Tag: microbiome

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What kind of vitamins does our microbiome produce?

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Most people know that we get most of the vitamins our body needs from food.

What is a lesser known fact, however, is that a major share of our daily vitamin B and K needs is covered by the bacteria in our gut microbiome. 

Which B vitamins does our microbiome produce?

It has been found that at least 30% of the amount of B-group vitamins we require daily is produced by bacteria in the digestive tract. 

Specifically, our gut bacteria produce:
vitamin B3, or niacin; 
vitamin B6, or pyridoxine;
vitamin B9, or folate; 
vitamin B12, or cobalamin.

In the case of a balanced and diverse microbiome, vitamins B3 and B6 are produced by most of our gut bacteria. Vitamins B12 and B9, however, are produced only by bacteria belonging to the genera Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, and Prevotella. 

Your microbiome test results will give you a good picture of whether your microbiome contains a sufficient number of bacteria of these genera.

Why do our bodies need B vitamins?

B vitamins are essential for life, as they support a number of organ functions.

Vitamin B1 is mainly needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids; 
  • the functioning of the nervous system, muscles, and myocardium;
  • the normal production of gastric acid.

Vitamin B2 is needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of fats and carbohydrates; 
  • the functioning of the nervous system, muscles, and myocardium; 
  • vision (to reduce eye fatigue and ensure normal vision);
  • healthy skin, mucous membranes, nails, and hair;
  • the production of antibodies.

Vitamin B3, or niacin, is mainly needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of fats and carbohydrates and the synthesis of proteins;
  • the functioning of the nervous system and muscles;
  • repairing skin damage.

Vitamin B6 is mainly needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of amino acids (including the breakdown and utilisation of proteins);
  • the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates;
  • the production of a variety of bioactive compounds (e.g., serotonin) in the body;
  • the maturation of erythrocytes.

Vitamin B9, or folate, is mainly needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of fats and carbohydrates;
  • the development of neural tissues in foetuses; 
  • the maturation of erythrocytes, in combination with vitamin B12;
  • DNA and RNA synthesis during growth and for the regeneration of cells in the body.

Vitamin B12 is mainly needed for:

  • the normal metabolism of amino acids;
  • the prevention of various anaemias (e.g., for the maturation of erythrocytes, in combination with folates);
  • the normal development of neural tissues.

Which K vitamins does our microbiome produce and why do we need them?

The vitamin K family can be divided into two major groups: vitamin K1, or phylloquinone, and K2, or menaquinone. Vitamin K1 is found in plants, while K2 is produced by bacteria.

The human body needs both vitamins K1 and K2, as they play different roles in our metabolism: K1, for example, is mainly involved in blood clotting, while K2 improves vascular elasticity.

Vitamin K is essential for: 

  • blood clotting, 
  • heart disease prevention, 
  • bone metabolism, 
  • kidney function. 

Is your microbiome in good enough shape to produce the vitamins you need? Try our fibre blends to ensure a complete diet for your gut bacteria. Balanced fibre blends both support your digestion and ensure a diverse microbiome.

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How does your gut microbiota affect your health?

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We are a home for trillions of microbes — bacteria, fungi and viruses — our microbiota, whom we are tightly connected with. Our biological identity and health are intertwined with that of our microbial partners.

You might´ve heard that your gut plays an important role in your overall health & well-being. But I’m convinced that you aren’t even close to fully appreciating what the impact is for you. Every year more evidence keeps pouring in about the importance of gut health and the balance of gut microbes.

Highway between our body and gut microbes

Think of it as a very complex highway system, with traffic going back and forth at high speeds on many different levels, directions and junctions. Our body affects the community living in our gut, and these microbes produce metabolites, the small compounds that regulate different functions in our body.

Firstly, the gut microbiota is tightly connected to digestion and metabolism. Gut microbiota helps break down food and absorb nutrients. Our own body can digest most, but not all of the food we eat. The food our body cannot digest, especially dietary fibers, makes its way to the end of the large intestine, which is packed with gut microbes. This is the most largely and diversely populated part, because the environment is stable and rich in nutrients.

