Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and helping you feel your best.
The gut microbiota, the body's largest population of microorganisms, are increasingly recognised as an important regulator of host immunity and brain health.
All food is ultimately broken down in the gut to a simple form that can enter the bloodstream and be delivered as nutrients throughout our bodies. This is only possible with a healthy digestive system.
A healthy gut contains healthy bacteria and immune cells that ward off infectious agents like bacteria, viruses and fungi.
A healthy gut also communicates with the brain through nerves and hormones, which helps maintain general health and well-being.
They can be found in the intestine, and a new study has found they they play a vital role in regulating some of the detrimental effects of ageing, meaning it could be a key to living longer.
It has been known for some time that the population of microbes that we carry around in our gut, collectively called the gut microbiota, is linked to overall health.
From inflammatory bowel diseases, cardiovascular, autoimmune, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders; our gut microbiome could be the determining factor for disease reduction and longevity.
In a new study, faecal transplants in mice showed a reverse of some of the effects of ageing in both the retina and the brain.
Researchers exchanged the gut microbes among three groups of mice: three months old, designed as "young," 18 months old, designated as "old," and 24 months old mice, classified at "aged." A mouse that is two years old is equivalent to a human who is between 70 and 80 years old.
They then analysed the changes in gut composition to better understand how faecal transplantation affected inflammation on the gut barrier, retina of the eye and the brain, which decline with age partly due to chronic inflammation.
Researchers found transferring "faecal slurries" from aged donors to young mice led to a weakening of the gut lining, which allowed bacterial products to enter the circulation, triggering an inflammatory response in the brain and eyes.
However, the harmful effects were shown to be be reversed by faecal transplants from the young donor mice into older mice.
The team also found specific proteins associated with retinal degeneration were elevated in the young mice who received a faecal transplant from the old donors, further bolstering the claims of how one’s gut microbiome can affect longevity.
"Our data support the suggestion that altered gut microbiota in old age contributes to intestinal and systemic inflammation, and so may contribute to driving inflammatory pathologies of aged organs," wrote the study authors.
Professor Simon Carding, from UEA's Norwich Medical School and head of the Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme at the Quadram Institute, added: "This ground-breaking study provides tantalising evidence for the direct involvement of gut microbes in ageing and the functional decline of brain function and vision and offers a potential solution in the form of gut microbe replacement therapy."
Ways to improve your gut health include:
- Lower stress levels
- Get enough sleep
- Eat slowly
- Stay hydrated
- Take a prebiotic or probiotic
- Check for food intolerances
- Eat more fermented foods
