Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked February 27, 2023
PDF: https://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2023/February/PDF/endangered-human-microbiome-pdf.pdf
Video Link: https://www.theinvisibleextinction.com/
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
· The film, “The Invisible
Extinction,” warns that the human microbiome is endangered, putting humans at
risk
· The film highlights the
work of microbiologists Dr. Martin Blaser and Gloria Dominguez-Bello — a
husband-wife team — who are looking into both the problem and a potential
solution to save microbial diversity
· The overuse of antibiotics,
elective C-sections and processed foods are “driving the destruction of our
inner ecology,” according to the film
· The dramatic increases in
chronic diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, asthma, obesity, gastroesophageal
reflux disease and inflammatory bowel disease, may be linked to the loss of
bacterial diversity in our guts
· Dominguez-Bello is president
of The Microbiota Vault, a global nonprofit initiative attempting to “conserve
long-term health for humanity” by storing and preserving microbiota samples and
collections
The documentary film, “The Invisible Extinction,”
is sounding the alarm that the human microbiome is endangered, putting humans
at risk. “Bacteria have been the dominant life form on Earth. Everything about
human life depends on bacteria,” the film begins.1
Researchers are only beginning to tap the surface
when it comes to unveiling the complex relationship microbes have with human
health and disease. But it’s known that microbial diversity in your gut is a
good thing, while decreased diversity in the gut microbiome has been linked to
chronic conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
In general, gut microbial diversity decreases with
age,2 but even younger people are being affected.
The documentary homed in on three likely reasons why — the overuse of
antibiotics, elective C-sections and processed foods, which they say are
“driving the destruction of our inner ecology.”3
Making a Mess of Microbial Diversity
The film highlights the work of microbiologists Dr.
Marty Blaser and Gloria Dominguez-Bello — a husband-wife team — who are looking
into both the problem and a potential solution to save microbial diversity. In
explaining why he chose to focus the film on the research of Blaser and
Dominguez-Bello, after speaking with many microbiologists, co-director and
producer Steven Lawrence explained to Sloan Science and Film:4
“Marty’s research, which is
quite broad, defines the problem, whereas Gloria’s looks for the solution —
whether it’s preserving indigenous people’s microbes, thinking about how we can
make c-section births less detrimental in the long term, in addition to
advocating for fewer elective c-sections.
There are people around the
world doing important, foundational research, which will hopefully filter down
into a much more nuanced view of what it means to be healthy. We can all be
healthy physically but have very different microbiomes; there is a
protectiveness in diversity within ourselves as well as within our species, and
I think that’s what Gloria’s work on the microbiota vault [discussed below] is about.”
The microbiome refers to all the microbes that live
in and on your body. Not only does it play a role in digestion but it’s also
foundational to immune system function. In fact, your gut microbiome affects
nearly all your physiological systems.
In my interview with Rodney Dietert, Professor
Emeritus of immunotoxicology at Cornell University, he explains that
we’re microbial
beings, as "more than 99% of your genes are from
microbes, not from your chromosomes."5 You have approximately 3.3 million microbial
genes, mainly bacterial. Across the entire population of humans, there are just
under 10 million different microbial genes, so you won't necessarily have all
of them.
You also have 22,000 to 25,000 chromosomal genes
(these genes are what were analyzed through the Human Genome Project), which
means you only have about 2,000 more chromosomal genes than an earthworm. As
noted by Dietert, since we have about 3.3 million microbial genes, that means
we're more than 99% microbial, genetically.
Yanomami Indigenous People Most Microbially Diverse
Research by Dominguez-Bello and Blaser involved
characterizing the fecal, oral and skin bacterial microbiome of the Yanomami,
an isolated group of indigenous people who live in the Amazon rainforest. In a
study published in Science Advances in 2015, they wrote:6
“These Yanomami harbor a
microbiome with the highest diversity of bacteria and genetic functions ever
reported in a human group.
Despite their isolation,
presumably for >11,000 years since their ancestors arrived in South America,
and no known exposure to antibiotics, they harbor bacteria that carry
functional antibiotic resistance (AR) genes, including those that confer
resistance to synthetic antibiotics and are syntenic with mobilization elements.
These results suggest that westernization significantly affects human
microbiome diversity …”
By studying the microbiomes of these indigenous
people, Dominquez-Bello believes we can gain clues as to what functions are
lost in urban areas, where modern lifestyles are putting the microbiome at
risk. In an interview with People, she explained:7
“These are peoples that are
only now starting to be exposed to urban practices and medicine. So these are
survivors, because you can imagine the mortality in places where there's no
medicine. You fall from a tree, you are dead. You break a leg, you are dead.
