The US is Wiping Out Your Microbiome #digestion

The US is Wiping Out Your Microbiome #digestion. The gut microbiome, composed of trillions of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract, plays a vital role in maintaining overall health and well-being. Here's why it's important: Digestive Health: The gut microbiome contributes to the breakdown and digestion of food, helping to extract nutrients and energy from the diet. Beneficial bacteria produce enzymes that aid in the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, while also fermenting dietary fiber to produce short-chain fatty acids, which are important for gut health. Immune Function: The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in regulating immune function and protecting against pathogens. Beneficial bacteria help to train and modulate the immune system, promoting a balanced response to infections and preventing overreactivity or autoimmune disorders. Additionally, the gut microbiome serves as a barrier against harmful pathogens by competing for nutrients and colonization sites in the gastrointestinal tract. Metabolic Health: Emerging research suggests that the gut microbiome influences metabolic health and may play a role in the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Beneficial bacteria help to regulate energy metabolism, appetite, and fat storage, while dysbiosis (imbalances in the gut microbiome) has been associated with metabolic disturbances and insulin resistance. Brain-Gut Axis: The gut microbiome communicates bidirectionally with the central nervous system through the brain-gut axis, influencing mood, cognition, and behavior. Beneficial bacteria produce neurotransmitters and neuroactive compounds that modulate brain function and may protect against anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. Conversely, dysbiosis has been linked to mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Nutrient Synthesis: The gut microbiome synthesizes essential nutrients and vitamins, such as vitamin K, B vitamins, and certain amino acids, which are important for overall health and metabolism. Beneficial bacteria also produce metabolites with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, supporting overall health and longevity. #guthealth #immigrant

[honaleri]

The food infrastructure in the US is largely to blame. The types of food most available to people, especially low income families, will ruin your health. We have a lot of food in the US, almost all of it is dangerous, over processed, and low nutrition. People are fat in the US for systemic reasons, not generalized laziness or overeating. The proof is in all the people who can sustain healthy bodies overseas and then live here a few years and swell up like balloons.

It's harder to stay healthy when the environment around you is unintentionally designed to ruin you.

[tejav]

I knew it. Constant depression and loneliness and stress exacerbated this. And it is a negative feedback loop.

[julyol]

My father is a physicist and went to the USA several times for conferences for usually a week or so. And every single time he came back lamenting how heavy all the food was, how little greens were in it and how the portions were unnecessarily big. Like, even if it tasted well, after that week he came back and basically only ate salads for three days.

Interestingly, he had a similar, yet different experience in Japan, where he missed fresh fruit and vegetables. The food was great, but also everything seemed to be steamed or cooked. His hosting professor took him to a fancy restaurant and he ate all the decorations coming with the dishes, because they were the only fresh greens accompanying them.

[katieyungen]

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard and read and been told by people whom I personally know, that when they vacationed or moved somewhere outside the US, and they ate the foods, and either didn't gain weight, or even lost weight! The opposite is also true... folks who move to the US, almost instantly gain weight despite careful diet!

[alissacheck]

American food isnt good for you? I had no idea.

[julieaskingforafriend]

He's not wrong. I've been fighting my weight for 10 years, but I spent just 2 months in Thailand and lost almost 15 lbs in spite of eating at a restaurant or a market for literally every meal. Never had digestive issues while I was there.

[unicornishcornish]

I moved from Poland to the UK and started having an array of health issues. Some of it can be explained by less sun exposure and thus vitamin D deficiency but the change in diet had a tremendous effect. I used to eat home cooked meals with lots of vegetables, mostly from our own backyard. In the UK it was a lot more convenient to get a takeaway than cook at home but it's highly processed with no fresh veg so not only did I gain weight, roughly 15kg over 10 years but I'm certain I wrecked my microbiome. It's getting a little better now as we started cooking a bit more and returned to some traditional Polish fermented foods like sauerkraut and soured cucumbers.

[mcyrenne]

I always had gut issues living in Canada. Now that I live in France, it's all gone.

[eee-xdbo]

These comments are making me realize how lucky I am. I grew up on land where we have our own garden, livestock, and water well. We don't use pesticides, and we use a lot of basic fertilizer in addition to the natural soil. Cows are grass fed, chickens eat a mix including corn, pellets, bugs from the land, and whatever leftovers we have in the house. Im not completely healthy, but i imagine thats how ive maintained a fast metabolism all these years especially because we are low income and any other low income American could probably only afford cereal and box meals.

[elysianpattier_]

I learned the same thing from Dr Karan's short (a UK doc). Especially the travelling part. If we're travelling to a new country and get stomachache doesn't necessarily mean the food is unhygienic, sometimes it just means our stomach doesn't have the right type of bacteria to digest different ingredients as we aren't accustomed to eat it on a regular basis (or something along the lines!)

[esosaimasuen]

Thank you!!! Every time I come back to the US, I become allergic to everything, my period stops, my anxiety and depression come back, and my IBS flair ups have me living on the toilet. (And Im a vegetarian that mostly eats organic)

[tiffanypersaud]

Yeh. Migrated from Guyana to Canada in November years back. Didn’t poop for four days until I went to a sauna. I thought I was dying. Visited Guyana months later and returned to Canada and got a stomach virus from quiche on the plane😅 that left me weak for weeks. Unforgettable experience both times flying from an underdeveloped country to a developed one.

(I edited for clarity but you got the message.)

[doribala]

I stayed in the US just about a year during my highschool exchange program and had gained 5 kilograms. Returning to my home country I got rid of the extra kilos naturally during summer.

[bcgrote]

So the actual melting pot is our intestines? 😂

[notsuperhumain]

Happened to me when i moved to Europe. Never again 😂 Africa has given me the healthy gutt bacteria of a lifetime.

[floptimus]

Yup. The lack of diversity in produce section alone is an indicator. Getting the same 20 vegetables year round is unnatural and the lack of fermented foods in general sucks for our gut. Don't even start with all the hormones and antibiotics in meat...

[gogo-kim]

Had a rooommate in the Navy that moved to San Diego from Hawaii and she had to get a medical discharge because the drs told her that the food and water in the US was making her sick!

[gabadaba]

Ok, but can you talk about why? How did the habits of those immigrants change after they moved to the US? Eating different foods would certainly change their microbiome, and I know that it can be hard to find more region-specific foods here. There's also the fact that US has much stricter guidelines on the cleanliness of food than a lot of other places, which probably lowers microbiodiversity.

[toga]

Depressing. As an american who's never been to another country, i can say at least my gut has been a lot better since i started eating yogurt and Tzaziki regularly.

[wplants]

I’d like to see what Europe’s microbiome is compared to European Americans as well as what immigrants coming into Europe.