You want to live a long, healthy life. And the key word there is healthy… because no one wants to suffer with a painful or debilitating condition for years, weeks, or even minutes.
In the ideal picture of your later years, you’re active… engaged… sharp… pain-free… happy. And here’s the great news: That picture is achievable, even if you’ve been struggling with some health issues.
The fact is, you have the power to change your health destiny. And you can do that by helping your gut microbiome – the trillions of bacteria in your gut – get the support they need to thrive.
Quick Answer: Research links healthy aging to the makeup of your gut microbiome. Lean, active, vital older adults tend to have very different gut bacteria than their frailer peers, and certain age-related shifts are associated with a longer, healthier life. A "healthy longevity" gut profile generally shows more bacterial diversity, more short chain fatty acid producers, and higher levels of keystone strains like Akkermansia. A less ideal profile, called dysbiosis, has fewer beneficial bacteria and is linked to more chronic issues. You can support a balanced microbiome at any age by combining spore probiotics, which survive digestion to reach the gut alive, with targeted prebiotics that feed your keystone beneficial bacteria.
How Do Your Gut Bacteria Affect How Long and Well You Live?
Your gut bacteria change throughout life, and after late middle age those differences start to matter more. Research shows that healthy, active older adults tend to have very different gut microbiomes than frailer ones, and certain age-related shifts are linked to a longer, healthier life.
Over the course of your life, your gut bacteria makeup will change dramatically, and it starts early. After we’re introduced to solid foods as a baby, the gut microbiota begins to steadily diversify. As we move through life, some people will experience guts that are quite stable and balanced, while others may encounter a number of issues (due to food choices, toxins and stress, etc).
Once you hit late middle age, though, the differences start to compound and matter more.
Research shows that lean, active, vital older adults have very different gut microbiomes then their sicker, frailer counterparts. And specific age-related changes to the microbiome can result in a longer, healthier life.
Older adults with optimal gut microbiomes enjoy a multitude of health benefits, including:
- Healthy cholesterol levels
- Higher vitamin D levels
- Being able to walk faster
- Having better overall mobility
- Healthy inflammation responses
- Extended lifespans
On the flipside, older adults with sub-optimal gut microbiomes used more medications and were more likely to suffer from chronic health problems.
What Does a Healthy Longevity Gut Profile Look Like?
An optimal aging microbiome generally shows more diversity among gut bacteria, more probiotics that produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and higher levels of keystone strains like Akkermansia.
Science is now focused intently on the connection between healthy aging and a healthy gut microbiome. In fact, recent research has shed some light on exactly what makes for an optimal microbiome profile that can positively impact healthy longevity. Those traits include:
- More diversity among gut bacteria
- Probiotic bacteria that produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
- Higher levels of Akkermansia, an important “keystone” strain of probiotic bacteria
Research now clearly shows that specific keystone bacteria like Akkermansia can make all the difference in how well your body ages.
How Do the Wrong Gut Bacteria Threaten Healthy Aging?
When the microbiome falls out of balance, a condition called dysbiosis, it has less diverse bacteria and fewer beneficial probiotics. That imbalance is associated with more inflammation and chronic issues, which can work against healthy aging.
When your microbiome profile is less than ideal, it lowers your chances of living younger and longer. And unfortunately, it’s not hard for a gut microbiome to fall into a bad pattern and out of healthy balance. A gut in that condition contains less diverse populations of bacteria and substantially fewer beneficial probiotics.
That condition is called dysbiosis, and it can have a negative impact on your total body health as well as your longevity.
When your aging gut is full of the wrong bacteria, you’ll be more susceptible to what we think of as age-related diseases. Sick and frail elderly people tend to have large populations of pro-inflammatory pathogenic bacteria and relatively few probiotics in their gut microbiomes. Those bacteria promote what scientists call “inflammaging,” and they can disrupt optimal immune system function.
That sets the stage for unhealthy aging.
But you have the power to make a positive change as early as today, and it starts by shifting how you support your gut microbiome.
How Can You Support Gut Balance and Healthy Aging?
You can support a balanced microbiome at any age by combining spore probiotics, which survive digestion to reach the gut alive, with targeted prebiotics that feed keystone beneficial bacteria like Akkermansia.