One of every 10 mothers
that are in labor, one mother or baby dies. So if you survive, you are really a
survivor. And these are healthy people because the unhealthy ones have died. So
we are very interested in understanding their microbiome. And what we find is
that they have much higher diversity. In general, diversity is a marker for
health. The more diverse the microbiome, the healthier the ecosystem.”
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Why C-Sections May Be Robbing Babies of Microbes
The film also tackles cesarean section (C-section),
which alters infants’ microbiota since they’re not exposed to their mother’s
vaginal microbiota during birth. C-section delivery is associated with an
increased risk of immune system and metabolic disorders, possibly due to
altered microbes.
Research by Dominguez-Bello and colleagues
revealed, however, that “vaginal seeding” of C-section babies successfully
restores maternal microbes in the infant when done immediately after birth,
naturalizing their microbiota.8 While it’s unknown if restoring the babies’
microbiota after birth leads to long-term health outcomes, Dominquez-Bello
intends to find out. She told People:9
“If a baby is born via
elective C-section, with no water breaking, they are not exposed to the
mother's microbiome in the vagina. But we have shown that if we normalize, at
least partially, the microbiome of a baby that is born by elective C-section by
rubbing them with gauze soaked in fluid with their mother's microbiome, we can
normalize the mouth microbiome of the baby during the first year of life.
Are we protecting kids
against asthma, against Type 1 diabetes, against celiac disease, allergies,
obesity by doing this? We are doing a 5-year clinical trial to find out.”
Early-Life Exposures May Be Key to Disease
Prevention
Regarding early-life exposures, it’s also been
suggested that abnormalities with the gut microbiome early in life could play a
role in autism. Blaser told People:10
“We know that the rate of
autism has gone up dramatically over the last 80 years. And it's a disease of
early life — it manifests within the first couple years. And so we are
interested in the idea that the early life microbiome, as it forms, has a
connection with the brain.
We know that the microbiome
is talking to the brain. And so, a number of investigators have been interested
in the idea that maybe an abnormal early life gut microbiome is having an
altered conversation with the brain, and it's changing brain development.”
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common
type of childhood cancer, may also have a microbial link, according to Melvin
Greaves of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, U.K.11 Greaves’ study suggests exposure to microbes
in early life may be the ticket to preventing ALL, which can be done through:
·
Vaginal delivery (versus caesarean)
·
Breastfeeding
·
Going to day care as a baby
·
Exposure to older siblings
Past research supports these suggestions, including
a 2002 study that found children who spent more time in daycare had a
significantly reduced risk of ALL.12 Breastfeeding was also associated with a
reduced risk of ALL whereas introduction of formula within 14 days of birth was
positively associated with ALL, as was exclusive formula feeding to 6 months.13
Antibiotics Are Decimating the Human Microbiome
Every year, about 10 doses of antibiotics are
prescribed for every person on Earth. Even children take a mean of 2.7 courses
of antibiotics by age 2 and 10.9 by age 10. Exposure often begins even earlier,
however, as more than half of women receive antibiotics during pregnancy or
shortly after birth.
“This is in addition to an unknown level of
exposure from agricultural use of antibiotics,” Blaser explained in the
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine in 2018.14 He believes that the dramatic increases in
chronic diseases, including Type 1 diabetes, asthma, obesity, gastroesophageal
reflux disease and inflammatory bowel disease, are linked to the loss of
bacterial diversity in our guts — caused by the overuse of antibiotics:15
“Before modern times,
microbes were transferred from mother to child during vaginal birth, from the
mother’s breast during nursing, through skin-to-skin contact, and from the
mother’s mouth by kissing.
Now, widespread cesarean
delivery, bottle-feeding, extensive bathing (especially with antibacterial
soaps), and especially the use of antibiotics have changed the human ecology
and altered transmission and maintenance of ancestral microbes, which affects
the composition of the microbiota.
The microbes, both good and
bad, that are usually acquired early in life are especially important, since
they affect a developmentally critical stage.”
In comparison to the Yanomami people in the Amazon
jungle, who have high bacterial diversity, people in the U.S. have already lost
50% of their microbial diversity.16 This is why the risks of antibiotics must be
carefully weighed against the benefits prior to use — and the use of
antibiotics in the food supply must also be significantly reduced.
Processed Foods Destroy Your Microbiome
Another assault to your microbes comes in the form
of processed foods. Fiber is “the single most important component of the diet
to feed the microbiome,” Dominquez-Bello says,17 but it’s largely absent in processed foods.
Chemicals in the food supply, such as the herbicide glyphosate, also disrupt
microbes.