In the colon, the end part of the large intestine, gut bacteria break down the undigested food that they use as a source of nutrients. Gut microbiota helps us to get approximately 10–15% more energy from our food — mostly from dietary fibers. While breaking down dietary fibers important metabolites are produced. For example, gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which are important sources of energy for both human and bacterial cells. For example the cells that form the gut lining get up to 70% of needed energy from one of the SCFA, called butyrate. Gut microbes also produce essential K vitamins and different B-group vitamins from dietary fibers.

Secondly, about 80% of our immune system is located in the gut, where gut microbes play a central role in. The metabolites that bacteria produce, communicate also with our immune system both directly and indirectly. In addition, these compounds support the production of mucus in the gut, which forms a supportive and strong gut barrier. This barrier protects against pathogens and toxins that evoke inflammation. And of course diverse communities of microbes protect against the overgrowth of harmful pathogenic bacteria while competing for food and space.

Moreover, gut microbiota forms a linked axis with the brain and nervous system, prompting many scientists to refer to as “the second brain”.

We’ve all probably heard of the “happy hormones” serotonin and dopamine. We used to think these hormones are produced in the brain. But take a moment to really consider this: up to 95% of serotonin and about 50% of dopamine are produced in the gut. These hormones are responsible for controlling your mood and are associated with the feelings of happiness.

All this time we´ve been looking for happiness in the wrong places!

Scientists used to think depression and anxiety caused or contributed to gut problems, but now there is evidence to show it could be the other way around, that inflammation in the gut could influence the development of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.

To meet the beneficial effects of gut microbes, it is important that the microbiota is diverse and balanced. Otherwise the effect can be the other way round — your allies can become the enemies. An unbalanced microbiota can promote the development of various diseases — metabolic diseases like obesity and type II diabetes, neurological disorders like anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, heart and kidney disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases and many other illnesses.

If you don’t have good relationships with the communities living in your gut, you´ll always be struggling to get into a balanced healthy state.

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Why is diversity the key to a healthy gut?

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Not long ago we used to think that a good bacteria is a dead bacteria. We’ve been scared of the microbes and tried to build up a safe sterile environment around us. However this is not exactly what nature has intended.

During the past decade it has become clear that we live in symbiosis with the microbes living on and inside us — our microbiome.

Already during birth we are coated with microbes. This is the seed to the formation of our very own microbiome. And our microbiome is one of the fundamental building blocks of our immune system.

About 80% of our immune system resides in the lining of your gut, and the microbiome is in constant contact with it. A healthy, resilient gut microbiome relies on high richness and biodiversity.

Richness is the total number of different bacterial species in your microbiome

Diversity is the amount of individual bacteria from each of the bacterial species present in your microbiome.

Let’s compare these two concepts in a group of 30 people with different professions. Richness would be the sum of all the different professions we have — e.g teacher, doctor, scientist, police and lawyer. Diversity on the other hand shows how many of these different occupations we have — let’s say 2 teachers, 1 doctor, 5 scientists, 2 police officers and 20 lawyers.

Well in this group of people, the richness can be high, but the diversity surely is not, as the vast majority of people are lawyers. And in case of some accident, we do have 1 doctor, but this could prove to be not enough.

A rich and diverse microbial community is much more capable and resilient. All of the different species carry about 2–20 million genes necessary for producing metabolites — small compounds that all regulate different functions in our body. Some of these compounds are responsible for vitamin production, some for digesting the food or communicating with the brain, immune system or responsible for other crucial functions in our body. The larger pool of these compounds we have, the better we are equipped to face different situations.

Secondly, a diverse community is more stable because it prevents the overgrowth of harmful pathogenic bacteria. Let’s imagine that instead of these 20 lawyers we have 20 burglars. It would be very difficult for our 2 policemen to fight against all of the burglars. And when we think of the microbes, they reproduce very quickly meaning that instead of 20 burglars we’ll soon have 40 of them, against maybe 3 or 4 policemen.

Scientists have found that low microbiome diversity can lead to various chronic illnesses — digestion problems, bowel disease like IBD, metabolic diseases like obesity and type II diabetes, neurological disorders like anxiety, depression, Parkinson’s disease, heart or kidney disease and many other illnesses.

