Molecular microbiologist from International Flavors and Fragrances and co-discoverer of the CRISPR/Cas9 system Dennis Romero spoke on the health benefits of probiotics, specifically to the gut microbiome. The presentation took place in Babcock Hall Nov. 14.
The presentation demonstrated a steady increase in recent publications about the human gut microbiome, 50% of which is held in the stomach.
“When you look at the microbiome, people will look at it as another part of you,” Romero said.
Romero and IFF’s research focuses on probiotics and how to improve their use. When the body is in a healthy state, it produces metabolites to maintain an anaerobic environment that keeps harmful bacteria out, Romero said. A healthy microbiome has a high diversity of microbes, whereas a microbiome in dysbiosis, or low diversity, leads to inflammation and negative health conditions.
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The easiest recommendation was to eat fermented foods, which are foods that have lots of healthy microbes, Romero said. This includes yogurt, cheese, ice cream and even pickles. There are also many probiotic-supplemented food options like cereal and bread.
Gummies and pills with probiotics in them are another option for those with dietary restrictions. Most people’s drawbacks to probiotics are that they don’t work and are too expensive, Romero said.
The microbiome is important for maintaining proper metabolic health. Specifically, Romero shared research that showed the role of the microbiome in fighting obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Microbes aren’t necessarily good or bad, but just bacteria that are trying to survive. Probiotics are safe, however, because the excess will just pass through your body in urine, Romeo said.
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The two most common lactic acid bacteria used in probiotic food are Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, Romero said. These two bacteria are what differentiate most yogurts from the other. Some may even include one or both bacteria.
Romero discussed the regulatory process for making a probiotic and making specific claims. All probiotics go through a rigorous safety process though each country has variations on categorizing. In order to make a health claim, like reducing the risk of diabetes, companies must go through the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Recently, the Next Generation Probiotics have been discovered as an opportunity to personalize probiotics to individual microbiome profiles, Romero said. NGPs are a new class of probiotics based on strains that naturally live in the digestive tract.
“[It’s] a step towards individualized, health and medicine to some degree,” Romero said.
