Your microbiome is what we call all the microscopic organisms that live on and in our body. There are more than 100 trillion of them that live on us, with the largest cluster being in our gut. But also our skin, breasts, semen, uterus, ovaries, lungs, saliva and even in our blood all contain these tiny living microorganisms.
Every single one of us has an entirely unique microbiome. Your microbiome is determined not only by the food that you eat, but also by the exercise you take, the lifestyle you lead, your environment and the things you touch. Chemicals often kill it off (pesticides, cleaning products, make-up, pollution, antibiotics, antibacterial sprays), while other behaviours help boost your good microbes like touching mud/grass, having a dog lick your face and meditation.
What you have done over your whole life will all be part of what has made up your microbiome. It is as unique as your fingerprint. Right from the moment you were born and even in the womb your microbiome is being determined: Babies born vaginally are covered in their mothers microbes as they exit the vagina which is why they tend to have stronger immune systems.
These minute little bugs dynamically interact with our bodies all the time. We are not separate from them. They are part of us and we cannot live without them. They cannot live without us. We have a symbiotic relationship.
They play large role in so many important functions in our body:
• Inflammation
• Our immune system
• Permeability of gut/leaky gut
• Control brain chemistry and mental health
• Our nutrient levels
• Our hormone levels
• What we absorb and don’t absorb
• They actually play a role in almost all physiological processes in the human body
In essence, they control our health.
There is roughly 100 bacterial genes to every human gene in our body. So the impact of the bacterial DNA is hugely influential over our overall health, way way more than our human DNA. And the great news is we have the power to amend these genes easily through food and lifestyle choices, unlike the human ones which are much harder to alter.
Yet many of us ignore our microbiome and are not aware of how to treat them well.
