I just finished listening to the Healthy Gut Summit and I became inspired to share some more research regarding the impact of our microbiome on our health and the various factors that influence it. Our microbiome affects us in so many ways including assisting in calming our brain, quieting inflammation, modulating our immune response, assisting in assimilation, impacting our weight, and aiding our digestive woes. This is why it is one of the hottest topics in health right now. In fact it’s got almost everyone swallowing a fist full of bugs weekly (probiotics)!
Below are some highlights of recent studies on this buggy topic.
Latest Updates In Buggy News
Gut Microbiome Changes & Breastfeeding
A study was done to examine how infants’ belly bugs were modulated by dietary and other exposures, and how these differences impacted metabolic and immune function in these children. The authors examined differences found in the gut microbiome of little ones who were exclusively breastfed prior to solid foods, non-exclusively breastfed prior to solid food introduction, and exclusively and non-exclusively breastfed after solid foods. They also tested if out-of-home daycare was associated with differences in microbiome differences. The authors reported the gut microbiome of exclusive breastfed infants (EBM) had increased proportions of Bifidobacterium and lower abundance of Bacteroidetes and Clostridiales than non-exclusively breastfed infants (non-EBF). However, despite the lower diversity, the ability of these belly bugs in the EBM cohort to modulate metabolic and other factors was more diverse:
The identified differences between EBF and non-EBF infants suggest that breast milk may provide the gut microbiome with a greater plasticity (despite having a lower phylogenetic diversity) that eases the transition into solid foods. (1)
Microbiota & RA Risk
The link between certain infections and risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) raised some eyebrows amongst medical professionals: (2-3)
Infections have long been suspected of triggering rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but some types of infection were associated with a reduced risk for RA in a population-based case-control study reported by Maria E.C. Sandberg, MD, and colleagues from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Recent gastroenteritis and/or urogenital infections were associated with a reduced risk for new-onset RA, but preceding prostatitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, and pneumonia did not affect risk.
Possible explanations for these different findings:
“We see several possible biological mechanisms underlying our results: a decreased prevalence of infections may indicate a strong capacity for immune activation in general at mucosal surfaces, which could, in some not yet understood way, be linked to protection against RA,” the authors write.
“A second, and partly related, potential explanation would be that infections in the gut and urinary tract may change the composition of the microbiome and that such a change would influence the susceptibility to RA. Hypotheses on connections between inflammation and microbial composition in the gut and risk for RA have been raised and discussed for many years and recently reports from basic science suggest that changes in the gut microbiome may play a role in the pathogenesis of RA.” (2)
Previous Research Supports Mechanisms of Microbiota and Role In Various Disease Processes
Here’s a reason why eyebrows were raised. Past research demonstrated infections were linked to various diseases, including RA: (4-6)
There is a growing understanding of the mechanisms by which the influence of the microbiota projects beyond sites of primary mucosal occupation to other human body systems. Bacteria present in the intestinal tract exert a profound effect on the host immune system, both locally and at distant sites. The oral cavity has its own characteristic microbiota, which concentrates in periodontal tissues and is in close association with a permeable epithelium. In this review we examine evidence which supports a role for the microbiome in the aetiology of rheumatic disease. We also discuss how changes in the composition of the microbiota, particularly within the gastrointestinal tract, may be affected by genetics, diet, and use of antimicrobial agents. Evidence is presented to support the theory that an altered microbiota is a factor in the initiation and perpetuation of inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Mechanisms through which the microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases include altered epithelial and mucosal permeability, loss of immune tolerance to components of the indigenous microbiota, and trafficking of both activated immune cells and antigenic material to the joints. The potential to manipulate the microbiome, by application of probiotics and faecal microbial transplant (FMT), is now being investigated. Both approaches are in their infancy with regard to management of rheumatic disease but their potential is worthy of consideration, given the need for novel therapeutic approaches, and the emerging recognition of the importance of microbial interactions with human hosts. (4)
Mom Stress Stresses Baby’s Microbiota
A study of 56 Dutch infants demonstrated a correlation between moms’ stress and changes in babies’ microbiota (bold emphasis mine):
