The gut microbiome changes in detrimental ways with age. Beneficial populations decline in numbers while harmful populations gain ground at their expense. A large part of the harm done results from an increased burden of inflammatory microbes that aggravate the immune system, resulting in chronic inflammatory signaling that degrades tissue function throughout the body. But the loss of beneficial metabolites generated by microbial species is also increasingly well studied. Butyrate, for example, helps with cognitive function <a href="https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/11/modulating-gut-microbe-populations-to-generate-more-butyrate-thus-raising-bdnf-…
An Example of a Harmful Metabolite Generated by the Aging Gut Microbiome
The gut microbiome changes in detrimental ways with age. Beneficial populations decline in numbers while harmful populations gain ground at their expense. A large part of the harm done results from an increased burden of inflammatory microbes that aggravate the immune system, resulting in chronic inflammatory signaling that degrades tissue function throughout the body. But the loss of beneficial metabolites generated by microbial species is also increasingly well studied. Butyrate, for example, helps with cognitive function <a href="https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/11/modulating-gut-microbe-populations-to-generate-more-butyrate-thus-raising-bdnf-…