Did you know that microbial changes in the GMB have been observed to influence brain physiology and cognitive function, and are further associated with cognitive aging and neuroinflammation? As mentioned in Week 1, specific GMB strains have been associated with MCI, and dysbiosis has been observed in Alzheimer’s Disease patients.
 
So, what can we do to protect against neurodegeneration of this caliber?
 
Interestingly, we each have a unique microbiome that is fully formed by the age of 3 but it is mutable, and variable based on environmental and lifestyle factors. In theory, this means each of us has the ability to alter our gut flora in a positive or negative direction.
 
Today, we’ll look at all our past mini resolutions focused on modifiable lifestyle factors and how we can apply them to positively alter our GMB to prevent cognitive decline.


Track Your Progress!
  
We urge you to stick with all our past mini resolutions, too. Use our new log to to track all your progress!
  
Questions? Email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele at [email protected]

Applying Our Past Mini Resolutions to Positively Alter Our GMB

We’ll start with exercise, sleep, diet and stress, which are, inarguably, four fundamental pillars of health in any area of study. Remember, you can always check out our Motivated Mondays blog to revisit any of these mini past resolutions!

 
Exercise and Your GMB
 
Exercise promotes a lot of good stuff in the GMB, and it is one of the few things we can study in humans because it is ethical to randomly assign people to exercise or not to! The information we have is not strictly observational, but interventional. Exercise has been shown to benefit the GMB and the gut-brain axis by reducing intestinal inflammatory biomarkers, enhancing gut motility, increasing diversity and increasing SCFAs. SCFAs are thought to enhance vagus nerve stimulation, assist with maintenance of the blood-brain barrier integrity and facilitate the communication in the bi-directional communication between the gut and brain. Exercise is so important to the GMB that a new term has been coined: the “muscle-gut-brain axis.”
 
It should be noted high exertion (think HIIT workouts, CrossFit, Hyrox), endurance exercise (running a marathon or cycling a century) or exercising in extreme heat transiently reduces the integrity of epithelial lining of the gut barrier.
So, let’s make sure we haven’t fallen off the exercise horse. If you don’t exercise currently, start with something as simple as 30 minutes of walking. If you already exercise, make sure that intensity is high enough to make you a little breathless. As always, consult your concierge physician before starting any exercise regimen.

Sleep and Your GMB
 
An observation has been noted between specific GMB flora and total sleep time, sleep efficiency (time asleep vs. time in bed), sleep quality (completion of sleep stages in our sleep architecture) and awakenings. Poor sleep may reduce GMB diversity and high-quality sleep may increase diversity. In some cases, the direction of the relationship is the GMB impacting sleep and, in other cases, the direction of the relationship is sleep impacting the GMB. In all likelihood, this will ultimately be confirmed as a bi-directional relationship.

Stress and Your GMB
 
Stress, whether acute or chronic, has been shown in both human and animal studies to reduce GI motility, weaken the integrity of the epithelial lining of the gut, alter the balance of bacterial species to dysbiosis and low diversity. All of which have been observed to increase systemic inflammation and impact neurological function and cognitive health. Manipulation of the gut to moderate the impact of stress and induce a sense of well-being is a growing area of research.
 
As previously discussed, the oral cavity is the gateway to the gut microbiome, so it should come as no surprise what you consume impacts the GMB! Let’s take a look at the past mini resolutions to eat more FnVs, avoid added sugar and stay hydrated.

FNVs and Your GMB
 
With regard to the GMB, fruit and vegetables (FnVs) exert their neuro-boosting power via their fiber, antioxidants, enzymes and phenols. These compounds favor production of beneficial bacteria and inhibit pathogenic bacteria. The metabolites produced by the beneficial bacteria serve multiple neuro-endocrine immune-metabolic functions, including providing energy for colon cells, driving GMB flora diversity to crowd out pathogens, acting as systemic chemical messengers and activating molecular pathways to the liver, brain, lung, pancreas and bones. Importantly, these compounds also help the body neutralize toxins and toxicants.

