Chronic low-level background inflammation affects most of us, causing us to feel sicker and age faster. In fact, the connection between inflammation and aging is so strong that researchers now call it “inflammaging.”
Inflammaging is associated with dozens of disabling and deadly diseases, including:
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Arthritis
- Dementia
- Stroke
- Heart disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Autoimmune diseases
And while the medical community has known about that inflammaging issue for years, new science has shone a spotlight on one of its main causes: dysbiosis, when the bacteria in your gut microbiome are out of balance.
The good news: Rebalancing your gut microbiome can reduce – even eliminate – inflammaging so you can stay young and healthy for decades to come.
Quick Answer: Inflammaging is the chronic, low-grade inflammation that builds up as we age and is linked to many age-related diseases. A major driver is dysbiosis, an out-of-balance gut microbiome where harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial ones. Those pathogens release LPS toxins that breach the gut barrier and spark body-wide inflammation, while shutting down the anti-inflammatory compounds good bacteria make. Research backs this up: studies of healthy centenarians show unusually youthful, diverse gut microbiomes, and animal studies link old-gut bacteria to faster aging. The takeaway is encouraging: rebalancing your gut with spore probiotics and prebiotic fiber can help calm inflammaging and support healthier aging.
How Does Gut Imbalance Cause Inflammaging?
When pathogens outnumber probiotics (dysbiosis), they release LPS toxins that breach the gut barrier and trigger body-wide inflammation, while also shutting down the anti-inflammatory compounds that good bacteria normally make.
Dysbiosis Can Make You Old and Sick
Your gut microbiome houses trillions of bacteria, good (probiotics) and bad (pathogens). When your gut is healthy, probiotics outnumber pathogens. Diversity, meaning lots of different strains of probiotic bacteria, is also crucial for a healthy gut. And with a diverse bunch of beneficial bacteria in charge, your gut microbiome provides dozens of important health benefits, including:
- Strong immune system
- Balanced blood sugar
- Natural energy
- Better heart and brain function
- Easier weight management
- Essential nutrients, antioxidants, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
But when pathogens outnumber probiotics – dysbiosis – they start to damage your health and cause rapid aging. That’s mainly because pathogens trigger chronic inflammation in a two very important ways:
- Pathogens produce LPS toxins (also known as lipopolysaccharides) that attack the protective barrier that lines your gut. They damage that barrier, and escape into your bloodstream – a condition called toxic streaming – and cause inflammation wherever they land.
- Pathogens stop production of anti-inflammatory compounds (normally produced by probiotics) making it much hard for your body to keep inflammation under control.
So when your gut is out of balance, inflammation goes wild, and you start aging faster and faster.
| Aspect | Balanced ("young") gut microbiome | Imbalanced ("aging") gut microbiome |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria | Diverse; probiotics outnumber pathogens | Less diverse; pathogens rise (dysbiosis) |
| Inflammation | Kept in check | Chronic, low-grade ("inflammaging") |
| Associated with | Healthy longevity (seen in centenarians) | Faster aging and higher disease risk |
What Does Research Say About the Gut and Inflammaging?
In one study, germ-free mice that received gut bacteria from old mice developed inflammaging within four weeks, leading researchers to conclude that gut bacteria can contribute to age-related inflammation.
Weird Mouse Study Proves Inflammaging Comes from the Gut
Chronic inflammation can be triggered by all kinds of things, from pollution to viruses to radiation exposure. But according to some cutting-edge research, inflammaging starts in the gut.
Researchers took gut bacteria from old or young natural mice and transferred them to young, germ-free mice (animals with no bacteria at all in their bodies). Before the transfer, those germ-free mice were perfectly young and healthy. But that quickly changed… the germ-free mice that got old mouse bacteria developed inflammaging in just four weeks.
Those germ-free mice developed intestinal inflammation and toxic streaming from the transplanted bacteria.
The scientists’ conclusion: Gut bacteria can cause inflammaging.
Do People Who Live Longest Have Healthier Guts?
Studies of healthy 90- and 100-year-olds find they tend to have unusually diverse, youthful gut microbiomes rich in beneficial bacteria, linking gut balance to healthy longevity.
Healthy Centenarians Have Young Guts
As most of us age, the bacteria in our gut microbiomes tend to shift from probiotic toward pathogen, and bacteria diversity decreases .
That’s not what happens in people who live very long healthy lives, as several studies point out.
The healthiest 90- and 100-year-olds (called centenarians) have young gut microbiomes – and there are a bunch of studies that prove it.
In one study, researchers examined the gut bacteria of healthy Chinese people who were at least 90 years old. They found that their gut microbiomes were more diverse than even young adults and contained beneficial bacteria strains associated with good health.
Another study, this one involving centenarians living in “longevity villages” in South Korea, found that these elders had diverse, abundant populations of beneficial bacteria.
A 2019 Italian study found that Sardinian centenarians had higher diversity of beneficial bacteria than other people – young and old – in the area. Their gut microbiome also produced high levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which promote healthy aging.
This line of research is just starting to gain momentum, but one thing is abundantly clear: a healthy, balanced, diverse gut microbiome is the key to a long, healthy life.
And rebalancing your gut is the best way to prevent and reverse inflammaging.
Frequently Asked Questions About Inflammaging
What is inflammaging?
Inflammaging is chronic, low-grade inflammation that accumulates with age and is associated with many age-related health conditions.
What causes inflammaging?
A major driver is dysbiosis, an imbalanced gut microbiome. Pathogens release LPS toxins that breach the gut barrier (toxic streaming) and trigger ongoing inflammation.
Can gut health affect how you age?
Research suggests so. Studies of healthy centenarians show youthful, diverse gut microbiomes, and animal studies link aged gut bacteria to faster inflammation and aging.
How can you reduce inflammaging?
Rebalancing the gut microbiome is key. Spore probiotics help clear pathogens and restore diverse beneficial bacteria, and prebiotic fiber feeds those good bacteria, which together help calm chronic inflammation.
How Can You Reduce Inflammaging?
The most effective step is rebalancing your gut microbiome. Clearing out pathogens and restoring diverse beneficial bacteria, with spore probiotics and prebiotic fiber, helps calm the chronic inflammation behind inflammaging.
Rebalance Your Gut to Prevent Inflammaging
The New Year is a great time to reboot your gut microbiome and make sure inflammation doesn’t make you look and feel old before your time.
The best way to get your microbiome in fighting shape: Send in the toughest spore probiotics on the market. Just Thrive Probiotic contains four strains of clinically proven spore probiotics. As a team, the four take down pathogens, support the growth of beneficial bacteria, and stop toxic streaming. And each one also brings special strengths:
- Bacillus indicus HU36, which provides a rich palette of potent, instantly bioavailable antioxidants including beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, astaxanthin, and CoQ10.
- Bacillus subtilis HU38, which produces nattokinase, an enzyme celebrated for its ability to improve blood pressure and promote healthy clotting.
- Bacillus coagulans, which reduces levels of C-reactive protein (CRP, a measure of inflammation), decreases oxidative stress, and improves total and LDL cholesterol levels
- Bacillus clausii, which stimulates antibody production to give your immune system a powerful defensive boost.
And to give your microbiome an extra edge, nourish those beneficial bacteria with their favorite prebiotic fiber. Just Thrive Precision Prebiotic contains a special blend of prebiotic fiber that selectively feeds only the probiotics in your gut, giving them a clear advantage over any lingering pathogens.
To balance your microbiome…and live a younger, healthier year… resolve to add Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Thrive Precision Prebiotic to your daily routine in 2020
