Come with me on an adventure – a brief description of research that may change how we understand health and disease. Just as x-rays, CT scans, and MRI’s allow us to know immediately what is happening inside us, the study of the organisms in our gut may allow us an exceptional understanding of our health.
Scientists are using computers to interpret data from our intestinal bacteria, most of which are actually beneficial, especially to our immune system. These bacteria, which we call our microbiome, are a community that appears to play a major part in the development or prevention of many diseases and health issues including inflammatory bowel disease, anxiety, drug metabolism, susceptibility to allergies and autism spectrum disorders. Even the working of our brain and our cardiovascular system can be affected by the various bacteria in our microbiome. A simple example is an experiment in which mice had bacteria from obese humans placed in their intestines and the mice became obese. But understanding what bacterial DNA is inhabiting us may lead to much more spectacular results. The problem is that the tools for recognizing this DNA are only now being developed. (Since 99% of the DNA in our bodies comes from our bacteria, that’s a lot of DNA to identify and interpret.)
So what good is studying this bacterial DNA? The answer lies in the possibility that these new tools may allow us to identify patterns in real time just like how we now use monitors to measure our blood sugar levels. Just as diabetics modify their behavior and their diet because they can recognize how their actions impact their blood sugar levels, we expect to use the many chemicals that bacteria make to modify our behavior. Basically, we are going to get an early warning about our individual risk for disease from birth onward.
We may not get any actual results we can use for many years, but it is already obvious from early research that we should be eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and we should be avoiding antibiotics. More specific advice, based on our individual microbiomes, will be available in our lifetimes.
