Exploring your gut microbiome with Microba Insight™

The community of microorganisms living in your gut does much more than you may think! Your gut microbiome has the potential to benefit your overall health and supports many bodily functions, such as digestion, metabolism, immunity and cognition. Like your fingerprint and DNA, no two microbiomes are the same. Your microbiome is unique to you and can be impacted by various time points in your life and dietary and lifestyle factors, such as how you were born, where you grew up, what medications or supplements you take, exposure to stress, exercise and sleep habits, and most importantly what you eat.

The connection between your diet and your microbiome

Research suggest diet is a driving factor in determining microbiome composition and function[1]  This is great news because this means you have the power to improve your microbiome health and overall wellbeing by the food choices you make. But where do you begin?

Understanding which bacteria are present in your gut microbiome and what they have the potential to do is the first step to unlocking the best ways to promote your microbiome health. Tests such as Microba’s Insight™ gut microbiome analysis accompanied with the support of your healthcare practitioner, can provide detailed information that allows you to have a more targeted and personalised approach to improving your wellbeing and healthy dietary practices for life.

Insight™ gut microbiome analysis

Insight™ gut microbiome analysis uses technology known as metagenomic sequencing. This technology can measure all the microbial DNA in your microbiome and correctly identify the many species of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and protists that are present. Through this accurate testing method you are shining a spotlight on this community of microbes living in your large intestine and are therefore not left in the dark wondering if there is something you are missing.

Most importantly, Insight™ provides more than just a list of microbial names but also what your community of microbiomes have the potential to do, such as consuming and producing certain microbial substances. This is known as the “functional potential “of your microbiome, which can have a profound impact on your wellbeing. While some gut microbes have potential to produce pro-inflammatory substances, such as hexa-LPS (Lipopolysaccharide), which can be linked to systemic inflammation and associated diseases, others have the potential to produce beneficial substances , such as IPA (3-indolepropionic acid), which is considered a strong anti-oxidant than can help protect the nervous system against damage.[2] Whether your microbiome holds the potential to create these substances can be managed or harnessed via the foods you eat. This can influence what these microbes make and how to minimise the effects of potentially harmful substance.

What do we eat to optimise microbiome?

Understanding the risks and benefits your microbiome holds, will allow you to take charge of what you eat in order to better this community of microbiome and yourself! Your healthcare practitioner can view your Insight™ report and ensure your diet is personally suited to make the most of your unique microbiome’s potential to support positive health outcomes. They can also make recommendations for areas that may need improvement such as ways to limit your microbiome’s inflammatory potential, improve metabolism, improve bowel habits and symptoms such as constipation or loose stools and so much more!

To find out more about your microbiome and how you can make positive changes to benefit your wellbeing, you can purchase the test kit.

References:

[1] Hannah C. Wastyk, Gabriela K. Fragiadakis, Dalia Perelman, Dylan Dahan, Bryan D. Merrill, Feiqiao B. Yu, Madeline Topf, Carlos G. Gonzalez, William Van Treuren, Shuo Han, Jennifer L. Robinson, Joshua E. Elias, Erica D. Sonnenburg, Christopher D. Gardner, Justin L. Sonnenburg. Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.019

[2] Garcez ML, Tan VX, Heng B, Guillemin GJ. Sodium Butyrate and Indole-3-propionic Acid Prevent the Increase of Cytokines and Kynurenine Levels in LPS-induced Human Primary Astrocytes. Int J Tryptophan Res. 2020 Dec 28;13:1178646920978404. doi: 10.1177/1178646920978404. PMID: 33447046; PMCID: PMC7780186.

Author Krystyna Sullivan

Krystyna Sullivan is a naturopath with a background in the health, wellness and fitness industries. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Monash University and a Bachelor of Naturopathy from Southern Cross University. With nearly a decade of experience, Krystyna brings a deep understanding of the integrated health arena to her role as a Clinical Application Specialist with the Insight™ team. She has a strong interest in public health and a passion for supporting others to understand their gut microbiome potential.