Bacterial Flora in the Gut

Studies have shown that gut microbiota is involved in the regulation of many brain functions, such as:

The gut microbiota is extremely diverse – consisting of over 1,000 identified unique species of bacteria. It is indeed difficult to wrap one’s head around it – despite bacteria being microscopically small, and having an undetectable mass, the bacteria of the gut in a human can weigh over 2 pounds! This incredibly diverse mass of bacteria is also mostly unique on an individual basis – over 70% of the bacteria per gut are unique to each person [1]. Thus, the gut microbiota of each individual can effectively function as a unique source of identity.

There has been an increased curiosity on how exactly the stomach and brain communicate with each other which lead to the research of the Gut- Brain Axis. The role of intestinal micro biome is key in the HPA axis and the interaction of these two diverse organizations. In this experiment they used adult germ free Swiss Webster Mice and compared them to specific pathogen free mice. These groups of mice were to run through a maze and then had their stress levels monitored after.

The gut microbiota encompasses trillions of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract (Carding et al. 2015). The composition of the gut microbiota is constantly evolving and can be susceptible to both endogenous and exogenous modifications (Carding et al. 2015). The microbiota

The relationship between the human gut microbiome to health and disease is strong. Human physiology, metabolism, nutrition, and immune function are all affected by the composition of the gut. If the composition of the gut microbiome is altered in a way that any of these functions are negatively affected, this can lead to disease. The developments of the microbiome, its complexity, and its functionality in health and disease have been extensively studied. In addition, the way in which it is altered has many implications in the cause of diseases, such as bowel disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

There are major effects in the United States and Europe to help identify the role of microbial communities in the human body. The colon requires a balance of microbial agents that assist with various functions of the body. An imbalance can lead to C.diff., irritable bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), neurological disorders, and obesity just to list a few. Many of these problems have grown to an epidemic proportion. Both the United States and Europe have started projects aimed at the microbial communities of the body and their roles in our health.

In addition to this, a closer look at the roles that diet and antibiotics play in altering gut microbiota, as well as the evidence regarding the potential to target gut microbiota as a treatment for obesity are addressed as well. The research explored in this paper has the potential to pave the way for interventions based on manipulating the gut bacteria in an attempt to bring about weight loss and to generate a new understanding of the causes and mechanisms behind the obesity

The use of the first form of microbe-based therapeutics, probiotics, is beneficial for preventing disease. These live microorganisms are known to strengthen the equilibrium of the gut flora by the development of healthy gut

The typical human has 100 trillion microorganisms living in his or her gut. Recent studies have shown that these microbes, primarily bacteria, play a vital role in promoting and protecting overall health. They can help your body stave off infections, expedite natural toxin removal processes and facilitate the breakdown of complex carbohydrates.

The human gut microbiota has become the subject of researches in recent years and our knowledge of the resident species and their potential functional capacity is rapidly growing. Our gut harbors a complex community of over 100 trillion microbial cells. Therefore, our gut microbiota evolves with us and plays a pivotal role in human health and disease. This has clear effects on physiologic, immunologic, and metabolic processes in human health, aberrations in the gut microbiome and intestinal homeostasis have the capacity for multisystem effects. Changes in microbial composition are implicated in the increasing for a broad range of inflammatory diseases, such as allergic disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and associated

In the abstract, Gut-brain axis: how the microbiome influences anxiety and depression, the abstract says that humans are colonized by commensal intestinal microbiota in the first few days of life. It also says that findings have shown that microbiota’s are important in normal healthy brain functions. Foster, J.A. and McVey Neufeld, K.A. (2013) discussed relations between stress and microbiota, and also how alterations influence stress-related behaviors.

The first group that was dropped into the water was the group of mice that did not have lactobacillus, when dropped into water they began to swim for a couple minutes but gave up after. The group with the lactobacillus was also dropped into the water and had the same start swimming but that group half of mice never gave up they just kept on swimming. The scientists figured out that items we eat do affect how our brain acts most of the time. The link between the intestinal microbes and he brain at that these could send signals to the brain and affect how the brain itself reacts to certain situations. Based on the studies discussed on the podcast the intestines also have roles in our psychological wellbeing, like in the studies the French did with the lactobacillus as well but on human being. Persons that had ingested the lactobacillus felt less stressed while the group that did not take the lactobacillus felt stressed. The podcast also talked about how this might be implemented in the future to treat patients with mental illness. This could me in a form of a “medicinal yogurt” or even medication. I thought this part of the podcast was interesting because most people including me don’t think that the “gut” can have any impact on a human beings mental health but this section

Gut microbes help the stomach and small intestine when they are unable to digest certain foods we eat. It also known to aid the production of certain vitamins. Two thirds of the gut microbiome is unique to each person because of the food we eat, the air we breathe and other environmental factors.Some studies have even suggested the makeup of the gut microbiome is influenced by genes.Gut bacteria produce an array of neurochemicals that the brain uses for the regulation of physiological and mental processes, including memory, learning and mood. Gut bacteria produce an array of neurochemicals that the brain uses for the regulation of physiological and mental processes, including memory, learning and mood.In fact, 95% of the body's supply of serotonin

The control group received a pill containing starch. They also monitored each person’s macro- and micronutrient intake from their diet. The main outcomes that they were looking for were differences in markers of inflammation and the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) of the participants while also looking for changes in mental health, oxidative stress, and metabolic profiles. After the 12 weeks, they found that probiotic intake had a positive effect on EDSS, mental health (mainly depression), inflammation, insulin resistance, and cholesterol concentrations. It was noted that other areas were unchanged, such as biomarkers of oxidative stress and lipid

In his NPR article, “Finally, A Map of All the Microbes on Your Body”, science editor Rob Stein states several elementary facts about microbes: first, one in ten of the trillions of cells in the human body is actually “human”. Second, the body has a symbiotic relationship with these “non-human” cells. This beneficiary connection is seen in various microbial functions, such as battling infections and synthesizing compounds that are resistant to harmful infection. Stein describes a team of scientists who recently undertook the enormous project of mapping out the microbiome that is the human body, painstakingly cataloging the various microbes they encountered at different locations – as complicated as the map of an actual continent. The sheer