The Important Role of Gut Health in Longevity

Recent scientific literature has been filled with the importance of the gut microbiome in our overall health. The gut turns out to be the foundation of 80% of our immune system. The gut microbiome is a microcosm and a world within itself that lives within us. The gut is basically a large tube within us that is exposed to the outside world. We have trillions of organisms that compose our microbiome, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and even parasites. These organisms work together, synergistically with our body to create a healthy, balanced microbiome which results in a healthy gut, and therefore improves our health.

Supplements such as prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics are an important way of maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Firstly, let’s define what a prebiotic is. A prebiotic provides the food and the energy for the good bacteria that are referred to as probiotics. You can try to obtain prebiotics from your diet, examples of prebiotics include vegetables that have a higher content in fiber, such as Jerusalem artichoke, asparagus, garlic, legumes, berries, apples, bananas, etc. If you cannot obtain prebiotics from your diet, there’s always supplements to help you obtain that goal. When the good bacteria (probiotics) flourish in our gut we have a healthy gut environment.

The other term frequently associated with the microbiome is postbiotics. This term refers to the waste products that are left behind after our body digests both prebiotics and probiotics. Healthy postbiotics include nutrients such as vitamins B and K, amino acids, and peptides, which help the gut function better and slow down the growth of harmful bacteria.

The gut microbiome also includes our mouth and our teeth, this is referred to as the oral microbiome. It is very important to have a healthy balance of bacteria in the oral microbiome as it has been discovered that certain bacteria when elevated in the oral microbiome are associated with certain diseases and cancers, including heart disease. In the future, we will have our oral microbiome analyzed and it will give us an idea on what foods, supplements, and diet we should follow in order to have a healthy and balanced microbiome.

To maintain this delicate balance within the microbiome, it is essential to have specialized testing done to evaluate your microbiome in its entirety by a specialist, such as an integrative functional medicine doctor. The actionable data obtained from this test will help your integrative medicine physician decide on diet and supplements, and which specific probiotics to take to maximize your gut health, which in turn will help your overall health. Remember a healthy gut is the foundation of a healthy body.

We will be hearing a great deal in the next few years about processed foods, food coloring, hormones, heavy metals, micro-plastics, GMO seeds, and antibiotics that have entered our food chain, and how they may have affected our health and longevity. So please stay with us on this journey as we educate our readers on the importance of gut health and all aspects of longevity and anti-aging medicine.

Dr Magdalena Swierczewski, MD, is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Anti-aging Medicine and specializes in anti-aging and Integrative functional medicine, drmagdalenas.com. Dr Peter Michalos, MD, is a clinical Associate Professor at Columbia University Collage of Physicians and Surgeons and Chairman of the Hamptons Health Society.

Always consult your physician before beginning any new medical treatment or fitness program. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional.