This video discusses the importance and influence of our microbiome, the community of microorganisms living in our bodies. It begins by emphasizing that microbes are omnipresent and that we have a symbiotic relationship with them. It explains that when we are born, our bodies are sterile, but as we travel through the birth canal, our mother's bacteria cover our bodies, which is essential for human health.
The video then delves into the concept of co-evolution between humans and microbes over millions of years. It mentions that mother's milk contains special sugars that feed and support certain microbes, work as a decoy for others, and help modulate the immune system. It takes up to two years for a healthy microbe community to form.
The video categorizes microbes into three types: quiet passengers that do their own thing, guests that harm us but with whom we've learned to live, and friendly fellows that our bodies want to have around. The gut microorganisms, a community of 380,000 billion bacteria from up to 5,000 different species, help us digest food and pull additional calories from things we can't digest ourselves.
The video also discusses the influence of our gut microbiome on our behavior. It mentions that 90% of our body's serotonin, an important messenger substance for nerve cells, is produced in the gut. Some scientists believe the microbiome does this to communicate with the vagus nerve, the information highway of our nervous system.
The video also highlights the influence of our microbiome on our daily lives. It mentions studies showing that the microbiome influences what kinds of food we crave. It also discusses the self-reinforcing cycle of eating unhealthy food, which breeds unhealthy bacteria and leads to cravings for more unhealthy food.
The video concludes by discussing the link between our microbiome and serious diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and cancer. It mentions that one of the earliest symptoms of Parkinson's is gut problems. The video suggests that if your body is overrun with harmful bacteria, one solution is to transplant some healthy poop from a healthy person into your gut. However, it also emphasizes the need for more scientific research to understand the complex interplay of our microbiome and our health.
1. Microbes are omnipresent in our environment, including on our phones, water bottles, and even on our hands before and after washing.
2. We have a partnership with microbes, where we provide them with shelter and food, and they work for us.
3. Humans start out sterile inside the mother's womb, but when we are born, billions of our mother's bacteria cover every part of our bodies.
4. Children born via C-section have a higher rate of asthma, immune diseases, and even leukemia.
5. Over millions of years, we co-evolved with microbes to make the best of our relationship.
6. Mother's milk contains special sugars meant to feed and support certain groups of microbes, which work as a decoy for others and help to modulate the immune system.
7. It takes up to two years for a healthy microbe community to form.
8. Every human has their own unique microbiome, made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other organisms.
9. We have three categories of microbes in our bodies: quiet passengers that do their own thing, guests that harm us but with whom we've learned to live, and friendly fellows that our bodies want to have around.
10. Mother's milk contains special sugars that are meant to feed and support certain groups of microbes, which work as a decoy for others and help to modulate the immune system.
11. The gut microorganisms help us digest food and pull additional calories from things that we can't digest ourselves.
12. Our gut is guarded by an aggressive army, our immune system.
13. To survive here, our microbiome co-evolved with us to be able to communicate with our body.
14. Some of our microbes produce messenger substances that help to educate the immune system, and others stimulate the gut cells to regenerate faster.
15. Evidence has emerged that the influence of our gut microbiome goes much further, it might even talk directly to our brain.
16. 90% of our body's serotonin, an important messenger substance for nerve cells, is produced in the gut.
17. Some scientists think the microbiome does this to communicate with the vagus nerve, the information highway of our nervous system.
18. Other examples are bacteria that stimulate immune cells in the gut, so they send a kind of alarm signal to the brain.
19. A new field of science is opening up here, and we're just on the verge of understanding how these complex systems inside our bodies interact.
20. We are starting to see how much our microbiome actually influences us and our behavior.
21. Healthy rats fed microbes from the guts of depressed people began showing anxiety-like behavior, and symptoms that look like depression.
22. In early 2017, a study linked the microbiome to intelligence, by connecting a certain set up of bacteria in newborns, with better motor and language skills.
23. Tests with fruit flies showed that their microbiome, influenced what kinds of food they craved.
24. The seed for our microbiome comes from our mother, but how it develops and changes, is determined by what we eat.
25. Our gut is like a garden in which we constantly decide, what will grow and blossom.
26. If we eat healthily, we breed bacteria that like healthy food.
27. If we eat a lot of fast food, then we breed fast food loving bacteria.
28. This kind of self-reinforcing cycle could play a huge role in obesity.
29. Beyond weight gain, our microbiome has also been linked to other serious diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and cancer.
30. One of the earliest symptoms of Parkinson's is actually gut problems.
31. If your body is overrun with bacteria that harm you, there is often only one solution: you bring in an army of good guys.
32. You just transplant some healthy poop, from a healthy person, into your gut.
33. This method is already used to cure diarrhea that's caused when C. difficile bacteria take over a gut microbiome.