DRS. OZ AND ROIZEN What’s inside may be the key

When all the various types of bacteria in your biome are in balance, they protect your health by interacting with the lining of your intestines and your immune system to protect you from diseasecarrying pathogens, produce essential nutrients, digest cellulose, promote gut nerve function and help regulate glucose.

What we know: The latest research reveals that a well-balanced biome can help promote good health and recovery in amazing ways — and it reveals the health risks associated with a biome in distress.

1. There may be a link between an unhealthy gut biome and infection following knee replacement surgery, according to a lab study published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Only 1% of folks getting a knee or hip replacement develop a post-surgical infection. So why do they succumb to this rare complication? It seems those with a compromised immune system because of an off-balance biome are most vulnerable.

2. Parkinson’s disease may happen when the gut biome cannot protect the body from a triggering infection. Other forms of neurological damage, such as multiple sclerosis, may also be caused by a viral infection that invades through the gut.

3. An unbalanced gut microbiome may contribute to anxiety and other mental disorders through something called the “gut-brain axis.” In one metastudy published in BMJ, researchers found that anxiety was eased around half the time by taking probiotics, and even more frequently by making overall upgrades to nutritional habits that encourage a healthy gut biome.

4. An overgrowth of various gut bacteria is associated with high blood pressure. The imbalance causes neuro-inflammation and affects the sympathetic nervous system, which impacts blood pressure, according to studies published in Frontiers in Physiology and Microbiome.