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You are full of bacteria, literally. You have more bacteria that live in your gut than cells in your body.

While scientists know that your gut microbiome impacts your health, they are still learning how to change or control it.  

What is a gut microbiome?

The gut microbiome is made up of a group of microbes, which include bacterial species and other microorganisms like viruses, archaea and eukaryotes. These microbes are found in many parts of your body, including on your skin and in your gastrointestinal tract, and are beneficial in several ways:

• Helping with digestion
• Destroying other harmful microorganisms that can cause disease
• Regulating your immune system

When you eat, most of your food’s nutrients get absorbed in your small intestine, where your gut microbiome helps break down nutrients necessary for your body to thrive.

Gut bacteria produce enzymes that help break down carbohydrates that your body can't digest on its own. By the time your food leaves the small intestine and enters the large intestine, you will have absorbed 90% of nutrients thanks to the help of these bacteria.

What is a healthy gut microbiome?

Many products, like probiotics and prebiotics, are marketed as ways to improve your gut health by balancing gut bacteria. However, scientists are still learning what a “balanced” gut microbiome is, and whether it can be significantly changed.

“When we talk about a ‘normal’ microbiome, it is a constellation of healthy and potentially unhealthy organisms,” says »ªÌå»á gastroenterologist Eugene F. Yen, MD. “We are learning that it’s not just bacteria that contribute to this balance.”

Can an imbalanced gut microbiome make you sick?

has shown that dysbiosis, an imbalance in your gut bacteria, is correlated to an increased risk of diseases. These include:

• Obesity
• Heart disease and cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer

Additionally, gut bacteria may be related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While scientists know that the gut microbiome of people with IBD looks different from that of people who don't have the disease, they're still working to determine if problems with gut bacteria cause IBD or if IBD alters gut bacteria.

Studies have also linked gut bacteria to , including depression and anxiety.

What does it mean to have an “unhealthy� gut microbiome?

Because it could look different for every individual, it’s difficult to define an “unhealthy” gut microbiome.

Although dysbiosis is associated with certain diseases, that doesn’t automatically mean that it’s harmful. As Dr. Yen explains, “Most gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases like IBD are thought to be because of dysbiosis, where the microbiome differs from the population of people without IBD. But dysbiosis doesn’t necessarily mean unhealthy.”

Furthermore, dysbiosis is not always the cause of disease, and not inherently negative in every context.

What can affect your gut microbiome?

Since there’s no universal definition of a “healthy” or “unhealthy” gut microbiome, scientists are continuing to study what shapes it in the first place â€� and what might shift it out of balance.
“Much of your gut microbiome is determined in your early childhood and then it remains stable over the course of your life,” says Dr. Yen. However, certain factors may contribute to changes in its makeup. These include:

• Age
• Diet
• Environmental factors like antibiotic use, pets in the home, exercise, sleep deprivation and occupation

Can you improve the health of your gut microbiome?

“While we recognize that dysbiosis may be bad, we have not figured out how to fix it by altering it to our advantage,” says Dr. Yen. “We have no idea what abnormal is and, more importantly, how we can fix it, so we have no idea if any of these products actually work,” he says.  

Dr. Yen says that foods with probiotics, special diets for gut health and prebiotics are not as impactful as people think. You may also see gut health products that claim to help with weight loss and better skin, but these benefits have not been scientifically proven.

Instead, try limiting processed foods and avoiding a high-fat diet. Try a , which emphasizes fruits, vegetables and fiber-rich foods like whole grains. Evidence shows this diet can lead to a .

Scientists like Dr. Yen continue to study the link between the microbiome and disease and overall health.