Microbiome and its health relation to you

With personalized nutrition gaining traction today, microbiomes are another way to learn more about you. As consumers become more and more aware of what is good for them and what to eat and avoid, they are often looking for other ways to optimize their health and this is where microbiomes come in. Microbiomes are microorganisms that we possess that help us fight against germs, let us process food, and utilize and generate vitamins so it would make sense that we try to personalize our nutrition utilizing them. You’re probably wondering why can’t a blood test tell me what I need to eat or avoid and yeah that would make sense but your blood won’t tell a doctor how well your food is absorbed. Though analyzing microbiomes for personalized nutrition is still in its infancy, it definitely shows promise.

If you currently buy yogurt, you are probably familiar with a word such as lactobacillus and bifidobacterium which are considered good bacteria that may help with digestion, inflammation, and overall gut health, similarly as advancements in technologies are made companies can formulate keeping in mind microbiome health. This is important because if you are a lower income family, for example, and you get sick often, perhaps this would be one way to limit that doctor’s visit.

However, there are some challenges using microbiomes as well because often times they are looked at when someone is sick so it is hard to tell if the disease came first or the microbiomes were altered somehow which led to that disease. In other words, it is hard to tell the cause vs the effect; nonetheless, microbiomes are going to be an innovative way to combat health issues and should be kept an eye on in the future.