Revisit (or take a first look) at this lively conversation between Dr. Stephen Barrie, and Janelle Connell as they discuss the most popular health and wellness goals for the year–and how your very own human microbiome can directly impact each of these areas.
Your guides on this replay:
Dr. Stephen Barrie, Viome VP and Head of Clinical Nutrition
Janelle Connell, VIome Translational Science Clinical Expert
We’re laying out just a few of the many key moments from this webinar for those of you who don’t quite have the time to sit and watch the replay (and btw, the link to the full webinar is below, you can watch or listen without leaving the page).
Not-to-miss key moments from this event
Dr. Stephen Barrie is known as “The Grandfather of the Microbiome”
Stephen: “I've been involved in thinking and researching and developing tests and therapies and protocols about the microbiome for probably, I guess, it's 40 years now. Back when I was first a physician and back in the mid-1980s, the microbiome wasn't talked about very much. We did a bunch of research and understood the importance of the microbiome as it affects the entire human health. What's gratifying for me and amazing for me is to see what's happened over the past 40 years from our intuition and our ideas now have been turned into actual science and research and treatment protocols, et cetera. It's been an exciting journey to see the progress of the relationship with microbiome to the human health.”
Our Earth is covered in Microbiomes, and so are we!
Stephen: “There is a microbiome that exists in the air. Our entire planet is covered with a microbiome. Microbiome are small little one cell organisms, bacteria, parasites, phages, viruses, fungi, they're all the microbiome, and they exist in the air, water, the soil, and on plants and in every living creature. The microbiome is truly all around us, and life on planet earth could not exist without the microbiome. Now let's talk more about bringing it back down to us.”
Janelle: “It's almost like we're our own little planet within ourselves. Just like our earth is covered with microbiomes, so are we, we have a few different areas, like the oral microbiome. We often think about that in terms of our dental and gum health. It's really so much more than that. Skin is next, our skin is covered with a microbiome. I think it's become more popular now to think about that, especially in the products that we use, that we put on our skin, our lotions, our body washes, things like that and how can we find more gentle solutions to support that because our skin is a barrier for us. Those microorganisms help to provide that and try to keep pathogens out. Then there is the gut microbiome, obviously, that's one that we have a deep appreciation for, probably has the most studies backing it at this point. But our gut is responsible for so many things, the microbes there, whether it's producing vitamins like B vitamins, vitamin K, fermenting fibers, and helping us digest certain foods. But our gut microbes also, I mean, they regulate hormones, they produce neurotransmitters. They really have this systemic effect all over the body.”
If you’re working on getting better sleep, think about…your gut microbiome?
Stephen: “It turns out that the gut and the microbiome in the gut are intimately connected to the brain in several ways. There's a nerve, the vagus nerve that connects them, and then metabolites that the microbiome produces circulate the bloodstream and end up affecting the brain. What metabolites they produce therefore affects what our brain is thinking and doing, mood and appetite we'll talk about, and also sleep. There's this two-way communication happening all the time.”
Janelle: “It's bidirectional. We get that communication both ways. I know when I think of sleep, I think of melatonin, a lot of people take melatonin supplements. That seems to be the hot topic. What's interesting is that in order for us to make enough melatonin, it's really dependent on our serotonin and whereas the majority of the serotonin is produced in the gut.”
Stephen: “By the way, science didn't know that five years ago. Five years ago, we did not know, six years ago, that most of the serotonin that the body needs is made by gut bacteria. This is a whole concept that no one even knew about.”
If you wake up in the morning and you don’t want to go for your daily run–blame your gut microbiome!
Janelle: “There was a study that just came out last month, so this is really new, but they're connecting our desire to exercise with the microbiome. I think it was done in mice, so we have to apply it as cautiously there. But when they looked at it, they're looking at performance, how much do these mice want to run? You can see high performers versus low performers, and they look at all sorts of differences. Genetics play a significant role. But what did their microbiome differences? Then they gave these animals antibiotics. Do you know what happened? They're running performance decreased by 50%. That's incredible. I couldn't believe that. They found the mice were not getting as much dopamine, they're not getting that feel good sensation from the exercise after the antibiotics.”