Sugar and Your GMB
 
What is the impact of sugar on the GMB? Sugar alters the diversity in the GMB towards dysbiosis - it increases the flora responsible for obesity and diabetes and reduces the flora responsible for immune function. Overall, this disrupts the integrity of the epithelial lining of the gut and promotes inflammation. So, let’s continue removing added sugar from as many meals as possible. Remember- the biggest bang for the no-added sugar buck is breakfast which, in America, is more like dessert than a health supportive meal. Let us know if you want that content, which includes the recipes, again. Keep in mind, “no-added sugar” does not entail using artificial sweeteners which might be worse than sugar for the GMB!

Hydration and Your GMB
 
An episodic reduction in total body water (TBW) hydration by just 1-2% results in impaired cognitive performance. Dehydration is also thought to accelerate Alzheimer’s disease. With regard to the GMB, there is limited research on hydration status. Early research by the American Gut Project has shown that hydration status is associated with increased diversity of beneficial bacteria in the GMB.
 
However, this may simply be that water consumption is a proxy for other health supportive behaviors with positive GMB outcomes. Keep in mind, the impact of water on the GMB can be impacted by the source of the water itself (tap, bottled, well,) and if it has been treated (filtered, chlorinated, fluoridated).

See you next week as we dive into the relationship between past micro resolutions, the GMB and cognitive health!

YOUR 2025 BRAIN BRAWN • MINI RESOLUTION
THE GUT MICROBIOME • WEEK 2

 

The relationship between oral health and overall health is an area of increasing interest among researchers and clinicians. 40 years ago, a relationship was observed between atherosclerosis and alveolar bone loss (the disappearance of bone tissue in tooth sockets).
 
We now know that a relationship exists between oral health and systemic conditions—such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), bacteremia/endocarditis, pneumonia, gastritis, rheumatic arthritis (RA), cancer, liver and kidney disease, and dementia.


Track Your Progress!
 
We urge you to stick with all our past mini resolutions, too. Use our new log to to track all your progress!
 
Questions? Email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele at [email protected].
 
If you are new to Motivated Mondays, you can review the 2025 content here.

Oral Health and The GMB

As the entry point for the digestive system, oral bacteria can translocate to the GMB, impacting the flora and health. This finding surprised researchers who had assumed bacteria from the oral cavity could not survive the acidic nature of the stomach. The Human Microbiome Project has discovered oral bacteria in the stool of almost half of all studied subjects. The relationship between the oral cavity and the gut is known as the oral-gut microbiome axis. An imbalance of bacteria in the oral cavity trending towards pathology (periodontal disease, caries, cancer, thrush) is known as oral dysbiosis.


While the relationship between oral health and cardiovascular health was established 40 years ago, the connection between oral health and cognitive health is a relatively new area of exploration—and the GMB is the bridge between the two. Preliminary studies have shown:

• Bacterial species typically found in the gut also appear in the mouths in demented patients (translocation has been found to be bi-directional).
• Having a history of periodontal disease increases the risk of developing dementia. The more severe the periodontal disease, the higher the risk.
• Bacteria associated with periodontal disease (P. gingivalis) has been found in the post-mortem brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

 
It is possible the relationship is as straight forward as to say that those with neurodegenerative conditions or cognitive impairment are less likely to maintain their oral health. But it is also possible that oral dysbiosis contributes to inflammatory mediators or that oral bacteria translocate to the brain. Both theories can potentiate neuro-inflammation. Time will tell as studies continue.

Clearly, there is much we are still learning about the relationship between oral health, the GMB and systemic conditions/diseases. One thing we know for sure is that maintaining oral health is crucial to our overall health.
 
Proper oral health maintenance includes:

• Daily brushing and flossing. A soft brush is your go-to on this one. A hard toothbrush is not a friend to your gums and enamel. Consider adding a water pick if you have the counterspace for it.
• Tongue scraping
• Replacing your toothbrush every three months or if you have been sick
• Visiting your dental hygienist at least twice a year, more often if indicated or recommended
• Replacing missing teeth or broken filings
• Addressing bruxism (teeth grinding) either with a mouth guard created by your dentist or by injecting Botox into the masseter muscles
• Identifying xerostomia (dry mouth), which is a common side effect of many medications
• Quitting smoking if you are a smoker

 
 
So, refresh your toothbrush and check with your dental hygienist for when you are due to be seen next, then test your dental health knowledge with this quiz:




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Captain Kirk may have proclaimed space the final frontier, but with regard to human health, the microbiome may end up taking us places no man has gone before.
 
