How Your Gut Microbiome Can Affect Your Whole Body’s Health
Technically speaking, the microbiome is the collection of genes of all the microbes within a human’s individual microbiota. The number of genes in our microbiome outnumber the genes in our genome by about 100 to 1!
As humans we are essentially a walking ecosystem, carrying around this microbiome which is infinitely more complex than our own genome. This massive community within our body has a very interesting relationship with its host. When balanced and healthy, it provides tremendous support all throughout the human body and the effects go far beyond digestive health, contrary to what many may think. The downside is, when it gets out of balance there is the potential for system-wide health problems.
Our understanding of the microbiome is still very basic and it will be very exciting to see where the research goes in years to come. Many evolutionary biologists are starting to believe that the genome and content of the microbiota of a human is just as important as the individual’s genes.
“The microbiome can almost be looked at as an additional organ beyond what most have learned and can account for between 1-3% of total body mass. The primary location of the microbiome is in the gut, but as researchers have demonstrated, its existence is far broader than you would think. Humans have measureable microbiota on essentially every surface and orifice of the body.” (Cho, I., & Blaser, M. J. (2012)
When new microbes are introduced and allowed to proliferate, which can occur due to any myriad of reasons, significant changes in health can be an unwanted and difficult to identify consequence. With the varied sources that can affect the delicate stability of one’s microbiota, one should be very careful and a vigilant steward in maintaining the health and balance of their microbiome.
One thing that is of the utmost importance though, is to live your life in a way that you are consciously making choices to support the health of your microbiome. In today’s day and age it is all too easy for the microbiome to decline in function, creating any number of challenges throughout the body.
The microbiome can almost be looked at as an additional organ beyond what most have learned and can account for between 1-3% of total body mass.
Through diet and lifestyle, our earliest ancestors were routinely exposed to spore-based bacteria found in healthy soils and our natural environment. In our modern and hyper-sanitized world, this primitive yet vital connection to nature has been all but lost.
Here at BronzeAge we recommend using Terraflora to help maintain a healthy gut biome. Terraflora is a novel broad spectrum synbiotic formulated with a combination of spore form probiotics, and advanced, food-based, ancient prebiotics designed for robust support of gastrointestinal health.
It is formulated with organic seaweeds, mushroom extracts, and humic acid. The advanced prebiotic complex contains a diverse spectrum of naturally occurring food-based polyphenols and polysaccharides designed to support healthy intestinal flora.