Despite all the buzz about the body’s microbiome and maintaining good gut health, many people may be surprised to learn that gut health may even affect personality and fertility.
Dr. Sabine Hazan, a renowned gastroenterologist and the founder and CEO of genetic sequencing laboratory ProgenaBiome, is at the forefront of microbiome research, reveals the truth behind detox myths and the real strategies for resetting gut health.
“We tend to think of disease as caused by overgrowth of microbes, but we forget that disease is also caused by a lack of good microbes,” she says. Even so, she says consumers should be skeptical of so-called “probiotics” and other supplements targeting the microbiome.
Data from ProgenaBiome showed that out of 26 probiotic drinks, only three had the good bacteria shown on the label. These labels mislead the consumers and worse, can affect the microbiome,” she says, adding that, “16/17 probiotics on the market do not represent the ingredients put on the label.”
To spring clean your microbiome the right way, Hazan says to “decrease stress, remove yourself from toxic situations, ground yourself, go outdoors, expose yourself to plants, nature, embrace life, and eat the right foods.”
While the key to a healthy microbiome is balance, that balance is highly individual, Hazan says.
“The other important point to realize is that there are no good or bad bacteria,” she says. “One microbe can be good up to a certain level and be bad if over a certain level for that individual.”
Hazan is the author of Let’s Talk Sh!t which goes into diets and tips everyone can use to balance their microbiome.
Many people associate gut health with digestive issues and overall energy levels, but according to Hazan’s research, it can have other surprising effects.
“Data from ProgenaBiome has shown that there is a signature microbiome present in anxiety and bipolar disorder,” Hazan says. Her team is presenting their research next month at a conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Las Vegas, with data showing that people with bipolar disorder present an “overgrowth of certain microbes and a lack of other microbes.”
She says the research is “exciting” because in the future, a simple test on a stool sample can predict bipolar disorder, and help physicians better treat it.
Along with personality, the microbiome may also affect fertility, Hazan says.
“The data is not clear yet, but there seem to be some validation to a destroyed microbiome affecting fertility,” she says.
“We have a tendency to kill, to sterilize, not realizing that we also kill good microbes that sustain our health and give us longevity,” Hazan says. “If you kill bad bacteria, remember to offset the killing with nutrition.”
