What do you think of when you hear the term “gut health?” Everything from what we eat and drink and our lifestyle choices to whether we overuse antibiotics affects what is called our microbiome, which in turn, impacts our immune system.
The microbiome is a compilation of all the microbes and bacteria in our stomachs, on our skin, around our mouth and in our nose, that help determine our overall health. Keeping our microbiomes healthy and in balance helps lower the risk of illnesses, including cancers.
Husband-and-wife team Dr. Martin Blaser, the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome and professor of Medicine and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, also a Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health in the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology & Anthropology at Rutgers University, are researching the microbiome and their work has been featured in a documentary.