As David Attenborough says in his latest movie “Biodiversity is the key to balanced nature. And species can only thrive if everything else around it is thriving.” This is also perfectly true for our microbiome. A healthy microbiome is a diverse community of microbes and this can be achieved only by enabling our microbes a good environment to live in.

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In upcoming stories we’re going to write more about how we can build up a healthy environment for our microbes. So, stay tuned to learn more about the importance of gut health and balanced microbiota.

We’re always waiting for your feedback. Let us know of your thoughts and questions. If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to click the “follow” button and check out our webpage www.elsavie.com

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What is microbiome? Why is it important?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Most of the nutrients and energy that your body needs are obtained from the food that you eat. Therefore, your digestive system, and especially your gut health, is incredibly important. Your gut plays a crucial role in maintaining your entire body’s health, from digesting your food to distributing the nutrients to making you feel happy.

Your gut is full of microbes, which are essential to the body’s immune, metabolic, and neurobehavioral functions. The collective community of microorganisms in the gut is called microbiota.

When gut microbiota are in balance, that is, existing in proper ratios to one another, they are the good guys, helping you with digestion, immunity, and removing toxins from your system. However, too much of any of them and you are going to be sick. 

Gut microbiota starts to develop at birth and evolves throughout your entire life. Each person has a unique gut microbiota, which determines how their system fights infections and diseases, digests food, and even feels emotions or acts a certain way. It is affected by several factors, particularly diet and drugs.

Gut Microbiota

Here are the essential functions of gut microbiota:

» Gut microbiota helps you break down food and absorb nutrients.

Have you ever wondered how your stomach digests food? Well, that’s thanks to the bacteria present in your intestines. Gut microbiota affects your metabolism, helping you break down complex molecular compositions from the meat and vegetables that you eat. 

» It affects your immune functions.

You first get microbes from your mother’s cervix during birth, which is the initial point that your body learns to respond to microbes and potentially disease-causing organisms. It is called adaptive immunity. When microbe ingestion is disrupted early on, it can be linked to allergies and autoimmune conditions.

» Gut microbiota impacts your psychological functions.

Would you believe that your gut health can affect your mood and behavior? Gut microbiota is actually called the “second brain.” As your gut microbiota breaks down molecules from the food you eat, it triggers nerve functions, the release of hormones, and cognitive function. An imbalance can lead to bad moods, anxiety, poor quality of sleep, and depression, among others.

»It can help you fight disease.

One of the most important functions of your gut microbiota is helping you prevent and fight diseases. With a balanced composition of bacteria, you are protected against infections and illnesses. However, when the harmony is disturbed, it can lead to various gut conditions, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis, indigestion, and metabolic syndrome.

What Makes Gut Microbiota Get Out Of Balance?

Gut microbiota can be disturbed by different factors, such as poor diet, stress, antibiotics, lack of sleep, drinking too much alcohol, and some drugs. Processed and unhealthy foods can affect your gut health, which is why it is important to be aware of the consequences of what you eat and drink. 

Repeated use of antibiotics can kill some of the good bacteria in your gut, causing an imbalance that impacts other body functions, such as metabolism. 

Studies have confirmed the link between gut health and diseases and conditions. Some of these are diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, eczema, cancer, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis, among others.

What Can You Do To Keep Your Gut Healthy?

Given the important role that gut microbiota plays in your overall well-being, it is crucial to keep it healthy. There are many ways you can do so, and the first and foremost is being mindful of what you eat. If you are regularly indulging in sweets and processed foods, a far healthier option is to swap them for whole and fiber-rich foods. Adding prebiotic-rich foods and probiotics in your diet will also be helpful to your gut health.

Aside from the food that you put into your stomach, it is also essential to engage in regular exercise, get enough sleep, and reduce your stress, or learn to manage it better. Given the uniqueness of each person’s gut microbiota, your nutritional needs may vary, and your optimal diet may have to be tailored to your gut microbiota. For instance, you may be allergic or intolerant to some foods, such as dairy, grains, or gluten.

There’s more to your digestive system than breaking down the foods that you eat to give your body the energy it needs to function. It is important to keep your gut healthy to maintain and improve your overall well-being.