Stephen: “Yeah, it's the microbiomes producing molecules that activate the sensory neurons that stimulate exercise-associated reward areas of the brain. The brain has all the different areas. One area is its rewards, and it actually stimulated that area of the brain that made you feel good after exercising. Incredible motivation for prolonged exercise. Now, I think even though it was done in mice, we've seen enough research done in humans, not quite like this, but that associated the stuff with the athletes you mentioned who have a different microbiome balance than people who aren't elite athletes.”
Janelle: “So when it's hard to wake up in the morning, and you don't want to exercise, you can blame your microbiome for that, right?”
Stephen: “Right. The good thing for your exercise goal is beyond blaming your microbiome for it, you can then do something to help your microbiome and produce those sensory stimulating molecules to give you that reward.”
One good secret to successful weight loss habits? FIBER.
Janelle: “There was a study that just came out last month; they followed people for a year who were losing weight. It was over 600 people. They had them on two different diets. For the most part, everyone lost weight in the first six months. But then what they found is that only a subset of people continued to lose weight for the next six months. I think all of us can relate to that long-term weight loss is hard.”
Stephen: “That's why there are so many diets.”
Janelle: “Yes, we just keep cycling. They looked at the factors, and genetics wasn't a significant factor. Exercise wasn't adherence to the diet, so these people were still adhering to the diet and not getting results. But what was a significant factor was the composition of the microbiome again, and that these people who were successful long-term with their weight loss had more microbes who break down fiber, fiber-degrading microbes. As Stephen mentioned, these microbes are beneficial, and they produce molecules and short-chain fatty acids and things like that that are good for us or good for regulating our blood sugar for our gut lining, all sorts of things.”
Stephen: “It was found, actually, there were two particular species of bacteria that they fed mice that stopped the overeating. Now maybe we'll see products in the future with that, I'm not sure. Again, that's not the solution. Again, you're not figuring out the cause by doing that. You're just doing a quick treatment, and maybe that's good to start, but you can't just feed in the tube bacteria and say, ‘Okay, that's it.’ Maybe that's a good temporary treatment, then we want to get it, and so the body's doing that naturally, not that you're having to take these two bacteria all the time.”
Janelle: “Yeah. Those actions, again, we come back to fiber. This one made me think of filling the majority of your plate, 75% of it or more with plant-based foods for your microbes. They love that fiber. We want to encourage those fiber-degrading microbes to thrive. I think that's a really great place to start. Then you can supplement with some of those probiotics to maybe help the balance within your microbiome as well.”
Summary on the Takeaways:
Dr. Stephen Barrie is known as “The Grandfather of the Microbiome” - Dr. Barrie is an “OG,” having been involved in researching and developing tests and therapies and protocols on the microbiome since the mid-1980’s!
Our Earth is covered in Microbiomes, and so are we! - Microbes are small little one-cell organisms, bacteria, parasites, phages, viruses, fungi, they're all the microbiome, and they exist in the air, water, the soil, and on plants and in every living creature. Just like our earth is covered with microbiomes, so are we, and they are distributed around our whole body: gut, mouth, skin, reproductive organs, nasal passages, lungs, brain and more!
If you’re working on getting better sleep, consider your gut health - The vagus nerve gives a direct connection from the gut to the brain. Metabolites that the microbiome produces circulate the bloodstream and end up affecting the brain. What metabolites they produce therefore affects what our brain is thinking and doing, mood and appetite, and also sleep. There's this two-way communication happening, and your gut health can impact your sleep, as well as your sleep (or lack thereof) affecting your gut health.
If you don’t want to go on your daily run–you may be able to blame your gut microbiome - In a study done on mice, it was seen that microbes produced molecules that activate the sensory neurons that stimulate exercise-associated reward areas of the brain. This releases chemicals (like dopamine) that make you feel good after exercising. Even though it was done in mice, we've seen enough research done in humans, that we can associate with the information about athletes having a different microbiome balance than people who are not regular exercisers.
One of the best secrets to successful weight loss habits? FIBER - A recent study followed 600 participants all losing weight over the course of a year. The findings showed that a significant factor for those who succeeded in losing weight and keeping it off long-term had a lot more fiber-degrading molecules. Meaning they had more beneficial bugs in their gut that broke down fiber to produce short-chain fatty acids that are essential in helping regulate our blood sugar and supporting a healthy gut lining.
Want MORE? Watch our full replay from “The Power of the Human Microbiome” right here:
