The Role of Gut Health on Longevity
A more diverse microbiome is associated with living longer.
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Did you know that each type of bacteria in the gut has its own unique function?
For example, some are responsible for immune function and fighting off illness, others aid in regulating appetite and weight, while other types of bacteria produce anti-inflammatory compounds like short-chain fatty acids.
This is referred to as strain-level diversity, and essentially means that each of the trillions of bacteria in your gut serves a specific job or function which allows the body as a whole to thrive and function optimally.
This concept of microbial diversity also appears to be one of the keys to achieving longevity and living a long, disease-free life.
A study published in the journal Nature compared the microbiomes of 247 participants in Jiaoling, Chin (a region in the world where people live the longest), ranging in age from young adults to centenarians (100+ years old). They found that “compared with young adults, the gut microbiota of centenarians exhibits higher microbial diversity.”
For example, they observed that the centenarians had higher levels of bacteria that specifically function to break down xenobiotics, or chemical substances that are foreign to the human body including medications, pesticides, pollutants, carcinogens, food additives, and pollution.
According to an article published in Agriculture & Food, being able to properly degrade and eliminate these foreign substances plays a major role on our overall health and longevity, since the accumulation of xenobiotics has toxic effects (especially on the heart, liver, and kidneys).
Having a diversity of bacteria is necessary for maintaining homeostasis in the body, regulating immune function, and preventing disease, and research shows that lacking a diversity of these important bacteria (known as dysbiosis) can have negative impacts on our health and potentially the length of our lives.
This was highlighted in a study published in Nature which explains that “dysbiosis can lead to dysregulation of bodily functions and diseases including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, respiratory diseases, etc.” They concluded that “it is now confirmed that microbiota can affect almost all aspects of the host, while its dysbiosis is related to a wide spectrum of diseases.”
Since having a diversity of good bacteria in the gut clearly plays a major role on our health and longevity, what’s needed to achieve this diversity?
The answer: