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- Issue no. 2: Can a healthier gut help you live longer?
Issue no. 2: Can a healthier gut help you live longer?
Paolo Lamparelli
September 14, 2023
👵🏼👵🏼 Living to a 100 years old
Did you know that there are only five areas in the world where people tend to live a lot longer?
These are called Blue Zones, and they inspired the Netflix documentary "Blue Zones" (highly recommended!).
The island of Sardinia, Italy, is a Blue Zone.
Researchers were naturally interested in studying the gut microbiome of the elderly and centenarians living in Sardinia to understand how it compares to that of younger generations and their children.
The aim was to answer one important question: Do changes in the gut microbiome as we age cause healthy aging, or are they simply a result of healthy aging?
For context, the gut microbiome is the community of bacteria that live in our intestines. It plays an important role in our overall health, including our immune system, metabolism, and mental health.
🧐In depth: What did the actual research says?
Let's take a deep dive into a study published in the journal Nutrients 👇
💩💩 Stool sample anyone?
The research team studied the gut microbiome and its functional profile by analyzing stool samples from:
17 centenarians (average age 102 years)
29 elderly people (average age 93 years)
46 younger individuals (average age 51 years)
They wanted to compare the gut microbiome diversity (i.e., the different types of bacteria) between these groups, but also between 7 centenarians and their children (who would still be considered quite seasoned!).
👵🏼👵🏼 Older people in Sardinia have a ‘richer’ gut microbiome.
They had more families of bacteria that are anti-inflammatory and that promote gut integrity.
Also, a decrease in the ability to break down carbohydrates has been observed in both centenarians and elderly people. This means that less carbohydrates are absorbed, and more end up in the large intestine, where they are fermented to some extent.
This suggests that the gut microbiome of older people in Sardinia is able to adapt to changes in the environment and diet as they age. This is why high gut microbiome diversity is often seen as a sign of a long and healthy life
But…the gut microbiome of centenarians had lower diversity than elderly subjects. This is to be expected with age and as the ability of the gut to function normally decreases.
*Graph from original article in Nutrients. Labels and commentary added to simplify understanding.
🧒🧒 Healthy gut, healthy children.
The gut microbiome of centenarians and their children were no different, and were equally ‘richer’ than the middle aged men studied.
It is not surprising, as the children were born through natural childbirth, breastfed, and maintained an identical diet to their parents until adulthood.
⁉️ Still unknown
We don’t yet know what type of gut bacteria could make someone more likely to live to be 100 years old. This means that more Italians need to be studied!
What does this mean for you?
💩💩 Everything counts when it comes to the gut!
Genetics and environmental factors (such as diet, sun exposure, physical activity, where you live, type of childbirth, and whether you were breastfed or not) all shape our gut microbiome since birth.
We all want to live a long and healthy life, and more research is discovering how a healthy gut is central to this, even though the full mechanism of how everything works is still being studied.
The key takeaway from the research is to adopt healthy habits early in life for us and our children.
This usually yields better results because you reap the rewards for a longer period of time compared to starting later in life. It is even better if parents have already established healthy habits so that their children's environment is set up for health from birth.
🔫 There is a common saying in science: Genetics loads the gun, environmental factors pull the trigger.
Although genetics doesn’t help, having the environmental factors on our side is a great win.
✅ Here are some nutrition tips to live longer and healthier:
Prioritize nutrient-dense foods over calorie-dense foods. These foods are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are essential for good health.
Aim for 30 different plant-based foods per week. This will help you get a variety of nutrients and fiber, which are important for gut health.
Have long enough breaks between meals. Eating every 3 hours can overload your digestive system and make it difficult for your gut to rest and reset.
Include fermented foods in your diet. These foods are a good source of probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria for your gut.
Limit your intake of processed foods. Processed foods are often high in unhealthy fats, sugars and additives, and they can contribute to inflammation in the gut.
Relax when you eat. Eating in a rushed or stressful environment can make it difficult to digest your food properly.
Get enough sleep. Sleep is essential for overall health, including gut health.
And finally!
Do you remember the documentary "Blue Zones" I mentioned at the start? Well, as you may have guessed, it highlights a very different lifestyle than the Western one.
To your health!
Paolo
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