative amount of potentially harmful bacteria decreased (source).
If you do not (yet) manage to consume the recommended 30 grams of fiber per day with your diet – on average we only achieve around 20 grams of it – you can initially take resistant starch, cellulose, acacia fiber, psyllium and other fibers as dietary supplements.
We should also spend more time outdoors, in nature, in parks, forests and gardens. There is numerous evidence that this makes the microbiome of the intestine, but also that of the skin, healthier. And just a small “nature corner” outdoors is enough, as Finnish scientists have been able to prove.
They transformed some urban kindergartens with barren courtyards without green space into “natural paradises” by laying out forest floors and grass areas. Other courtyards remained plant-free for control purposes. Before planting and after four weeks, stool samples from the children were collected and microbiome analyzes were carried out.
The result was astonishing: just through this small change in the living environment, the species richness of the intestinal flora increased and the important Ruminococcus bacteria increased, compared to the children who were still playing in courtyards with few plants (source).
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This text comes from an expert from the FOCUS online EXPERTS Circle. Our experts have a high level of specialist knowledge in their subject area and are not part of the editorial team. Learn more.