The microbiome remains a mystery even with all the recent buzz about its importance. And it is often linked to another word: microbiota.
According to the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah, the microbiota is a “collection or community of microbes” while the microbiome is viewed as “the full collection of genes of all the microbes in a community.”1
Mind-Boggling Microbes
Microbiota or microbiome microbes are microscopic organisms that normally inhabit the human body on the skin, in the mouth, in the gut, etc. And we’re specifically talking about archaea, bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses as well as microscopic animals2 when referring to microbes.
One of the most important microbes in the list is the bacteria that dominate the gut, helping to digest food, produce vitamins, regulate the immune system and protect against disease-causing bacteria. The greater diversity of bacterial species you have, the healthier you are.
A 2010 Italian study compared the diversity of bacteria in children who ate a modern diet to children who ate a more ancient, plant-based diet. Guess which kids had the greatest diversity of species?
Over the years, diets that include burgers and fries may have murdered many species of useful human bacteria. So the crux of the matter is food that feeds people … and their bacteria.
Boosting Bacteria
Seriously, who would have thought that large populations of many different species of bacteria—and we’re talking trillions—in your colon actually keep you healthy, which is primarily why the microbiome has become such a buzz word since the late 1990s.
Whatever you can do to boost the presence and variety of bacteria in your microbiome, the more boosting bacteria you get in the health department. And getting back to the children in the study who ate a largely vegetarian diet, those youngsters had a high intake of fiber. Specific types of fiber—prebiotics—are dietary delights for bacteria. Eat more fiber and you feed the little buggers that boost your health.
FloraFood and Fit ‘n Fiber Fit
AIM supports the profile of a healthy microbiome with Fit ‘n Fiber’s prebiotics and FloraFood’s probiotics—supplemental healthy bacteria. Fit ‘n Fiber provides three kinds of prebiotic fiber, food for your friendly microbiome inhabitants. And FloraFood boosts the presence of three friendly species of gut bacteria. AIM nutrition is a fine fit for your gut.
References:
1 https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/
2 https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/microbiome/intro/
https://www.pnas.org/content/107/33/14691
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