The human gut harbors a teeming menagerie of over 100 trillion microorganisms, and researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered that exercising early in life can alter that microbial community for the better, promoting healthier brain and metabolic activity over the course of a lifetime.
The research, which was recently published in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, indicates that there may be a window of opportunity during early human development to optimize the chances of better lifelong health.
Microbes take up residence within human intestines shortly after birth and are vital to the development of the immune system and various neural functions. These microbes can add as many as 5 million genes to a person’s overall genetic profile and thus have tremendous power to influence aspects of human physiology.
While this diverse microbial community remains somewhat malleable throughout adult life and can be influenced by environmental factors such as diet and sleep patterns, the researchers found that gut microorganisms are especially “plastic” at a young age.
PR:http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2015/12/29/early-life-exercise-alters-gut-microbes-promotes-healthy-brain-and-metabolism
Paper:http://www.nature.com/icb/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/icb2015113a.html
Corina Marinescu
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