Exercise May Aid in Resisting Frailty and Cognitive Decline in Part via Effects on the Gut Microbiome

The gut microbiome is influential on long-term health, and its quality declines with age. Microbial populations that produce beneficial metabolites such as butyrate or propionate decline in number, replaced by microbial populations that invade tissue and cause chronic inflammation. Physical exercise influences health and the gut microbiome, but as noted here, the evidence for exercise to beneficially regulate these microbial populations largely results from animal studies. Data in humans is still comparatively lacking, even though epidemiological studies strongly suggest a relationship between exercise and a better gut microbiome. Although the general characteristics of the gut microbiome in healthy people are not yet completely defined, the gut microbiomes of people with disease (e.g. metabolic syndrome, physical frailty, cognitive dysfunction, etc.) show a gradual change toward an imbalanced composition compared to those in healthy people. These imbalanced microbiome characteristics may contribute to disease onset and may play a role in a vicious cycle. Age-related changes in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome aggravate the immune system to regulate inflammatory responses. Collapse of the immune system causes age-related diseases. The gut microbiome is related to the immune system in that both vary in composition with age. Although the gut microbiota of humans is determined to some extent at birth, the composition continually changes through...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs