Food Cravings and the Microbiome. The trillions of microbial cells!

It may be unknown to many of us, but our bodies, under normal conditions, are home to trillions of microbial cells that have coexisted and evolved with us for thousands of years.

These microbes caninhabit just about every part of our human body, including the skin, saliva, intestine, etc., performing critical daily functions.

How do microbes help our body?

Contradictory to many beliefs, their presence is not subject to severe concern.
These microorganisms can work synergistically within our body, offering some us of the following unique benefits:

🔹 They help us metabolize soluble fiber, synthesizing essential short-chain fatty acids.
🔹 They help in the metabolism of proteins, bile acids, polyphenols and other phytochemicals.
🔹 They synthesize crucial vitamins such as vitamin K2, B12, Folic acid, and other B-complex vitamins.
🛡 They stimulate the production and regulation of the intestinal mucus layer and provide antimicrobial substances, training our immune system daily by protecting the intestinal epithelium from the invasion of pathogenic microbes.

In essence, we need their existence, as well as they need ours.
However, during our lifetime, there is a possibility that this harmonic balance between the microbes and the host (i.e., us) may be disturbed. This is something that is scientifically referred to as dysbiosis.
Dysbiosis may be surfaced by poor diet, lifestyle, and medications, especially antibiotics.

As a result of this disorder, our friendly and harmonious relationship with these microbes ceases to exist, and some populations of them may take the opportunity to prevail, gaining more ground, developing their mechanisms and strategies by which they manage to expand within our body. At this stage, the microbes can now fully use their host to meet their nutritional and metabolic needs.

Strategies for the prevalence of microbes in our body.

Let's look at some of their strategies:
▪️They can generate cravings for specific foods which they prefer.
▪️They can bring us discomfort until we are finally urged to consume the foods that enhance their existence.

More specifically, the exact mechanisms by which microbes can control our eating behavior are:
🔸 Influence on the reward center and saturation center of the brain.
🔸 Changes in receptors, such as taste receptors, differentiating our senses to foods that enhance their own survival.
🔸 Producing toxins that completely disrupt our mood.
🔸 Influence on the intestinal-brain nerve axis and dopamine-serotonin secretion (hormones responsible for feelings of joy and satisfaction).

Suppose we often crave many processed foods or have an unusual appetite for specific foods during the day. In that case, we may consider that this feeling could not necessarily originate from our own cells but some species of microbes or parasites in our body.

📂 Introduction to the microbiome.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433529/
📂 Microbes help in the synthesis and metabolism of various substances in the body.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5847071/
📂 The role of the microbiome in the training of the immune system.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543467/
📂 Possible mechanisms and strategies for the growth of microbes in the body.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/