Foster a Healthy Microbiome
What is the microbiome? It is the collection of all microbes that naturally live on and inside our bodies. These microbes include bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
The size and power of the microbiome
To start, we want to paint a picture of the sheer size and power of the human microbiome.
The microbiome is enormous. Our bodies are home to as many microbes as human cells, around 40 trillion. The interesting difference is that our human cells have about 30,000 genes, while the microbiome contains over 46 MILLION unique genes, which is 1,500 times more genes than in human cells.105
Additionally, microbes can evolve quickly. Our behavior selects for microbes with specific genes, where they multiply over and over, adapting to a given situation.
Simply put, humans have a ridiculous amount of complex microbes impacting our health and allergies in more ways than we could ever know.
The microbiome and allergies
The composition of the microbiome, especially with regards to bacteria, impacts the development and regulation of the immune system, the integrity of immunological barriers, and immune tolerance. The more diverse, the lower the risk of developing allergies.8
Like neighborhoods, the microbiome is made up of separate communities of microbes throughout the body that each play different roles in impacting our health.
For example, the gut microbiome significantly impacts food allergy, the skin and gut microbiomes significantly impact atopic dermatitis (eczema), and the lung and gut microbiomes significantly impact asthma.
The gut microbiome is the largest community in the body and has the most significant influence on health.
© 2020 Peroni, Nuzzi, Trambusti, Di Cicco and Comberiati 8
Sufficient bacterial exposure is necessary for providing the bacteria to colonize a healthy microbiome. Proper targeted hygiene and probiotics are some methods that have been shown to positively impact the diversity and health of an individual's microbiome.9
Now that our microbiome has the bacteria it needs, our diet has a vital role in maintaining this bacteria.
Certain diets fuel bacteria that prevent allergies, while other diets fuel bacteria that promote allergies.
Diets that include a high intake of fruits and vegetables or a low intake of saturated fats and refined foods, such as the Mediterranean diet, have been shown to fuel a healthy microbiome. A Western diet, characterized by a low intake of fruits and vegetables or a high intake of saturated fats and refined foods, fuels an unhealthy microbiome.10