Consumption of whole foods is linked to higher gut
microbiota diversity,18 as is consuming herbs and spices. Consuming
capsules of spices — specifically cinnamon, oregano, ginger, black pepper and
cayenne pepper — favorably affected gut bacterial composition after just two
weeks.19 In another study, diversity of gut bacteria
increased after four weeks of consuming herbs and spices, in three-fourths
teaspoon or 1.5 teaspoon daily doses.20
In addition to herbs and spices, consuming
fermented foods is another solid strategy for optimizing the health of your gut
microbiome. A study assigned 36 adults to consume a diet high in fermented
foods or high-fiber foods for 10 weeks. Those consuming fermented foods had an
increase in microbiome diversity as well as decreases in markers of
inflammation.21
The issue is that many Americans do not consume
these healthy whole foods on a regular basis, instead consuming processed junk
foods devoid of fiber and nutrients and packed with additives. Artificial
sweeteners have also been found to alter gut bacteria in adverse ways.22
The Microbiota Vault
Dominguez-Bello is president of The Microbiota
Vault, a global nonprofit initiative attempting to “conserve long-term health
for humanity”23 by storing and preserving microbiota samples
and collections. The idea is to maintain a bank of microbes that could be used
to restore human microbiota as it gradually becomes less diverse — or in the
event it essentially goes extinct. Dominquez-Bello explained to People:24
“We need to preserve the
current biodiversity of microbes in humans of everywhere. And this is true also
for the environment. We are making a complete mess of biodiversity, including
microbial. Microbes are essential in every ecosystem, not only in humans or
animals or plants, but also in the oceans. The whole thing is linked together
by impact of human activities.
We need to preserve
microbes because they really modulate functions of Earth … They modulate
everything. They modulate our own gene expression. So there has to be more of
that effort to preserve microbial biodiversity, to restore, because we will
need restoration.”
In the immediacy, in addition to avoiding elective c-sections,
consider the following to protect your microbiome as much as possible:
|
Do |
Avoid |
|
Eat plenty of fermented
foods — Healthy choices include lassi, fermented grass fed kefir, natto
(fermented soy) and fermented vegetables. |
Antibiotics, unless absolutely
necessary. If you do use them, make sure to reseed your gut with fermented
foods and/or a high-quality probiotic supplement. |
|
Take a probiotic
supplement — If you don't eat fermented foods on a regular basis, a probiotic
supplement can be useful. |
Conventionally-raised
meats and other animal products, as CAFO animals are routinely fed
low-dose antibiotics. |
|
Boost your soluble and
insoluble fiber intake, focusing on vegetables and seeds, including sprouted seeds. |
Chlorinated and/or
fluoridated water — This includes during bathing or showering. |
|
Get your hands dirty in
the garden — Exposure to bacteria and viruses in soil can help strengthen
your immune system and provide long-lasting immunity against disease. |
Processed foods — Excessive sugars,
along with otherwise "dead" nutrients, feed pathogenic bacteria. |
|
Open your windows — Research shows
opening a window and increasing natural airflow can improve the diversity and
health of the microbes in your home, which in turn benefit you.25 |
Agricultural chemicals, glyphosate (Roundup) in
particular is a known antibiotic and could potentially kill many of your
beneficial gut microbes if you eat foods contaminated with it. |
|
Wash your dishes by hand
instead of in the dishwasher — Research has shown
washing your dishes by hand leaves more bacteria on the dishes than
dishwashers do. |
Antibacterial soap, as it kills off both
good and bad bacteria and contributes to the development of antibiotic
resistance. |
- Sources
and References
·
1 The Invisible Extinction,
Trailer, 0:11
·
2 Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Jan
31;11(2):289–290
·
3 The Invisible Extinction,
Synopsis
·
4 Sloan
Science & Film May 11, 2022
·
5 Bitchute, Microbiome and the Immune System, Interview with Rodney
Dietert, Ph.D. January 22, 2021
·
6 Science Advances April 17, 2015
·
7, 9, 10, 17, 24 People
January 3, 2023
·
8 Cell
Press August 13, 2021
·
11 Nat Rev Cancer. 2018 May 21
·
12 Br J Cancer. 2002 May
6;86(9):1419-24
·
13 Nutr Cancer. 2015;67(3):431-41
·
14, 15, 16 Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine December 2018, 85
(12) 928-930
·
18 Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(8),
1835
·
21 Cell July 12, 2021
·
22 Gut Microbes. 2015; 6(2):149–155
·
23 The
Microbiota Vault
·
25 ISME Journal 2012
Aug;6(8):1469-79
