Intestinal bacteria may be linked to longer life
Researchers have more than just a gut feeling they’ve discovered one of the keys to living a longer, healthier life, especially as we age.
Through balancing bacteria in fruit flies’ digestive systems by altering the relationship between those bacteria and absorptive cells lining the intestine, scientists working at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California were able to extend the insects’ lifespans and promote better health.
Dietitians, doctors and medical researchers have for some time been urging the general population to pay more attention to the importance of gut health, especially by adding items such as yogurt, kimchee, miso, buttermilk and other sources of “good bacteria” for the intestines.
But this research goes further, study authors said; it puts gut bacteria shifts “into a hierarchical, causal relationship and highlights the points where we can intervene.”
“Our study explores agerelated changes in the gut that include increased oxidative stress, inflammation, impaired efficiency of the immune response, and the over-proliferation of stem cells,” said lead author and Buck faculty member Heinrich Jasper.
Fruit flies were chosen because the bacterial load in fly intestines increases dramatically with age, causing an inflammatory condition.
With that inflammation response, the body produces free radicals that lead to stem cell production, and when those accumulate, the body is in a precancerous state.
In the study, researchers were able to reintroduce the class of molecules that tell the gut to respond to the bacteria, thereby circumventing the process of inflammation from occurring. Jasper and his co-authors said that was enough to markedly expand the lifespans of the fruit flies.
“If we can understand how aging affects our commensal population (the bacteria that live inside us) — first in the fly and then in humans — our data suggest we should be able to impact health span and life span quite strongly,” Jasper said, adding that managing the commensal population is critical to health.