“Undo It” is the most recent book written by respected physician-scientist Dr. Dean Ornish. The book makes the case that our health is not determined so much by the genes we’re born with but rather by whether these genes are turned on or off. And to a large extent, that process is determined by our lifestyle.
Our microbiome — particularly our gut microbiome — is a key player in our health, and should be thought of as another organ system, similar to our brain, kidneys, liver, etc. Dr. Ornish has done research with a leading microbiome scientist “to understand how the four components of our lifestyle medicine program— eat well, move more, stress less, love more — interact with our microbiome in healing ways.”
Humans have over 100 trillion organisms (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) residing in our mouth, nose and gut; and on our skin (there is also a vaginal microbiome). The genes in all the organisms in our microbiome outnumber all the genes in our own cells by at least 100 to 1. Depending on our lifestyle, our microbiome can keep us healthy or make us sick. Here are some examples:
- Obesity: Diets high in fat, sugar, or refined carbohydrates adversely encourage propagation of bacteria that cause fat storage and weight gain.
- Inflammation: A diet based on animal products increases the number of microbes that cause chronic inflammation—and inflammation contributes to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), diabetes, and cancer.
- Depression: Gut bacteria manufacture neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, “which can help keep you from feeling anxious, depressed, and tired.”
- Dementia: There is evidence that inflammation plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease. According to Dr. Ornish, Alzheimer’s disease patients have a lower number of gut bacteria that have anti-inflammatory activity, and a higher number of bacteria that cause inflammation.
- Mouth-body connection: A healthy mouth microbiome helps prevent dental plaque buildup, cavities, and gum disease — all of which cause chronic inflammation, leading to many diseases including heart attacks and strokes.
- Cancer: A prevalence of certain species of gut bacteria increase risk of colon cancer.
Dr. Ornish advises the following measure to develop a health-promoting microbiome:
- Eat well: The bacteria in our gut microbiome feed on fiber, which is found in only in plants. Animal products encourage disease-causing gut bacteria. Fruit, vegetables, legumes (beans, lentils), whole grains, nuts and seeds encourage health-promoting gut microbes.
- Move more: Studies show that exercise increases microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids, which reduce disease-causing inflammation.
- Stress less, love more: Dr. Ornish has shown that avoiding negative emotions such as stress and loneliness (even a pet helps) cuts down on the number of interleukin-producing gut bacteria—interleukins cause inflammation, harmful activation of your immune system, and depression.
- Avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. One weeklong course of antibiotics “can change your gut microbiome for up to a year.”
- For a healthy mouth microbiome, avoid mouthwashes and toothpaste that are antibacterial.
In summary, for optimal health be kind to you’re the trillions of organisms that make up your microbiome— they can be your friends, or your enemies.