Your body is made up of many things - like this cell - an integral building block of
what makes you...well, you! Except that, for every single cell in your body there are roughly
10 more microscopic organisms that are essential to your life. Seriously, there’s a unique
collage of 100 trillion microorganisms living on and in you right now, which you’ve picked
up through your mouth, ears, and other access points throughout your life. Meaning, what
you consider you, is only a tiny fraction of the things that truly make you up.
We call this the microbiome, and these little critters contain around 22 million genes of
their own DNA, which not only allow them to survive, but control hundreds of processes
in your body. They help digest your food, they keep your immune system healthy, and
they even regulate hunger and make you feel full. Feeling stressed? They produce chemicals
for that too - in fact, mice raised in sterile environments which don’t pick up these microorganisms
are less effective at responding to stress stimuli than normal mice.
Ever heard of a poop transplant? It’s a real thing! Some diseases are actually caused
by a microbiome which lacks diversity, making the individual susceptible to infections.
And it’s been found that transplanting the cultures from a healthy persons poo to a sick
persons gut can treat these diseases more effectively than any antibiotics. Scientists
have even found that when obese mice are transplanted with the microbiome of lean mice, they astonishingly,
lost weight much more effectively, even when their diet is kept the exact same. These organisms
are so significant and so much a part of you that in the future doctors may actually diagnose
your microbiome instead of you.
But here’s the crazy part - even though your own cells represent a small proportion
of you, you can actually change the other 90%. Unlike the genetics passed down from
your parents, everything you eat actually affects the microbiome. Foods which contain
pre and probiotics, for example, introduce new and healthy bacteria which can help the
old ones thrive. On the other hand, those chicken nuggets you’re eating, or other
processed foods, are treated with chemicals to kill bad bacteria, which has the unfortunate
side effect of killing some of your good bacteria too. In fact, the western world has much less
diversity in their microbiomes than other cultures, who eat primarily whole foods. This
is because of a diet higher in processed food along with the use of antibacterial soap and
antibiotics. It may also explain why there are much higher incidences of allergies and
autoimmune diseases in western cultures.
So while you may be having an existential crisis over who or what you really are, just
remember that you are in control of this superorganism of cells. And if you treat your microscopic
life partners well, with a good diet, they’ll take care of you. Or at least...the 10% of
you that’s actually you…
Special thanks to Littlebits for supporting this episode of AsapSCIENCE. Littlebits are
these cool modular building blocks which are the easiest way to prototype and learn with
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a programmer, a gadget geek or a home project enthusiast. You can check it out at littlebits.com
and enter the promo code ‘ASAP’ to receive $20 off of any order over $80. And when you
get it, be sure to send us your designs and projects on twitter or instagram!
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