Have you heard of your body's microbiome? 

We all have a microbiome, located in our guts. It consists of trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic living things. That's right- bacteria, viruses, and fungi live inside us! As unsettling as that sounds, if those elements didn't exist in our bodies, we wouldn't exist. In fact, a majority of chronic illness and unhealthy states of being can be traced to an imbalance in our microbiome. Disruption of the gut microbial composition is associated with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and several mental disorders.

Did You Know?...                                                                       

• Over 100 trillion bacteria make up your microbiome
• We are essentially one part human to one part microbe in terms of cell number (nearly 1:1)
• Altogether, these microbes weigh 2-5 lbs, about the weight of the human brain. This is an interesting fact, because the gut and its microbiome is considered the body’s second brain.
• Without these microbes, it would be nearly impossible to survive
• A rough estimate of 1000 bacterial species in the gut with 2000 genes per species yields an estimate of 2,000,000 genes, 100 times the figure of approximately 20,000 human genes

Why should you care? 

Too often, there's an incorrect call to bandage the symptom of a health issue in the form of a pharmaceutical medication or other treatment. However, it can do more harm than good, so it's important to understand how to care for your microbiome. 

What Does the Microbiome Do?

- Controls the immune system, and responds to infection

- Controls brain health, affecting the central nervous system, which controls brain function. Makes neurotransmitters like serotonin

- The microbiome may play a role in maintaining weight 

- Certain healthy bacteria in the microbiome can improve gut health

- May benefit heart health

- May control blood sugar and lower risk of diabetes 

The microbiome also...

- Breaks down some of our food––including certain carbs––and releases its energy for us to use

- Makes large amounts of our neurotransmitters––chemicals that act as messengers between our brain and our body––which play essential roles in how our body functions

- Makes certain vitamins and amino acids

- Helps to absorb certain minerals

- Is highly active contributors to our immune system which help us fight off disease

- Prevents dangerous ‘bad’ bacteria from taking over and making us sick

- Helps us to break down some drugs and toxins

In the second part of this two part article, we will discuss:

What can happen with an imbalanced gut?                                                   

Why does the gut get out of balance?                                                           

What can improve the gut microbiome?

It's amazing to look at biology and see how it points to Christ! In God's plan for creation, He designed different species of microbes to work together in the soil to help bring nutrients to plants in order to produce food, medicine, etc. for us. The diverse microbes have a symbiotic relationship. We too were made by God for relationships, to thrive and to do His work here on earth. Jesus tells us to “Love thy neighbor as thy self.” He doesn’t say love only your neighbors who look and act just like you.

As believers, we are a body of many types of personalities, gifts, talents, and abilities. We are called to use these to bring glory to Christ- to be His hands and feet. Without us joining in the body, the work of Christ doesn’t get done: to go out to the ends of the earth and spread the gospel, to care for the orphans and widows, to heal and lift each other up in Christ’s name. 

Just as the soil microbes get food from the plants and other elements in order to thrive, and the body’s microbes get its fuel from the fiber and other food sources we provide, we as individual elements of Jesus’s body get our fuel from the Holy Spirit in order to thrive and do His work. We can’t do it isolated from one another, and we can’t do it with only those we choose or who are just like us. We also can’t do it without the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be part of Christ’s body with a diversity of believers. God likes diversity in relationships, and it’s reflected in nature, biology, and should be reflected in us. 

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all it’s many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV)

Alone, we can’t do life as God intended.