#22. In Sickness and Health: Our Micro-Nuptial Vows Monday, July 12, 2021 Last week, we set off on a deep-gut exploration, shining our bloglight on the diverse organisms that inhabit our insides: the microbiome. This is an increasingly popular topic (just inspect the probiotic shelf at any health food store), but it's not all that new. The first investigator was Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch fabric merchant, wine assayer, and microscope maker. Looking through his own microscopes, he discovered tiny life living all around us. And within us. He referred to these critters as "animalcules" or "little animals." Like any other surprising discovery, Leeuwenhoek's teeny-tiny kingdom was doubted. He acknowledged the public's dubious reception of his work in his correspondence, writing: "I suffer many contradictions and oft-times hear it said that I do but tell fairy tales about the little animals" (Lane, 2015). That was in the 17the century. Today, in the 21st century, we know our inner seas are teeming with gutlife: hundreds of different species endlessly colonizing, collaborating, and competing with each other (Hsiao et al., 2008). Based on their balance and behaviors, they either improve or pollute their environment... which is you. It's a very long-term relationship, the one you share with your microbes. From birth to death, you live together. You're never apart. That's more one-on-one time than any marriage. And we all know healthy marriages require a lot of work. And sacrifice. Keeping your microbial matrimony thriving is no different. Well, it's really different, but it's similar in the sense that it demands ongoing investment. If you don't work at it, things get rocky in a hurry. Or, in this case, shitty (literally). Last week's blog covered the importance of nutrition. There are other ways to improve the relationship with your "little animals" though. Let's tip about them: Tip 1) Before the availability of antibiotics, life (with its skinned knees, strep throat, and urinary tract infections) was much scarier (Adedeji, 2016). Then it was less scary for a while. And then, as we learned more about the consequences of antibiotics, it became scary again. In addition to the gradual development of resistance, we see a pretty rapid disruption of the gut microbiome. Introducing antibiotics to an otherwise-healthy digestive tract can result in a microbial presentation consistent with obesity, chronic inflammation, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and autoimmune diseases (Francino, 2016). Never neglect antibiotics when necessary (of course), but it's prudent to avoid them when they're unnecessary. And, after completing an antibiotic course, it's wise to repopulate your innards with pre- and probiotics. In addition to the menu items we discussed in the last blog, this would be a good time to add some fermented foods (e.g., cultured milk products and yogurt), as well as foods rich in polyphenols (e.g., fruits and vegetables, seeds, tea, and cocoa products) (Singh et al., 2017). Tip 2) Gut microbes don't enjoy alcohol as much as we do. When you consume alcoholic anything, your body must break it down (lest it be drunken forever). The first step in this metabolism is the conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde using an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. You have plenty of this enzyme in your stomach and liver, and so those destinations begin eliminating the ingested ethanol. And amassing acetaldehyde, which is the compound responsible for flush syndrome (otherwise known as "Asian glow"), a reddening response in people whose metabolisms have trouble with its disposal (Brooks et al., 2009). But acetaldehyde's effects don't stop there. It also decreases "good" bacteria, increases "bad" bacteria, and leads to poorer intestinal barrier integrity (Lee et al., 2020). So, in the interest of your inner residents, and the health-tithes they pay their host, don't be too unbridled with your booze. Tip 3) Exercise, sleep, and emotional health have microbial relationships as well. With sleep, it appears to be bidirectional, in which good sleep supports our microbiota and good microbiota support our sleep (Ogawa et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2019). Exercise also has a bidirectional relationship (Allen et al., 2015; Mohr et al., 2020). Considering the associations between microbiotic disruptions and emotional states such as depression and anxiety (Foster et al., 2017), mental health is one more reason to nurture our "little animals" by making sleep and exercise a priority.