We are what we eat. In any case, so says the proverb. Scientists say we are eating the bacteria living in our intestines. They also determine how we live. Based on this, researchers at McGill University fed fruit flies of different probiotics and supplements that allowed to extend the lifespan of flies by 60% and protection against chronic diseases associated with aging.
A study published in Scientific Reports, was another of the list of studies speaking in favor of the influence of gut bacteria on health. In the diet of fruit flies, the scientists added synthetic biotic Supplement made from probiotics, enriched with polyphenol.
Flies that were fed with a synbiotic, lived up to 66 days 26 days more than those Supplement received. They also showed reduced signs of aging, such as lowering insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress.
“Probiotics cause a drastic change in the structure of intestinal microflora, not only in composition but also in terms of how metabolized foods that we eat,” says Satya Prakash, a Professor of biomedical engineering of the medical faculty of McGill University and senior author of the study. “This allows one probiotic formulation to simultaneously affect multiple biochemical signaling pathways, and explains why a unified formulation presented in the paper, provides such an impact on many different markers.”
The fruit fly has a striking similarity with mammals in 70% of biochemical pathways, which allows to hope that similar results can be achieved with people, adds Prakash.
“The impact on people is unlikely to be so dramatic, but our results definitely indicate that a diet that includes Triphala with these probiotics will promote a long and healthy life.”
The authors also say that these results may explain the “gut-brain axis”, two-way communication system between the microorganisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract, and brain. Over the past few years studies have shown that stomach-brain axis is involved in neuropathologically changes and, in some diseases, such as neurodegeneration and even depression. In some research, even managed to successfully design changes of microflora, providing a lot of positive effects as the wording provided in the new study.
The secret of longevity is hidden in the microflora and the gut
Ilya Hel