A Ripple Summer 2022 article

The secret to successful ageing may just lie in your digestive system.

Trillions of microbes — bacteria, viruses, fungi — call your intestinal tract home. These microscopic passengers that accompany us through life help digest food and so much more. They fight harmful pathogens; they affect how well medications work; they influence your immune system and heart health. They also play a role in healthy aging and longevity.

Collectively known as the gut microbiome, here is what you need to know about this complex community of microbes.

What Happens to Gut Bacteria as We Age

As we get older, our bodies start to change — including our ability to digest what we eat. A variety of age-related factors like the medications you take, a sedentary lifestyle, and even tooth decay and gum disease, lead to diminished variety in your gut microbiome.

This reduced diversity in the gastro-intestinal tract (gut) of elderly adults translates into shifts in the dominant species and a decline in beneficial microorganisms.

The Importance of a Healthy Gut to Healthy Aging

In a study published in 2021, by Nature Metabolism, scientists observed that changes in the composition of your gut microbiome can impact how you age. A gut microbiome that continually transforms as you get older is a sign of healthy aging. It means that your system’s passengers are adjusting appropriately the maturing body.

People who had the most changes in their microbial compositions tended to have better health and longer life spans. They had higher vitamin D levels and lower levels “bad” cholesterol. They needed fewer medications and they had better physical health, with faster walking speeds, and greater mobility. The greater the change, the healthier the individual.

The Second Brain

Experts in gut health often cite the “gut-brain connection”. Comprised of 100 million neurons, the network of nerve cells lining the digestive tract is so extensive that it has earned the nickname “the second brain.” You can read more about it here.

While we don’t know everything about their relationship, we do know that brain health and the gut are intimately connected. This is because your brain and gut actually talk to each other.

A reduction in gut microbiota diversity and disturbances in its composition affects the messages that are exchanged along the gut-brain axis.  There is accumulating evidence that these gastrointestinal changes are associated with several age-related neurological conditions, including depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

For example, recent research conducted through the Centre for Comprehensive Care and Research on Memory Disorders suggests that those who have been diagnosed with dementia have a vastly different population of bacteria in their gut compared to those who have never been diagnosed.

How To Improve Digestion and the Gut Microbiome

Here are 4 strategies to help you host good gut organisms, improve digestion as you age, keep your digestive tract on track, and support healthy aging.

1. Eat your way to a healthy gut

Eating a diet high in vegetables provide the fibre needed to build good bacteria. In general, choosing whole foods over processed foods will promote healthy digestion. Processed foods often contain added sugar, fat, and salt that feed “bad bacteria”.

For those looking to heal their gut, the best foods are fermented. According to Stanford School of Medicine researchers, eating fermented foods everyday boosts microbiome diversity and improves immune responses. Think, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, miso, and yogurt or kefir.

2. Stock up on prebiotics and probiotics

Prebiotics are essentially carbs that your body can’t digest.  These ferment in the gut and feed the good bacteria. Prebiotics naturally occur in many foods, such as legumes, bananas, tomatoes, certain nuts, seeds, and grains.

Probiotics can improve digestive health and may help treat gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation.

3. Regular exercise promotes better gut health

There’s a lot going on when we exercise.  So much that a team of researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, decided to delve into whether exercise benefits our microbiome.  They found that exercising causes important changes that help good gut microbes to bloom.

In another study, people who exercised three times a week for six weeks showed an increase in beneficial gut microbes and a decrease in harmful ones. Participants who continued exercising maintained the gains, while those who became sedentary reverted to less bacterial diversity.

4. Manage stress to restore gut health

Humans seem to intuitively know that gut health and stress are linked. A variety of stressors can negatively affect gut health, including:

– Psychological stress

– Environmental stress, such as extreme heat, cold, or noise

– Sleep deprivation

– Disruption of the circadian rhythm.