[systemsweird]

I think mainstream is mostly looking at the microbiome stuff wrong. Your microbiome is the downstream proxy of good lifestyle habits, not generally something to directly manage. Good diet, exercise, reducing stress, and sleeping well will improve digestion and all the downstream variables like microbiome, physical health, and mental health.

This is basic ecology, the bacterial population dynamics in your colon are a direct result of substrate availability. If it’s primarily fiber, polyphenols, and other indigestible plant compounds reaching the colon you’ll likely have a healthy microbiome. If instead you malabsorb food from poor lifestyle factors and have macronutrients reaching the colon they’ll probably fuel blooms of pathogens. I think microbiome researchers need to talk with ecologists more to help advance the field out of the myopia it’s in.

FMT does appear useful for special cases of infection like c-diff, but I think that’s led people to believe it’s a generally health promoting practice, when the research simply does not show it.

[adaptbrian]

It certainly anecdotal, but feels like you can positively effect your gut microbiome for example by riding a horse. Ive read research about how other mammals can share their microbiomes with humans, if its not the horses biome then what is it that so satisfingly calming post ride. Would love to be enlightened. Ride a horse if you need to destress, amazing creatures.

[meindnoch]

It certainly anecdotal, but feels like you can positively effect your gut microbiome for example by riding a bicycle. If its not the bike's biome then what is it that so satisfingly calming post ride. Would love to be enlightened. Ride a bike if you need to destress, amazing machines.

[adaptbrian]

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-... https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)02209-6 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235277142...

im talking about impacting your microbiome through another animal, not the short term effects from aerobic exercise or BDNF and what that feels like. this experience didnt hit quite like other typical metabolic functions.

great to hear you like BDNF. we all could use more of that.

[meindnoch]

These articles talk about subtle changes to one's microbiome by cohabiting with animals and trading microbes with them. That's a process that takes place over months if not years.

Meanwhile, you suggest that such microbial influence must be reason you feel calm right after riding your horse.

I don't think I need to further explain why it's a ridiculous claim.

[woleium]

i guess in that case, washing woth soap everyday is probably a negative factor?

[ninalanyon]

Washing with soap everyday unless you are very dirty is indeed negative and can dry your skin. Especially as most of what is called soap now is not soap but a very complex collection of synthetic organic chemicals.

Exactly how negative it is though is difficult to determine and probably varies from person to person.

[randusername]

I like this measured take, but I think we can also expect it to be a virtuous cycle.

Sure, you have to put in a lot of effort to get the system starting, but eventually the feedback loop pays dividends that outweigh the principal.

Everything else about the human body seems to be this way, adaptation or maladaptation.