You know that statement, ‘You are what you eat’?    There’s a lot more to it.

As I’ve written a few years ago,  I wrote about Helicobacter pylori and their association with ulcers AND Parkinson’s.  (I will talk soon about different gut conditions and Parkinson’s, too.)   Today, I’ll discuss how gut bacteria are associated with the incidence of asthma- an affliction that affects about 20% of the children in the developed world.   (Yes, I know there’s a genetic component- just ask my kids!)

When we administer antibiotics to pregnant women, we are putting their children at risk.  The same applies to Caesarean deliveries.  And, failing to provide infant nutrition via breast feeding is another problem.  (Yes, infant formula is not the ideal nutrition.)   Because newborns need to acquire a collection of gut microbes to ensure their health.  (These practices all make it very difficult for the neonates to obtain their initial gut flora from their moms.)

Now, a new article published in Science Translational Medicine, Early infancy microbial and metabolic alterations affect risk of childhood asthma, brings these factors to the fore.    Canadian scientists, Drs. M-C. Arrieta, L. Thorson, S. Russell, S. Yurist-Doutsch, H.M. Britton, B.B. Finlay, L. T. Stiemsma, P. A. Dimitriu, W. W. Mohn, M. J. Gold, K. M. McNagny,  (University of British Columbia) , B> Juzeljevic, T. Kollmann, S.E. Turvey (Childrens’ Hosptial, British Columbia), D. L. Lefebvre, M.R. Sears (McMaster University, Toronto), P. Subbarao (U of Toronto), P. Mandhane (U Alberta), and A. Becker (U Manitoba) collaborated on this research, which employed data from the Canadian Health Infant Longitudinal Development Study.   Basically, they confirmed what many others have found for adults- low population levels of gut microbes puts infants at risk, in this case for asthma.  There’s a 100 day window for the population development. Oh, and a simple stool diagnostic can help predict the prevalence of asthma.

The study initially examined (319) infants at age 1, of which some 7% (22) manifested wheezing and atopy.  By the time they reached the age of 3, most of them registered asthma diagnoses.  They also examined the stool samples taken of the infants at 3 months of age.   These stool samples all demonstrated that four specific microbes (denoted FLVR) were of low population.

The four microbial types in question, Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, Veillonella, and Rothia, are critical to the production of short-chain fatty acids in our guts.  These fatty acids provide vital interactions with our immune cells.

The scientists then studied mice- both with and without inoculations of the FLVR microbes.  This confirmed their suspicions- this link was critical.   There already was data that the dearth of FLVR microbes was associated with food allergies, which amplifies this finding.

Furthermore- we’ve been abandoning the use of breast feeding for infant formula; caesarean deliveries are ramping up, as has been antibiotic use in pregnancy, so it’s not surprising that the incidence of asthma is increasing, given these results.

Perhaps, consideration of gut microbe transplants may also be in order.

Share this: