So what can be done to improve your oral microbiome? Preliminary findings from the study support this, with high carbohydrate intake – like added sugar and refined flours – associated with lower diversity of bacteria in participants’ saliva. When we consume sugars frequently through the day, acid levels increase, eating away at our tooth enamel and disrupting biofilms. We are providing our oral communities with far more sugar and other simple carbohydrates than ever before, and some bacteria convert these sugars into strong acids. The new research suggests our oral microbiomes are becoming less diverse, and our oral health has declined, with modern diets. While some bacteria are initial colonisers, others only move in when conditions are just right.” “These communities are called biofilms and are usually made up of a range of microbes that like living together. “Similar to the algae and molluscs that build up on the bottom of ships, our teeth and gums provide perfect surfaces for entire communities of microbes to be built,” says Dr Julian Simmons, principal investigator of the study and senior research fellow at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. “For example, we can’t strictly use data collected in the United States to predict a ‘healthy’ microbiome status for Australians.” “When predicting health and disease, statistical models that use data from one location may not generalise to other locations. While there are already many studies that look at the oral microbiome, capturing the microbial diversity of Victorians is providing valuable insights into the Australian oral microbiome, says Dr Andre Mu, lead microbiome researcher for the study and research fellow at the Doherty Institute.
In addition to their spit, participants provided a range of other information, including their diet and neighbourhoods where they live.
Run alongside Melbourne Museum’s Gut Feelings exhibition in 2019, the study saw almost 1,500 visitors ‘spit for science’ so the microbes in their saliva could be studied by researchers. The Victorian Oral Microbiome and Lifestyle Study aims to better understand the bacteria that live in our mouths and how they vary with different lifestyles, diets, backgrounds and where we live. Preliminary results of an ongoing study conducted in partnership by the University of Melbourne, Doherty Institute and Melbourne Museum suggest the communities of bacteria in our mouths could be improved, and a healthier diet might be the key. This is because varied types perform different roles and can keep each other in check.
0 kommentar(er)