Maternal prenatal stress has been often associated with infant physical development and health, as well as psychological functioning and behavior. However, the mechanisms underlying these relations remain elusive. The goal of the present study was to prospectively investigate the development of the intestinal microbiota as a potential pathway linking maternal prenatal stress and infant health. The development of the infant intestinal microbiota was followed over the first 110 days after birth in a healthy cohort of 56 vaginally born Dutch infants. Additionally, the relation between infant intestinal microbiota and gastrointestinal and allergic symptoms was examined. Results showed that maternal prenatal stress, i.e., either reported stress or elevated basal maternal salivary cortisol concentrations or both, was strongly and persistently associated with the infants’ microbiota composition as determined by a phylogenetic microarray. Infants of mothers with high cumulative stress (i.e., high reported stress and high cortisol concentrations) during pregnancy had significantly higher relative abundances of Proteobacterial groups known to contain pathogens (related to Escherichia, Serratia, and Enterobacter), and lower relative abundances of lactic acid bacteria (i.e., Lactobacillus, Lactoccus,
Aerococcus) and Bifidobacteria, altogether characteristics of a potentially increased level of inflammation. Furthermore, this aberrant colonization pattern was related to more maternally reported infant gastrointestinal symptoms and allergic reactions. In conclusion, clear links were found between maternal prenatal stress and the infant intestinal microbiota and health. Although causality cannot be concluded, the results suggest a possible mechanism by which maternal prenatal stress influences the offspring development. These results suggest a potential for bacterial interventions to enhance offspring health and development in pregnant women with stress. (7)
Probiotic Strain Reduces Strep and Viral Infection in Children
In a trial with 30 children, the authors concluded:
Prophylactic administration of S. salivarius K12 to children with a history of recurrent oral streptococcal disease resulted in a considerable reduction of episodes of both streptococcal and viral infections and reduced the number of days under antibiotic and/or antipyretic therapy and days of absence from school or work. (8)
Gut Bug Shifts and Diabetes
A study demonstrates a drop in the diversity of our belly bugs may precede development of type 1 diabetes: (9-10)
In the largest longitudinal study of the microbiome to date, researchers have identified a connection between changes in gut microbiota and the onset of type 1 diabetes. The study, which followed infants who were genetically predisposed to the condition, found that onset for those who developed the disease was preceded by a drop in microbial diversity — including a disproportional decrease in the number of species known to promote health in the gut. (9)
I also posted some updates and explanations on exciting research and findings on the microbiome on my homepage this week. Make sure you check these out too. Maybe you’ll even get involved in the American Gut Project! (Did I get you curious?)
Sources:
(1) Milk- and solid-feeding practices and daycare attendance are associated with differences in bacterial diversity, predominant communities, and metabolic and immune function of the infant gut microbiome. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 05 February 2015. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2015.00003
(2) Kelly, J. Do Microbiome Changes Protect Against RA? Medscape Medical News. February 13, 2015. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/839788?src=wnl_edit_tpal
(3) Sandberg MEC, Bengtsson C, Klareskog L, Alfredsson L,Saevarsdottir, S. Recent infections are associated with decreased risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based case-control study. Ann Rheum Dis. February 5, 2015. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206493
(4) Yeoh N, Burton JP, Suppiah P, Reid G, Stebbings S. The Role of the Microbiome in Rheumatic Diseases. Current Rheumatology Reports. February 2013. DOI: 10.1007/s11926-012-0314-y
(5) Dr-lobisco.com: http://dr-lobisco.com/how-gut-bugs-our-microbiome-may-be-the-link-to-optimal-digestion-balancing-autoimmunity-response/
(6) Dr-lobisco.com: https://www.saratoga.com/living-well/2014/11/personalized-and-functional-medicine-becoming-mainstream–do-we-have-our-gut-bugs-microbiome-to-than.html
(7) Maartje A.C. Zijlmans, Katri Korpela, J. Marianne Riksen-Walraven, Willem M. de Vos, Carolina de Weerth. Maternal Prenatal Stress is Associated with the Infant Intestinal Microbiota. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015; DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.01.006
(8) Use of Streptococcus salivarius K12 in the prevention of streptococcal and viral pharyngotonsillitis in children. Drug Healthc Patient Saf. 2014; 6: 15-20. Published online 2014 Feb 13. doi:10.2147/DHPS.S59665
(9) Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Microbiome linked to type 1 diabetes: Shift in microbiome species diversity prior to disease onset. ScienceDaily, 5 February 2015. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205123022.htm
(10) Kostic AD, Gevers D, Siljander H, Vatanen T, Hyötyläinen T, Hämäläinen A-U, et al. The Dynamics of the Human Infant Gut Microbiome in Development and in Progression toward Type 1 Diabetes. Cell Host & Microbe, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2015.01.001
