Welcome back to another blog post in our gut health series! This one is going to a be bit science heavy, but bear with me, the knowledge you will gain and can apply to your own health is worth the read. 

“Researchers have been able to see a connection between diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease & gut microbiota composition.“

Back in 2003, researchers & scientists from all over the world were able to successfully map the human genome. The success of this project remains one of the most important scientific accomplishments in human history. This international collaboration allows us to have better & earlier detection of disease, as well as gene therapy for certain drugs. So, how does this discovery connect with our gut microbiome, and what does it mean for the future of public wellness? Due to the complexity of the microbiome, there are still many unknowns. How your genetic makeup, microbiome & environment interact with each other to impact disease risk is also uncertain. But the good news is, we KNOW those things have potential to influence the composition of your microbiota, we are just unsure how. So – how can you take this information and apply it to your own health & wellness? 

In previous posts, we have discussed how lifestyle & nutrition can influence the composition of your gut bacteria. We know consuming a diet poor in nutrient-rich foods and low in physical activity can negatively impact the variety of your gut microbes – which can decrease immune function, metal wellbeing, & increase incidence of GI discomfort. Well….in current literature we are also seeing the risk of certain non-communicable (in a nutshell – a communicable disease is something that is contagious, like the flu, & a non-communicable disease is not contagious, like diabetes or cancer) chronic diseases is increased depending on the variety of the gut microbiome. Researchers have been able to see a connection between diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease & gut microbiota composition. While there has not been a concrete mapping of the exact composition of microbes implicated in these diseases, we are seeing a connection. Not to forget, though, that there is a genetic component (as we discussed above) that can influence the likelihood of being diagnosed with a chronic disease. While the genetic component is very much out of our control, we can still focus on consuming a nutrient rich diet & regular exercise to the best of our ability.  

-Alex Grbcich, MS, RD, LD, CPT