Gut Microbiology

Gut microbiota is a complex community of micro-organism species that live within the digestive tract. It is the largest reservoir of micro-organisms mutual to both humans and animals. The Gut microbiome consist of as many as 1,000 types of bacteria. The microbiome also consists of as many as 10 times the amount of cells and roughly as many as 150 times as many genes as the human genome contains. The microbiome has a symbiotic relationship with its human host and it co-evolves. The gut microbiome is a finely tuned eco-system, but its development depends on a number of factors, such as:

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.

Zimmer ends the article by explaining that having a more diverse set of microbes in your gut can actually help you in the long run. Western cultures have microbes that produce carbohydrates that feed on the body if not given enough fiber. However, the people living with more diverse microbes in the gut are developing microbiomes that are rarely seen in industrialized cultures (Zimmer). The article ends with a statement regarding the idea that seasonal microbes give scientists a new outlook as to how humans lived and thrived in a world long before there were industrialized societies.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that live in the body and regulate the proper functioning of organism; in adequate amounts help maintain our well-being. This is about two kilograms of bacteria, which are responsible for protecting our body against pathogenic bacteria. One of many bacterial strains found in human body is bifidobacterium, which has a great impact on health of digestive and immune system. Bifidobacterium does interact with intestinal mucosal cells, and communicate with intestinal epithelial cells which help to maintain gut homeostasis physically and immunologically. By the communcation with intestinal epithelial cells bifidobacteria can improve its work and help in case of the inflammation.

Over two-thirds of adults, or nearly 69 percent are considered overweight or obese. Of those, more than one-third are considered to be obese, while more than 1 in 20 are classified with extreme obesity.1 The main causes of these overwhelming rates of overweight and obesity are all too familiar: an unhealthy diet, a sedentary lifestyle and to a lesser extent perhaps genes play a role as well. In recent years, however, researchers have become increasingly focused on a potential additional contributor to the obesity epidemic that lives inside us all: billions and billions of gut microbes or microbiota.2

The hindgut is not only a fermentation vat, but it also stimulates immune responses, protects against pathogens, production and neutralization of toxins, and gene expression in host epithelial tissues (Milinovich et al., 2010). The cecal microbiome is extremely sensitive and can be affected by factors like gastrointestinal disease and dietary changes, which can lead to systemic consequences and even death (Costa et al., 2012). Therefore, healthy and balanced microbiota is vital for the overall wellbeing of the animal. By understanding external factors and how they affect the gut microbiota, this could help in diagnosing medical conditions and provide better treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal diseases resulting in

Physiological books—specifically those about the gut microbiota and the importance of the digestive system—took up the most rows in my mental library due to the fact that I can use their knowledge to positively impact countless lives, starting with the ones closest to home. I grew up allergic to pollen, dust, peanuts, oatmeal, and even penicillin. My mother has an issue with Helicobacter pylori in her stomach and cholesterol levels. My father is genetically predisposed towards high blood pressure. Through these books, I gained a better understanding of the biological human; specifically, I learned about how central the digestive system is to the body, not only by providing nutrients but also, through its resident bacteria, by regulating immune function. Through learning more about this expansive mass, I can help my loved ones change their lifestyle and dietary habits to improve their

A number of studies, predominantly conducted in mice, have established a link between gut microbiota and obesity and have documented that a change in gut bacteria can have an effect on body weight. A 2004 study by Bäckhed et al. study was one of the earliest studies done on this topic and provided some of the first evidence that gut microbiota may play a role in energy balance and subsequently obesity.6 Conventionally raised mice were fed a polysaccharide rich diet and gained 40% more weight than germ-free mice fed the same diet.6 When gut bacteria from the conventionally raised mice was transplanted into the germ-free mice, the germ-free mice experienced a 60% weight gain in 2 weeks despite reduced food intake.6 Researchers attribute the weight

If the makeup of bad bacteria out numbers good bacteria, there is a risk of developing various diseases. Here we will discuss about the inextricable linkage between bad gut bacteria and weight gain.

The brain-gut connection means that what goes on in one affects the other. Some studies observed that symptoms of digestive illnesses notably acts up during worst times — like heightened stress, toxic environment, chronic fatigue, and lack of sleep. Individuals who are exposed to these situations have a corresponding disturbance in their gut bacteria. This happens because when we are under stress, our brain releases chemicals to alert our immune system to possible infection, and those chemicals cause inflammation that would fight an intruding bacteria or virus. This may throw off the balance of good bacteria in our gut which affects our ability to fight off diseases, and prolonged inflammation changes the chemical environment in our digestive system.

In fact, we've research that the human being gut, the most significant organ in the torso, may be looked at as a 'symbio-organ', where symbiosis with microbes is a crucial aspect in its working. The symbio-organ gut functions to break down food, provide unique vitamin supplements nutrition, detoxify phytochemicals, suppress pathogen virulence, modulate the stressed system, and similarly important is its function to perfect the disease fighting capability with continuous contact with potential pathogens, keeping the disease fighting capability centered on microbes as opposed to the body itself. The real human gut symbio-organ is truly a complex body organ with multiple functions that impact your body in many ways-and

The digestive tract is a vital part of our survival because we need the broken down nutrients from what we eat and drink to survive. It can also be a very sensitive area because certain things can upset our stomach and cause acid reflux, diarrhea, and may even cause us to vomit. But some of these problems can be caused by the bacteria in food we eat too but, the digestive tract involves more than just the stomach, large and small intestine, the liver, etc. it also includes the oral cavity. We all know that we can get microbial diseases in the digestive tract and there are many. The two that I chose to focus on is periodontal disease and shigellosis. Periodontal disease can be very serious because it involves our teeth and that is how we chew our food.

The thyroid, found in the throat, is a gland which produces hormones that keep your body’s engine going optimally. Too much or too little thyroid produced hormones affect every aspect of daily life. If your thyroid is out of sync with your other organs symptoms and the extenuating consequences change everything. Your gut health is important to digestion, absorption of nutrients, and require thyroid hormones to sustain a healthy body. How the thyroid controls digestion is important in understanding what to do about the problems affecting the gut.

The immune system treats good bacterias, foods, and other valuable substances as unwanted foreign invaders, so it attacks them. As it does this, white blood cells begin to build up in the lining of the gut, which causes inflammation.

In particular, novel studies suggest that the characterizing of gut microbiota contributes to human health and disease such as different species component, metabolism capability and immune modulation capacity (4). The recent acknowledgement of the gut microbiota shows as a new role associated with the gastrointestinal function in medical science. The gut microbiota is considered that can affect our function of metabolism and probably before unsuspected pathways (4). In addition, it is considered a possible factor that contributes to normal physiology and predisposition to disease such as obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome (5). The composition of gut microbiota is also discussed and is controlled in the evidence based prebiotic and probiotic