Extensive research continues into the gut microbiome to learn even more about the role that bacteria play in the biology and health of human beings.
One of the most recent accomplishments by an international team of scientists has to do with being bacterially organized. Their undertakings published in Nature Biotechnology are a bit mind boggling: a monumental database has been created that encompasses all the genomes (organism DNA) of known species of bacteria that reside in the human gut.
From more than 4,600 bacterial species, the team cataloged over 200,000 human gut microbial genomes. The samples used to recover genomes came from 31 countries with most of the samples being collected from the United States, Spain, Denmark and China.
On top of this massive undertaking, more than 170 million protein sequences were also compiled.
These scientific endeavors reveal to the phenomenal diversity of bacteria that inhabits the human gut.
At the same time, the identifying results indicate just how much more needs to be learned about the microbiome. Over 70 percent of the identified bacterial species had never been cultured in a laboratory, so most of this diversity of organisms still needs to be experimentally characterized.
And when it comes to the presence of these bacteria in the human microbiome, most of their functions remain a mystery.
Given that the majority of samples came from China, Europe and the United States, it suggests that that there is still a lot of diversity from other parts of the world that has yet to be represented in this bacterial genome database.
Delving Into Diversity
Other microbiome studies have revealed that the diversity of bacteria varies from individual to individual, even in those who are healthy. This variance may result from a number of factors that include diet, environment and genetics as well as early exposure to microbes.
A great deal of information has come out of the Human Microbiome Project that has a mission “to generate resources to facilitate characterization of the human microbiota to further our understanding of how the microbiome impacts human health and disease.”
Health and the Microbiota
The number and diversity of bacterial species that thrive in your gut have an impact on your health and longevity. One study concluded that health issues correlate with the host microbiota.
The role of probiotics and nutrition has escalated in importance for supporting the microbiota, which is vital for your health in so many ways, including immune, metabolic and neurobehavioral traits.
AIM Nutrition
Many AIM products provide nutritional support for your immune system, which is intricately linked to your microbiota. For specific products that target the good bacteria of your microbiota, look to the probiotics in FloraFood and prebiotics in Fit ’n Fiber.
Each capsule of FloraFood adds 3 billion live cells of good bacteria to your gut flora in a combination of 3 different species.
Each serving of Fit ’n Fiber adds 8 grams of prebiotic fiber that good bacteria feed and thrive on.
There is still so much to be discovered about the good bacteria of the microbiome and microbiota. In the meantime, providing plant-based nutrition and repopulating their gut presence are positive ways to support this living system that is integral to your health.
–♦♦♦–
The AIM Companies has been dedicated to improving the quality of people’s lives with life-changing products like BarleyLife and Herbal Fiberblend and by rewarding passionate Members with a free-enterprise compensation plan.
The AIM Companies 