A Strong Gastrointestinal System Fosters Aged Health and Well-being
Got some intriguing science right here, ya brainiacs! Apparently, old-timers who are fit as fiddles got the same gut bacteria composition as 30-year-olds, according to a new study.
This badass research was done by a team of scientists from the Lawson Health Research Institute of Western University in Ontario, Canada, and the Tianyi Health Science Institute in Zhenjiang, China.
They investigated the gut microbiota of over a thousand healthy folks, aged from 3 to 100 years. The results were published in the mSphere journal. Greg Gloor, a professor at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, led the study, with Gaorui Bian, from the Tianyi Health Science Institute, as the first author.
Old vs. Young Gut Bacteria
The scientists used 16S Ribosomal RNA sequencing to analyze the microbial composition of the participants' guts. They chose these participants based on their extreme health. They didn't have any diseases, didn't smoke, didn't drink alcohol, had no mood swings, and weren't on any medications or antibiotics for the past three months. Also, they had no family history of major heart, stomach, or brain diseases.
The study revealed some significant findings. First off, the microbial composition of the extremely healthy seniors resembled that of the younger and healthier folks. Second, major differences in the gut microbiota were found only before the age of 20. After that, the microbiota stayed pretty much the same up until the age of 100. Lastly, men's gut microbiota seemed to be more variable than women's.
"In a nutshell," the authors write, "the findings suggest that the gut microbiota of the healthy seniors in this study doesn't change much from that of the healthy young folk in the same population."
Let's Reset the freakin' Microbiota!
One of the study's co-authors, Gregor Reid, a professor at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and a scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, states, "Our goal is to develop novel microbiome diagnostic systems and use food and probiotics to enhance health indicators."
But the study doesn't totally explain the why's. As Reid explains, "It raises questions like: if you maintain a healthy lifestyle, will you age better, or is healthy aging predisposed by the bacteria in your gut?"
Regardless, there's definitely a strong and undeniable correlation between a healthy gut and healthy aging.
"The main takeaway is: if you're ridiculously healthy and 90 years old, your gut microbiota isn't that different from a healthy 30-year-old in the same population," says Prof. Gloor.
"Whether this is cause or effect remains unknown," write the authors. However, Prof. Gloor explains, "This shows that preserving the diversity of your gut as you age is a biomarker of healthy aging, like low-cholesterol is a biomarker of a healthy circulatory system."
Prof. Reid adds, "By studying healthy people, we hope to understand what we should strive for when people get sick."
The study's authors conclude that resetting the gut microbiota of the elderly to resemble that of a 30-year-old might help promote health.
Now that's some Sc-F-I-I handiwork, folks!next time someone tells you they got the gut of a 30-year-old at 90, you'll know it's not just an old punchline. They might actually be on to something... Something stinky, but something!
- The research conducted by scientists from the Lawson Health Research Institute and the Tianyi Health Science Institute discovered that the gut microbiota of extremely healthy seniors resembles that of younger, healthier individuals, as revealed in a new study published in the mSphere journal.
- The scientists, led by Greg Gloor from Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Gaorui Bian from the Tianyi Health Science Institute, analyzed the microbial composition of over a thousand participants aged 3 to 100 years.
- The study found that the gut microbiota of healthy seniors is largely similar to that of younger individuals, with significant differences observed only before the age of 20.
- After the age of 20, the gut microbiota remained relatively stable up until the age of 100, and men's gut microbiota seemed to be more variable than women's.
- The researchers believe that maintaining a healthy lifestyle could help promote healthy aging and preserve gut diversity, which is a biomarker of healthy aging, similar to low cholesterol being a biomarker of a healthy circulatory system.
- The study's findings suggest that resetting the gut microbiota of the elderly to resemble that of a 30-year-old could potentially help promote health in the elderly.
- Gregor Reid, one of the study's co-authors, expressed the aim to develop microbiome diagnostic systems and use food and probiotics to enhance health indicators.
- Although the study does not fully explain the underlying mechanisms, it raises questions about the role of gut microbiota in healthy aging and whether a healthy lifestyle or the bacteria in the gut could influence the aging process.
