Ever since I read about my gut bacteria and all they do for me, I’ve considered them part of the family. It’s an affable group—we get along. If you ever hear me refer to myself in the plural, I’m using the Bacterial We.
Although I’m aware that things can go haywire as we age, I hadn’t thought to blame the gut bacteria for it, but evidently the complement of microbes changes over time. Studies show the older person tends to harbor different families of bacteria, and fewer of them. Which is not ideal. Diversity is important in gut-bugs as in everything else. But maybe our aging gut bacteria just prefer to hang out with their peers because the younger microbes don’t make sense anymore and their music is awful.
Evidently we elderly have loaded up on Enterococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae, and Enterobacteriacea, and any one of those can spell trouble for humans. The Enteros are a nice enough family, but invite a few of of the wrong sort to the Thanksgiving dinner and you could be risking a food fight. The famous E. coli, for instance, can cause diarrhea and urinary tract infections, and even the best of them would rather watch the game and fart than help with the dishes.
Some researchers believe these microbial changes drive the aging process, although it could be the other way around. A person could develop inflammation in the small intestine. The small intestine is about fifteen feet long, stretched out. But it’s not stretched out. It’s all hairpin turns in there. It’s possible the older person’s bacteria are doing a perfectly good job, but the metabolism is slower and they have the turn signal on the whole way.
The large intestine is where all your digested food gets wrung out and shaped into a tidy turd boat, thence to the bowel delivery system. Which brings up an interesting point. Previous studies of gut bacteria have generally sampled the completed turd-boat post-exit, but this research into the Aging Gut Biome was conducted with samples taken from the small intestines of 250+ patients undergoing endoscopies. Nobody wants to undergo an endoscopy. These people might not have been in great shape to begin with.
I’m pretty healthy myself. I think my diet is good, with very little in the way of processed foods, except a little ice cream, which I believe keeps bacteria happy. It keeps everyone else happy. And fermented foods are famously good for your gut biome.
Beer is fermented, right?
The way I look at it, bring on all the bacteria. We honor diversity in this house. And the only thing that can stop a bad bacterium with evil intent is a good bacterium with a beer buzz.
My gut can be a snowflake at times. Paul and I can eat the exact same food, and he’s fine, and I’m in the bathroom with… um… hypermotility. I try to add more fermented food to my diet. (And I think that fermented beverages like beer, wine, and liquor count. If they don’t… who cares?) I used to get kombucha at the farmer’s market when they sold it in refillable growlers. Then they stopped because it was really foamy, and it took a long time to fill the growler. Took the Amish girls away from their chief duty: making nut butters. I really didn’t care for it, though. Too sweet for my taste. I really did just drink it for my gut health. I’m not willing to buy it in individual bottles, as that’s just wasteful.
We do have yogurt every morning at breakfast. Saurkraut and some pickles are fermented. But I can’t have them every day. I like them, but not THAT much. Also, I think that buttermilk counts, as it has active cultures in it. And I like that, but not in the same quantities as beer, wine, or liquor.
What else, commenters? Anyone know of any other fermented foods that are good for gut health?
I don’t know! Except I’m growing fond of white miso in things. I just eat what I want. But, as has been pointed out many times before, I tend to be lucky. Maybe you need more fiber.
Oh, I get lots of fiber! Whenever i eat lots of veggies and grains, I can count on waking up at 3am to poop. And again at 3:30…. And at 5.
My emotional support animals are not, strictly speaking animals — they are all microbes.
So, not NOT animals.
pickled vegges ( sort of like pickles- but lots more variety). yumm yum
I don’t know exactly what bacteria I have in there, but I am never ill (hayfever doesn’t count) and only suffer consequences when having too much cream. Which I rarely do. I dislike fermented foods and drinks, never touch them, but do have too much sugar, which I am trying to cut down on with mixed results. I don’t eat processed foods except sliced cheese and don’t eat fast foods.
Yeah! Maybe mimim needs a gut microbe transplant. Sliced cheese? You mean, individually wrapped slices? Do they still make those?
Nuh uh! My ass is exit only! No one is putting their poop in my ass!
Fecal transplants go in the other way. Is that better?
No. Even worse, in fact.
I trust my gut feelings on a lot of things. Perhaps I should refer to these as bacterial feelings? Do they get together and vote down there? Maybe not.
Glad to know that my favourite sandwich, a Reuben with sauerkraut, has some health benefit despite all the calories. :O)
I love Reubens but it’s a crapshoot. The last one I had was the worst sandwich ever. The meat was grey and you couldn’t nip off a bite without taking the whole slab.
Murr: Here I thought you’d mention fecal transplants at some point! IIRC an Australian doctor came up with the notion that if a diminished gut biome was the main health issue, introducing fecal samples from more healthy biomes would do the trick.
Yeah.
I never did find out how this was accomplished, but had some vague idea that it involved shoving someone else’s poop up your butt.
The doctor claimed it cured all manner of ills. That was a few years ago and I haven’t heard anything else. Damn, sounded promising.
Mimmanderly, I have similar motility issues and it seems that while I have a growing list of things that just don’t work dietarily, the list of things that might work is constantly changing.
I developed an allergy to turmeric which pretty much crossed off all store bought condiments, baked beans, spaghetti sauce, Italian sausage… Then mayonnaise became an issue, probably due to the fats and oils. So no more prepared picnic salads. Peanut butter is out too, oils being the issue.
It does mean a lot of self cooked meals as grocery store foods always seem to sneak in some forbidden food.
I do most of our cooking, although we go out to a restaurant once a week. I’m always taken aback when I order an entrée and taste something sweet. I don’t like sugar, and always leave it out of recipes that call for it. It’s an entrée — not dessert!
With condiments, I scrupulously check the ingredients labels. The only organic ketchup I could find without sugar is Primal Kitchen, and the only organic mayo is Whole Foods 365 brand. They also have great pasta sauces. So many organics contain added sugar! So when I go to Whole Foods, I stock up on items for my pantry, as with them, most of their stuff is organic, with just a few conventional items; whereas with most grocery stores, it’s the other way around. (And I don’t find it THAT much pricier than the other stores, but then I don’t buy prepared foods or processed foods. Their prepared foods are exorbitant.)
Whole Foods makes the best canned coconut milk too. Bruce, of course I have written about fecal transplants before. Maybe that’s where you heard of it. The poop is processed into pills and you eat them. It’s VERY successful–almost miraculous, patients say.
Um…. That doesn’t actually sound better, Murr.
Nah, heard it on NPR. I just forget which show
No Whole Foods anywhere near me. I spent a half hour in the ketchup aisle one day reading labels. Finally found one that didn’t mention turmeric. Tried it and it blew right through me. Always happens at the most in opportune times.
When I was in high school, we had a really great biology teacher who educated us rather vividly with the details of the human gut. He showed the system from beginning to end, concluding with the unforgettable comment that the human body is basically a large doughnut. Whatever is dropped down the hole eventually falls out the other end. Gravity plus peristalsis. I salute you both.
Our biology professor at college used to demonstrate peristalsis by standing on his head and drinking water.
Beer! I like beer!
A couple of years ago I was stricken with C-difficile after my insurance company insisted my PCP dose me with an antibiotic for a diverticulitis attack. For 5 months I was pretty out of commission. 5 rounds of vancomycin finally worked. ($2300 a round..thank goodness for insurance) I had pleaded for a fecal transplant and was told if all else failed… I was preparing to do it myself.
Definitely NOT the individually wrapped cheese slices. That stuff is horrible. Just regular cheese sliced and sold in packs of 15 or 24 slices, handy for cheese toasties and school lunches.