Good morning, movers & improvers! I recently fell into the throes of a bacterial sinus infection, and trust, it wasn’t fun. But a round of strong antibiotics (and some GI distress) later, I’m on the mend 🙏 

Thus, this week’s topic is top of mind for me, as I’m currently upping my probiotic food and fiber intake to get this gut back on track!

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🦠 Who you rub shoulders with

We haven’t talked about the microbiome much at all in this newsletter yet. That’s mainly because it has become such a vast and rapidly developing field of science, that I’m increasingly doubtful I could do it justice in a simple weekly post!

Here’s the tl;dr. Our “gut” (primarily stomach and intestines but really everything from mouth to anus) contains vast amounts (i.e. trillions) of microbiota. All of those, plus all the things they secrete, is commonly referred to as our “microbiome.”

We now know that our microbiome significantly influences many aspects of our bodies and health, with particularly pronounced effects on our brain and on systemic inflammation. We’re realizing now that there isn’t much that our microbiome doesn’t affect.

Continuing this vastly oversimplified summary, generally, more microbiome diversity (various types of bacteria/microbiota) is “better.” Less diversity, usually due to one harmful strain taking over and preventing the conditions that healthier strains thrive in, is generally worse for our health. Too much can also be a bad thing.

Our microbiome begins at birth and is strongly influenced by our first few years of life—our method of birth, who handled us, whether we had pets in the house, how social our parents allowed us to be, how dirty we were allowed to get outside, whether we shared food/drinks, etc. But our microbiome is still influenced today by the environment we’re exposed to. Probiotic foods, in particular, have been shown to be efficacious for improving our microbiome diversity and flourishing. But the plants, pets, and—of particular interest for this week’s newsletter—people we’re around today affect the composition of our microbiome.

What if I told you that when you kiss someone, you’re swapping not just spit, but microbiomes with one another? What if I told you that when you shake someone’s hand and inevitably touch your face in the next few minutes (studies have shown we commonly naturally do this subconsciously), you’re introducing their microbiome into your body? And to extrapolate this even further, what if I told you that your health literally depends (to an extent) on who you are around on a regular basis?

That’s the wild concept of this week’s newsletter that’s been on my mind since I first heard about it.

Rubbing shoulders with elites

Picture the greats in your field or in a field you admire. Don’t they all just seem to shine? It’s like they’re on a whole other level—a different playing field above all us normies. The greats rubbing shoulders with the greats. Whether it’s elite athletes, top business executives, or whatever else, is there a loop of positive reinforcement among these crowds that is making and keeping them continually healthier? Are they all sharing elite microbiomes that keep them in tip top shape? It may sound woo-woo or even conspiratorial, but I don’t think it’s out of the question.

Study after study (cited at the bottom) have started showing that our microbiome is influenced heavily by those with whom we spend the most time. Particularly for those with whom we share food and intimate physical touch, our microbiomes end up looking pretty similar.

• On the other side of that coin, there was a study looking at the microbiomes of adult twins who lived in different environments. The twins’ individual microbiomes were not very similar; they instead reflected the environment in which they lived and were most similar to those with whom they spent the most and closest contact.

So what’s a gal to do? Go makeout with all the smartest, hottest, fittest people in the world?! While many of us would not argue if we were presented with that opportunity, it’s probably not available to us. But much of our people-sourced environmental exposure is still within our control!

Within your household: Make sure you and your people are healthy. You know the basics. Regular movement, intentional exercise, and a diverse, primarily whole foods-based diet. The more probiotic foods (unsweetened yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, etc.), the better. If your people are healthy, sit near them, hold their hand, share your food, etc. If your housemates are unhealthy, maybe think twice about some of those behaviors until they get over their sickness and improve their gut health.

With other people in your circles: Rub shoulders with healthy, thriving people! They say you’re a combination of the five people you spend the most time with. There now appears to be even more scientific truth to that than we ever suspected! Healthy circles stay healthy. Unhealthy circles tend to stay unhealthy. I have to believe an important factor in that is our microbiomes.

So rub shoulders with greats. Go to public gyms and yes be scared of bad gross germs but don’t be scared of picking up microbiota from fit people. Meet new people who are great at what they do, happy, healthy, and thriving. Kiss your favorite celebrity. It just might give you a better microbiome.

Healthier guts = healthier lives. Improve your own gut health to in turn improve the gut health of those around you. Take care of your trillions of little tummy buggies. Just like with our beautiful world full of people, the more diverse, the better. 

Sources:

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37298-9 

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00118-w

• https://www.newscientist.com/article/2395382-how-your-microbiome-is-shaped-by-your-friends-family-lovers-and-pets/#:~:text=It%20makes%20sense%20that%20people,others%2C%20says%20Valles%2DColomer. 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837012/ 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8336012/ 

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452231719300181

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Pick one probiotic food to regularly incorporate into your diet.

Level 2: Get closer with the healthy people in your life! Depending on your relationship, share/prepare each other’s food, hug, and/or kiss more!

Level 3: Get into some elite circles. Go to conferences, attend races and sporting events, and rub shoulders with the greats. Their greatness might literally rub off on you!

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✍️ Drew's Picks:

• 💸 Subscribe: Joel & Matt from How to Money are an incredible resource for all things personal finance! Subscribe to their newsletter today because I just may have a featured blog post coming up with them soon. 👀 

• ☕️ Sip: Robert Downey Jr. co-founded a coffee company?? I haven’t tried it yet, but want to! Check it out.

Have a lovely rest of your week and weekend, folks. Bask in the blossoms of early spring. 🌷 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).