“Our lifestyle, the type of food, the level of physical activity and the health of the digestive system greatly influence the composition of the microbiome,” Rafi Steckler. Photo: Kalit
Recently, more and more of us are exposed to the concept of microbiome. The human microbiome is defined as the populations of microorganisms found near the human body and is essential in multiple metabolic processes, and in protection against pathogens – as an integral part of our inner world. Beyond that, he is responsible for many aspects of our lives, physical and mental health, the immune system, mental development and also for relationships and sexuality. Sound a bit complicated? Well, exactly for this purpose we have recruited Dr. Rafi Steckler, a dietitian in the North District of Kokalit for 14 years – who manages a close “relationship” with the bacteria that make us who we are.
• “The microbiome begins to develop immediately after birth”
Steckler, married and father of three lives in Kibbutz Gonen. He is a lecturer at Tel Hai College and is engaged in research in the field of analytical chemistry.
So what is a microbiome anyway we ask him? “The term microbiota refers to the entire population of microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.) that are on and inside our bodies,” he says and describes: “Meanwhile, the term microbiome refers to the entire genetic load of this population. In most cases that we encounter this term, the reference will be to the resident bacterial population A permanent way in the digestive system.”
And how is it formed?: “The microbiome begins to develop immediately after birth (until recently it was thought that it still develops in the womb) when part of the exposure to an environment rich in microorganisms already occurs during the passage through the birth canal. There is also a difference in the type of population that will develop in a normal birth compared to a cesarean birth. After that, the microbiome is affected Very much from our lifestyle and the type of food we consume.”
“The decomposition products can definitely be absorbed into the bloodstream”
What are the main factors for how our microbiome will look and feel and how much it is affected by genetics, lifestyle, diet, sports activity and other variables? According to Dr. Steckler, in recent years facts have been accumulating indicating a two-way axis of information passing between the microbiome and the brain, a brain-gut axis (it should be noted that other axes such as gut-heart, gut-kidney, etc. are also being studied). There are many examples. Because in various neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders (Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, Parkinson’s, etc.) the composition of the bacterial population in the intestines is distinctly different from the composition of bacteria found in healthy people.
There are many examples that in various neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders (Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, Parkinson’s, etc.) the composition of the bacterial population in the intestines is distinctly different from the composition of the bacteria found in healthy people
The obvious question is how the activity of bacteria inside the digestive system, which is supposed to be a closed system and not allow bacteria to affect it, and how can it cause changes in brain activity (which is also largely protected in a system that is closed to unwanted activity)?
“To answer the question,” clarifies Dr. Steckler, “one must first understand that a population of living creatures, even if it is bacteria, is an ecological system that consumes various substances from its environment (energy substances, vitamins, minerals that have not been fully digested by the host, the human ) and emits the products of its activity into its environment. We call these products ‘metabolites’.
So although the same food was not absorbed, and therefore continued on its way and was digested by the bacterial population – but the decomposition products, those metabolites, can certainly be absorbed into the bloodstream and into the nervous system. One of the examples known to most of us is those people who do not digest the milk sugar, lactose, well, and after consuming a certain amount of it, they present high values of hydrogen in a breath test. The same lactose that entered the digestive system was used by the intestinal bacteria and the breakdown product passed into the blood and left the lungs.”
“More and more substances were found that indicate abnormal activity in the digestive system of the children diagnosed with ADHD”
More than once the world of research and medicine defines the intestines, the organ belonging to the digestive system, as the second brain of the human body. The reason for this: they both have similar communication moves and conveying messages.
In a study conducted by Dr. Steckler as part of his doctoral thesis, which is just now being completed, he compared two groups of children aged 6-18: children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a control group of children without the disorder.
“The bacterial population of all of us is affected (for the better) mainly by dietary fiber, therefore food containing a regular basis of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and types of nuts will always be more beneficial than processed and industrial food”
“First of all,” he says, “even in this study a clear difference was found between the two groups when the control group presented a more “healthy” bacterial profile that was expressed in a wider variety and bacterial strains with activity beneficial to humans. I then tried to point out the mechanism by which those bacteria can to influence the course of the disorder and therefore I concentrated on the same communication channel mentioned above, the metabolites, the products of the bacteria’s activity.
I found that the group of children without the disorder present a variety of substances in the digestive tract (in the feces) that are certainly the products of bacterial activity (molecules that are known to be formed only by microorganisms) and have the potential to have a beneficial effect on the brain, being the basis for the construction of various hormones, including serotonin (which has a beneficial effect on the mood among others) and dopamine, the target hormone when treated with drugs such as Ritalin. Later, more and more substances were found indicating abnormal activity in the digestive system of the children diagnosed with ADHD.”
• “The bacterial population of all of us is affected (for the better) mainly by dietary fiber”
Dr. Steckler adds: “The good news is that our lifestyle, the type of food, the level of physical activity and the health of the digestive system greatly influence the composition of the microbiome. One of the examples that clearly illustrates the power of this mechanism is evidence that children with ADHD who were accidentally diagnosed with celiac disease and therefore immediately stopped consuming gluten, show a significant decrease in symptoms of attention deficit disorder. In this case, those children, when exposed to the gluten in wheat, develop a disease that affects the normality of the intestine and as a result there is also a disruption in the signals to the brain. This is of course a very unique case, but the bacterial population of all of us is affected (for the better) mainly by dietary fiber, therefore food containing a regular basis of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and types of nuts will always be more beneficial than processed and industrial food. It is not new that nutritious food is better than industrialized food, but here we understand that poor nutrition is not only obesity, heart disease and diabetes, but also affects almost directly the health of the nervous system and the mind.”