A STUDY WITH MICE
HOW DO THEY AFFECT OUR HEALTH?
We need them and they need us. This symbiotic relationship is what determines the health of our bodies. Thanks to the discovery of the microbiome, we have learned about how bacteria connects with the foods that we eat.
Because microbes are the ones that digests our food, they can be harmed by our diets. There are many health-related issues that depends on the condition of our gut microbiome such as:
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obesity
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diabetes
If we do not keep the 100 trillion bacteria in our guts stable, it affects the entire stability of our health as a result.
Other than digesting our food, they also play a role in assisting the immune system in attacking invaders while producing essential vitamins.
In a recent study with a set of twin mice, researchers were able to determine the differences in the gut microbiome of a lean mouse and obese mouse
As one of the twins were lean and the other obese, researchers transplanted bacteria from each to two mice into another group of mice. A month later, the results displayed that the the group that received the lean mice's bacteria were still lean and the group with the obese got fatter.
Then, the mice were all gathered into one house. Because mice eat each other's feces, it was very easy to cross-contaminate the lean mice's gut bacteria with the obeses'. After the cross-contamination, it showed that the lean gut microbiota won, and all the mice became lean. This proved that the obese mice had a less divere range of microbes than thosethat were leaner, and this contributed to their weight issues.
WHAT DO PROBIOTICS DO?
Probiotics are live organisms that can be taken in many different forms such as:
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yogurt
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dietary supplements
However, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has not approved any health benefits from these good bacteria.
Studies are taking place to allow the intake of probiotics to:
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reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis
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reduce cholesterol levels
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become a treatment for obesity
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manage irritable bowel syndrome
PREBIOTICS
Unlike probiotics, prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates that nourishes the bacteria that are already within us, acting as a food. Taking prebiotics together with probiotics is synergism, which creates a synbiotic. Some foods that contains prebiotics includes:
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Banana
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Asparagus
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Onions
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Chicory
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Leek
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Garlic
(I-14)
(I-14)