Gut biome of old, productive, healthy people, things in common?

[Spinnor]

If we looked the gut biome of old, productive, relatively healthy people, would their biomes likely have things in common? Similarities in their diets?

If we looked at the biome makeup of top athletes would there likely be some similarities?

If we feed ten rats the same meals for long periods would they have similar gut biomes (would that change if they lived in different cages)?

Can rats live relatively long, healthy, and productive lives on simple diets?

How much would it cost to analyse my biome?

If your biome was considered an animal would the SPCA want to take legal action against you?

Links to dos and don'ts for proper care and optimization of your biome?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Borek]

I find it hard to believe there was no research done - have you tried to find it? Quick googling directed me to two wikipedia pages with at least partial answers to your questions and plenty of references.

 

[B0b-A]

Transfusion is apparently beneficial in some cases ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_bacteriotherapy

 

[Spinnor]

I find it hard to believe there was no research done - have you tried to find it? Quick googling directed me to two wikipedia pages with at least partial answers to your questions and plenty of references.

It's a new field but much has been done. The wiki article is a good start,

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiome

There we find,

"Mice are the most used models for human disease. As more and more diseases are linked to dysfunctional microbiomes, mice have become the most studied organism in this regard."

And, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/science/21gut.html

Bacterial Ecosystems Divide People Into 3 Groups, Scientists Say

"In the early 1900s, scientists discovered that each person belonged to one of four blood types. Now they have discovered a new way to classify humanity: by bacteria. Each human being is host to thousands of different species of microbes. Yet a group of scientists now report just http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature09944.html."

 

[B0b-A]

It’s simple to join: donate $99 to the project and we will send you a home sampling kit ...

Reminds me of those hair-analysis scams ... http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Hair_analysis

... we will send you a home sampling kit ... scroll to bottom ...

The "home sampling kit" will probably involve applying a "scroll to bottom" :¬)

 

[Bystander]

Looks a lot like the naturopathic cleansing of the digestive tract for renewed health and vigor.

 

[Guco]

>If we looked the gut biome of old, productive, relatively healthy people, would their biomes likely have things in common? Similarities in their diets?
Depends on their living conditions. In general Actinobacteria become more common in the elderly, which are also more common in infants. There are probably differences between countries too.

>If we looked at the biome makeup of top athletes would there likely be some similarities?
Probably, because they are more likely to have similar diets (high on carbohydrates in particular). I think the footballer Fletcher for Manchester United has problems with Ulcerative colitis that stopped him from playing for some time, so health problems involving the gut biome can be a real impediment to the performance of a top athlete.

>If we feed ten rats the same meals for long periods would they have similar gut biomes (would that change if they lived in different cages)?
Diet certainly influences your gut biome, but individual differences are probably matter too. Change of diet has been shown to have a rapid effect (within days) on the composition of your biome.

>Can rats live relatively long, healthy, and productive lives on simple diets?
It's been shown in animals that low-calorie diets make them live longer, probably because it reduces rate of cell metabolism. The gut biome extract a lot of extra energy for the host, like 30% more energy (in mice), because the gut biome break down food that you could otherwise not process. I would say that we (humans) are highly flexible in what we can eat (as omnivores), but in general animals have actually lost many genes for producing all sorts of important compounds (like all vitamins), usually because animals get enough of them from their food so the gene function is lost over time (because it's not needed anymore). The gut biome also plays a role here because gut bacteria actually create vitamins too that animals can then absorb.

>Links to dos and don'ts for proper care and optimization of your biome?
Don't use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Because it will kill of your gut biome and it might not recover (at least, not in a way that is beneficial to you).
And eat a healthy and balanced diet... too many calories is not good for your biome (at least, the composition of your biome won't be good for you).

 

[Spinnor]

>If we looked the gut biome of old, productive, relatively healthy people, would their biomes likely have things in common? Similarities in their diets?
Depends on their living conditions. In general Actinobacteria become more common in the elderly, which are also more common in infants. There are probably differences between countries too.

>If we looked at the biome makeup of top athletes would there likely be some similarities?
Probably, because they are more likely to have similar diets (high on carbohydrates in particular). I think the footballer Fletcher for Manchester United has problems with Ulcerative colitis that stopped him from playing for some time, so health problems involving the gut biome can be a real impediment to the performance of a top athlete.

>If we feed ten rats the same meals for long periods would they have similar gut biomes (would that change if they lived in different cages)?
Diet certainly influences your gut biome, but individual differences are probably matter too. Change of diet has been shown to have a rapid effect (within days) on the composition of your biome.

>Can rats live relatively long, healthy, and productive lives on simple diets?
It's been shown in animals that low-calorie diets make them live longer, probably because it reduces rate of cell metabolism. The gut biome extract a lot of extra energy for the host, like 30% more energy (in mice), because the gut biome break down food that you could otherwise not process. I would say that we (humans) are highly flexible in what we can eat (as omnivores), but in general animals have actually lost many genes for producing all sorts of important compounds (like all vitamins), usually because animals get enough of them from their food so the gene function is lost over time (because it's not needed anymore). The gut biome also plays a role here because gut bacteria actually create vitamins too that animals can then absorb.

>Links to dos and don'ts for proper care and optimization of your biome?
Don't use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Because it will kill of your gut biome and it might not recover (at least, not in a way that is beneficial to you).
And eat a healthy and balanced diet... too many calories is not good for your biome (at least, the composition of your biome won't be good for you).

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Eat healthy!

Now I just woke up my gut biome with coffee laced with creamer and sugar (probably not the best thing for my gut biome (or my mouth biome) but it sure gets me going in the morning)? If I drink it black, problems, if I use sugar and creamer, problems. Please don't call the SPCA. There has got to be a better way? Just drink water?

Thanks for all the replys!

 

[Ygggdrasil]

If your biome was considered an animal would the SPCA want to take legal action against you?

Your gut biome is composed of various species of bacteria, which hail from an entirely different domain of life than animals (which are eukaryotes). Plants are more closely related to us than bacteria are, so no need to worry about the SPCA.

That said, there are a few species of animal (e.g. tapeworms and other parasitic helminths) that occasionally reside in our digestive tracts.

 

[Spinnor]

Your gut biome is composed of various species of bacteria, which hail from an entirely different domain of life than animals (which are eukaryotes). Plants are more closely related to us than bacteria are, so no need to worry about the SPCA.

That said, there are a few species of animal (e.g. tapeworms and other parasitic helminths) that occasionally reside in our digestive tracts.

I was joking, just say it was a animal, then the SPCA might be taking legal action on some of us for bad treatment of our pets (guts). Bad joke.