Primer
The microbiome is the collection of all microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and their genes, that naturally live on our bodies and inside us.1 There is technically no such thing as good or bad microbes. Each one is designed to be in a specific environment. Place them in the wrong environment, and they might cause problems. Place them in their natural environment, and there should be harmony so long as compatibility with other microbes is maintained.
Any serious gardener would know of the benefits to having a correctly-balanced ecosystem. The fruits of their labor are best observed with the correct foundation for any given plant. We are generally first exposed to microbes from the moment we exit the womb (though it may be possible to have exposure during pregnancy).2 3 How we exit the womb and other environmental exposures dictate or help shape our microbiome throughout our body.4 Whether we are breastfed and what kind of microbes and antibodies our mother exposes us to also help shape our microbiome, so long as other factors do not counter the benefits received from the mother and so long as the breastfeeding is done consistently over a long period of time.4 5 6
Our gut microbiome is generally established by the time we reach three years of age.7 Perhaps the most crucial of all time is within the first three months after birth.8 During these times, it is paramount that the microbiome consist mostly of microbes that work in the infant’s favor. The microbiome play a significant role in the child’s development throughout their lives. With the wrong kind of microbes many problems can arise over the course of the person’s life, from functinoal (e.g. constipation) to degenerative (e.g. autism) to life-threatening (e.g. sepsis) and many things in between.9 10 11 12 13
Our bodies do not completely digest the foods we eat. The microbiome has always assisted in breaking down the foods we eat, and children are no exception. Without microbes that work in the child’s favor you run the risk of malnutrition.14 Malnutrition itself is a viscous cycle, negatively impacting the gut, increasing the potential for inflammation and disease, leading to more malnutrition. There’s a reason why, at least in Western-like cultures, baby boomers and Gen X experienced disease mostly in their old age, and millennials in midlife, and Gen Z in their twenties, and Gen Alpha in their youth.
The attack on our microbiome gets worse and worse with each generation. Poor diets are introduced earlier and earlier. Antibiotics are used earlier and earlier, and more and more, even as a precaution, where the situation doesn’t even call for it. As a result the mother’s microbiome degrades in quality, and is passed down to the child, giving the appearance that it could be genetics, but it all comes down to the gut microbiome. Not to mention any technological advancements that pay no mind to how they affect our microbiome. Rinse and repeat.
If you worry about your health now, one can only imagine how much worse it will be for your children and grandchildren. At least for now, there is still room to salvage everything. But you have to take matters into your own hands now. You have to make an effort starting today, not just in your own homes, but also bringing things to the attention of your government, to force companies to work in the favor of a healthy microbiome. The work we do today will lay a foundation for the next generation. Should anything be neglected, fear for the worst.