On us and within us live trillions of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi that modulate our health. Collectively, these are called “the microbiome.” Multiple organs and body systems having a microbiome of their own—such as the gut, our skin, the genitourinary system and even our eyeballs. But when most people talk about “the microbiome,” they are usually referring to the gut microbiome (GMB), which will be our focus this month.


Track Your Progress!
 
We urge you to stick with all our past mini resolutions, too. Use our new log to to track all your progress!
 
Questions? Email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele at [email protected].
 
If you are new to Motivated Mondays, you can review the 2025 content here.



The GMB cooperates with the host to regulate immunological, metabolic, neurological and endocrine function. It accomplishes this via direct and indirect communication between the gut and the peripheral and central nervous system. Directly, via the vagus nerve—which runs between the gut and the brain—and indirectly, via a network of neurons, proteins and chemicals that also relay messages between the GI and brain. Collectively, the vagus nerve and this network are referred to as the gut/brain axis and transmit messages from the brain to the gut and vice versa. Thus, the relationship is bi-directional.
 
The GMB is an important moderator of this communication as it is involved in nutrient absorption, and the synthesis of enzymes, vitamins and neurotransmitters, producing metabolites (SCFA, butyrate, acetate, propionate and acetate) which maintain barrier integrity of the gut, modulate the immune system and protect against pathogens.
 
The role of the GMB is so important that it is frequently viewed as an organ unto itself—with some referring to it as “the body’s microbial organ.” It is thought a balanced, highly diverse microbiome promotes health. A GMB that is out of balance is considered dysbiotic, wherein pathogenic, pro-inflammatory bacteria outnumber beneficial bacteria.
 
For those over the age of 75, GMB diversity may be diminished for a variety of reasons (including medications, dietary changes, lack of exercise and poor-quality sleep) which may potentiate the risk of metabolic, autoimmune and neurological diseases. Some believe “super agers” may be the exception. These are people who have been found to have the GMB diversity of 30-year-olds.
 
Recently, several studies have identified reduced GMB diversity and dysbiosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is theorized that the imbalanced condition of the GMB triggers neurodegeneration and tau pathology. Researchers are delving deeper into the concept that the status of the GMB may become a biomarker for early identification of AD.

So, what exactly do we mean when we say “microbiome diversity?”

 
There are more than 8,000 strains of microbes living in the GI. The richer and more evenly distributed these microbes are, the greater the diversity.
 
Throughout life, the GMB is highly modifiable by lifestyle and environment, and this can be used to our advantage or disadvantage.
 
Excitingly, research is starting to define specific strains of bacteria implicated in certain disease states, even Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). As such, the GMB is currently considered a potential therapeutic target for immunological, metabolic, neurological and endocrine conditions.
 
Interestingly, the microbiome is fully formed by the age of 2 or 3 and initially provided by the mother at birth via the birth canal and during breastfeeding. C-section babies and those bottle fed are thought to have less diverse microbiomes with could have potential long-term effects on the child’s health and immunity.

DID YOU KNOW?
 
Considering that the microbiome is composed of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi, it probably won’t surprise you that abuse of antibiotics can potentially have negative impacts on the GMB. What do we mean by abuse? Antibiotics are powerful and important agents against bacterial infections but can be counterproductive to the immune system when a bacterial infection doesn’t exist (e.g. if you’re taking antibiotics for a virus). Please keep this in mind the next time your physician determines the nature of your ailment is viral, in which case antibiotics will not be helpful.

Well, we’ve left you with a lot of information and, next week, we’ll look at how oral health can be an indicator of GMB health. Until then, use the log to continue working at our past mini resolutions.
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