Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome

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Ray’s response to his FMT treatment was just like that in the reported literature. Within three days of receiving the microbiota transplant he was out of bed. Heather described it as a miracle. If I’ve spent longer than is entirely comfortable talking about faeces, that’s because FMT is a starting point for understanding the importance of the gut microbiome to human health. The extraordinary benefit of FMT in some patients has opened the clinical world to the idea that our microbes may have an important role in the causation and treatment of diseases where their involvement runs contrary to medical science.

Dark Matter review: The amazing story of the microbial world

Everything we’re doing now is scratching the surface,” says Spector. “We are maybe 10% of the way there, because every week, we’re discovering something new. Humans want an easy answer [to improve our gut health], but you shouldn’t take anyone seriously who doesn’t say it’s complicated,” he says. “There’s a massive industry that needs a simple message to sell its products. They want to say all you’ve got to do is eat this bar, this yoghurt or this protein drink.” Ray was readmitted to St Mary’s critically unwell and was soon diagnosed with Clostridium difficile (C diff) infection (officially, this bacteria has now been renamed Clostridiodes). A “hospital-acquired infection”, this disease is a complication of 20th-century medicine and an unintended consequence of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, the first effective mass-produced antibiotic, in 1928. It is a global problem that afflicts 500,000 people in the United States each year and it kills 29,000 of them.The scale of the task is huge: there is 1.5kg of bacteria in our guts.’ Illustration: Lisa Sheehan/The Observer Eat more fibre Most of us eat only half the recommended 30g a day. But start slowly – our guts don’t like rapid change Polyphenols are a naturally occurring antioxidant that helps produce good bacteria in the stomach. It also helps reduce inflammation in the gut. This magic chemical can be found in blueberries and vegetables such as aubergine, tomatoes, white potatoes and peppers. “It occurs in a lot of nightshade vegetables, so we have a lot of that,” he says. The final frontier for gut microbiome exploration is its relationship with our brains, something the new fields of nutritional psychiatry and psychobiotics are digging into. We already know the gut has its own nervous system, the enteric nervous system, and contains 100m neurons. We also know the gut-brain axis, via the vagus nerve, shoots neurotransmitters produced within the gut around the body and to the brain, which is why Cryan’s lab has studied the impact of particular bacteria on sleep and how certain types of fibre can improve complex cognitive processes. A fountain of knowledge and sense in an overwhelming world of science Rhiannon Lambert, Registered Nutritionist and Sunday Times Bestselling Author

Unlocking the ‘gut microbiome’ – and its massive significance Unlocking the ‘gut microbiome’ – and its massive significance

This book is really, really interesting ... Nothing more important in your life than your microbiome .... this will change your life Chris EvansIn this ground-breaking book, surgeon and expert on the microbiome, James Kinross, takes us on a guided tour of our extraordinary inner universe, showing how our relationship with microbes may hold the key to why we are increasingly succumbing to diseases and conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's, autoimmune conditions and allergies. He highlights how hyperglobalization and our addiction to antibiotics has transformed our internal ecosystems and why this matters so much to our future health and happiness. An urgent investigation into a brave new world in science - the microbiome - and how it could save our health. While an FMT might be a new idea to many of us today, the medical practice of faecal transplant is ancient, and it has been drunk as “yellow soup” since the 4th century AD for the treatment of infective diarrhoea. In 1958 an innovative surgeon, Dr Ben Eiseman, administered faecal enemas to his patients in Denver, Colorado, with severe and recurrent C diff infections. It was remarkably effective, but like all important medical discoveries, this intervention was largely ignored at the time of its first report. This is a really nuanced and difficult thing to talk about, because of course, sometimes we have to take medicines,” says Dr Kinross. “I don’t want people to think that if your GP recommends antibiotics you shouldn’t take them.” Eat fermented foods Tim Spector favours kombucha, kefir and kimchi, as well as unpasteurised cheeses

James Kinross - Penguin Books UK

How well do you know your gut? You may have seen the word probiotics on your food, or possibly seen recipes to help your gut health with the three K’s: Kombucha, Kefir and Kimchi. But if your life depended on it, would you eat someone else’s poo? A spellbinding explanation of microbiology that will help you get to the bottom of health and happiness John Vincent, Co-Founder of Leon In this mindblowing book, scientist and surgeon James Kinross explains how the organisms that live within us have helped us evolve, shaped our biology and defined the success of our species. But just as we have discovered this delicate and complex ecosystem within us, it is being irrevocably destroyed through antibiotic addition, industrial food production, the globalisation of our diets and lifestyles, and the destruction of our environment. The “gut microbiome” is the name we have used to describe not only the wildly diverse collection of microbes that live there, but also what happens when they interact with each other and with our bodies. In other words, it’s an ecosystem made up of trillions of microbial life forms going about their business inside us, as we go about ours. We eat a lot of fermented foods in our house,” says Dr Kinross, who lives in London with his wife and two children. “We have a lot of kimchi and sourdough. We try to have a meal every day with some form of fermented food. Again, this is the whole microbiome argument. It improves the richness and diversity of the gut. We really like to do that.” Do eat 30 different fruits and vegetables a weekDr Ben Mullish, a clinical scientist at Imperial College London, was running a trial of FMT in patients with C diff infections. Ray was so unwell that Dr Mullish offered him the treatment. Heather understood that there are good and bad bugs and advised her husband to go ahead with it, but Ray was not having it. The idea of taking another human’s faeces was just too much for him, and he refused. Three days later, however, he had deteriorated so much that there was no other choice. Ray consented to the trial.