You can change your health destiny by reshaping your gut microbiome with a combination of spore probiotics and targeted prebiotics.
Specific kinds of spore probiotics, which have a unique protective casing, can survive all the hazards of digestion, including stomach acid. Unlike more fragile “regular” probiotics that need to be refrigerated, targeted spore probiotics can withstand the high temperatures of your digestive tract to arrive in your gut 100% alive and ready to get to work.
Once spore probiotics reach the gut, they begin setting the stage for a diverse population of probiotic bacteria. Plus, on their own, spore probiotics encourage the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), which have dozens of well-known health benefits from weight management to immune system support. Spore probiotics also produce essential nutrients like B vitamins and other healthy compounds such as antioxidants.
Most exciting: A special strain of spore probiotics known as Bacillus subtilis HU58™ was shown to support the lifespan and healthy longevity in C. elegans (a species used to model the effects on humans). The researchers were so excited by this finding that they wrote: “probiotics represent the Holy Grail.”
The right kind of probiotic is a necessary foundational step towards feeling your best. And – To sustain a flourishing, diverse probiotic population in your gut microbiome, you need to nourish your probiotics with their preferred food: prebiotic fiber.
One quick note on prebiotics: Not any old prebiotics will do. You want to make sure to target those SCFA-producing strains… especially keystone strains like Akkermansia. These health-promoting probiotic strains crave certain prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS). So when you choose a prebiotic, make sure it’s one that’s proven to fuel your keystone beneficial bacteria while staying far away from the bad bacteria. (The last thing you want to do is give food to the bad guys!)
Supplying your gut microbiome with spore probiotics and the right prebiotics can help keep it in healthy balance – whatever your age.
| Gut microbiome trait | Healthy longevity profile | Sub-optimal (dysbiosis) profile |
|---|---|---|
| Bacterial diversity | More diverse | Less diverse |
| Beneficial probiotics | Higher levels, including SCFA producers | Substantially fewer |
| Keystone strains (e.g. Akkermansia) | Higher levels | Low or depleted |
| Associated with | Mobility, healthy inflammation responses, longer lifespan | More medications and chronic health problems |
Frequently Asked Questions About Gut Health and Healthy Aging
Is gut health linked to longevity?
Research links the makeup of the gut microbiome to healthy aging. Lean, active, vital older adults tend to have very different gut bacteria than frailer peers, and certain age-related shifts in the microbiome are associated with a longer, healthier life.
What does a healthy aging gut microbiome look like?
It generally shows more bacterial diversity, more probiotics that produce short chain fatty acids, and higher levels of keystone strains like Akkermansia. A less ideal profile has fewer beneficial bacteria and is associated with more chronic issues.
What is Akkermansia and why does it matter?
Akkermansia is described as a keystone strain of beneficial gut bacteria. Higher levels are associated with how well the body ages, which is why supporting it with the right prebiotics is part of a healthy longevity gut profile.
How can you support a healthy gut as you age?
Combine spore probiotics, which have a protective shell that lets them survive digestion and reach the gut alive, with targeted prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS) that feed keystone beneficial bacteria while staying away from harmful bacteria.
Why choose spore probiotics for aging?
Unlike many fragile conventional probiotics, spore probiotics withstand stomach acid and the conditions of the digestive tract to arrive in the gut alive. Once there, they help set the stage for a diverse population of beneficial bacteria and encourage SCFA production.
Feel your best and support healthy aging with Just Thrive
You can keep your gut microbiome in healthy balance and encourage keystone strains with Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic.
Just Thrive Probiotic contains four clinically studied strains of spore probiotics including:
- Bacillus subtilis HU58™
- Bacillus clausii
- Bacillus coagulans
- Bacillus indicus HU36™
Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic contains a blend of clinically-tested prebiotics that specifically nourish keystone bacteria. Every dose of Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic contains:
- Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
- Galactooligosaccharides (GOS)
- Xylooligosaccharides (XOS)
Enjoy the lifelong benefits of a healthy gut microbiome with Just Thrive Probiotic and Precision PREbiotic today and save up to 25% off
