Your gut is full of trillions of bacteria: Here's how to keep it healthy

The human gut holds more than 100 trillion microbial cells that can alter one's physiology, metabolism, immunity and nutrition

Your gut is full of trillions of bacteria: Here's how to keep it healthy

The human gut holds more than 100 trillion microbial cells that can alter one's physiology, metabolism, immunity and nutrition

The microbiota in your gut can have a huge impact on your health, and more studies and health experts are supporting the once far-fetched idea. Research from the University of Exeter Medical School in South West England recently found that TLR2, a protein found in gut flora, regulated the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that delivers messages to the brain. The study was carried out in cell cultures and verified in laboratory mice. It found that microbiota could influence the “happy hormone’s” transporter activity. Serotonin transporter plays an important role in battling depression, Alzheimer’s disease, sudden infant death syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. Beneficial and harmful bacteria can interfere with the transporter and modify serotonin levels. The result - too much bad bacteria can make you feel terrible - physically and mentally. "The fact that microbiota affect more or less every aspect of human health, is widely accepted and understood," Dr. Gerard Honig told us Sunday. "But the importance of the gut microbiota in immunity and other parts of the body has progressively become more of a consensus view in central research focus. That’s been expanded to a wide variety of physiological functions." Honig is the CEO of NYC-based biotech firm Symbiotic Health, a company he created in 2013 to investigate critical public health issues. He holds a Ph. D. in Biological Sciences and has worked in microbiome and pathogenesis research for more than a decade. Honig echoes what experts have been saying for years - the health of the human microbiome is important, but it's not fully understood how the trillions of microbial cells operate. "It's still very murky," he said. Another study in Wisconsin linked poor microbiome health to Parkinson’s Disease, since many patients with the degenerative disorder reported digestive issues prior to diagnoses. Researchers also found differences in the gut microorganisms of people with Parkinson's and those without. While the jury's still out on how a person's flora works, the message is clear - don't neglect its health. "The most important thing is to be very judicious about the use of oral antibiotics, and to limit that to times when it’s clearly medically necessary. That’s particularly relevant for mothers, because there’s been a historical issue of over-prescribing for ear infections," Honig explained. "They shouldn’t be overutilized. The use of antibiotics has risk factors related to the injury of your microbiota." Getting enough sleep and eating a healthy, diverse diet are also imperative, and Honig warns consumers to examine the sources of their food. "People should think about where their meat comes from," he said. "I personally think that overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural sector are creating a lot of problems related to the microbiome." Follow @theabigailelise on Twitter.

NEW YORK, N.Y. —

The microbiota in your gut can have a huge impact on your health, and more studies and health experts are supporting the once far-fetched idea. from the University of Exeter Medical School in South West England recently found that TLR2, a protein found in gut flora, regulated the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that delivers messages to the brain.

The study was carried out in cell cultures and verified in laboratory mice. It found that microbiota could influence the “happy hormone’s” transporter activity. Serotonin transporter plays an important role in battling depression, Alzheimer’s disease, sudden infant death syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. Beneficial and harmful bacteria can interfere with the transporter and modify serotonin levels. The result - too much bad bacteria can make you feel terrible - physically and mentally.

"The fact that microbiota affect more or less every aspect of human health, is widely accepted and understood," Dr. Gerard Honig told us Sunday. "But the importance of the gut microbiota in immunity and other parts of the body has progressively become more of a consensus view in central research focus. That’s been expanded to a wide variety of physiological functions."

Honig is the CEO of firm Symbiotic Health, a company he created in 2013 to investigate critical public health issues. He holds a Ph. D. in Biological Sciences and has worked in microbiome and pathogenesis research for more than a decade.

Honig echoes what experts have been saying for years - the health of the human microbiome is important, but it's not fully understood how the cells operate.

"It's still very murky," he said.

in Wisconsin linked poor microbiome health to Parkinson’s Disease, since many patients with the degenerative disorder reported digestive issues prior to diagnoses. Researchers also found differences in the gut microorganisms of people with Parkinson's and those without.

While the jury's still out on how a person's flora works, the message is clear - don't neglect its health.

"The most important thing is to be very judicious about the use of oral antibiotics, and to limit that to times when it’s clearly medically necessary. That’s particularly relevant for mothers, because there’s been a historical issue of over-prescribing for ear infections," Honig explained. "They shouldn’t be overutilized. The use of antibiotics has risk factors related to the injury of your microbiota."

Getting enough sleep and eating a healthy, diverse diet are also imperative, and Honig warns consumers to examine the sources of their food.

"People should think about where their meat comes from," he said. "I personally think that overuse of antibiotics in the agricultural sector are creating a lot of problems related to the microbiome."

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