Gut Health and Longevity: What Your Microbiome Says About How Long You’ll Live

If you’ve ever had a gut feeling about longevity, you’re not far off. That’s because gut health is a critical component of healthy aging and lengthened lifespans. The gut microbiome has a profound influence on the immune system. It also affects inflammation which when it becomes chronic can lead to a wide variety of diseases as we get older. 

Having a healthy gut requires some lifestyle adjustments. But making these changes can not only reverse aging but improve how you feel. Here’s how to achieve a diverse gut microbiome and extend your longevity. 

Growing Older While Growing a Healthy Gut

By 2055, there will be 1.5 billion people worldwide over the age of 65 – twice as many as today. That’s one reason healthy aging and longevity is such a popular topic. Yet it’s not about miracle drugs or the right mix of supplements. Because looking at healthy agers reveals that far more than genetics, their lifestyles often determine not only how long they live but how well. In fact genetics accounts for just 20% of longevity. That rest is determined by the choices we make. 

Aging is a complex but clearly defined process. In one study, the author concluded that, “There is compelling evidence that aging is not an exclusively cell biological phenomenon and that it is coupled to a general alteration in intercellular communication, offering opportunities to modulate aging at this level.” The way our cells communicate and how this breaks down over time means that there are issues that can be addressed – even methods to reverse aging. 

Indeed, the idea that chronological age is less important than biological age has gained support. Simply put, biological age is the age of your cells. It’s often a direct result of lifestyle choices including diet, exercise, coping well with stress, and getting sufficient sleep. One of the areas most tied to healthy aging and longevity is gut health. 

There’s a tiny, diverse community dwelling inside your stomach. It consists of trillions of microorganisms including viruses and fungi but mainly bacteria. Located in a part of the large intestine called the cecum, this “gut microbiome” primarily transforms food into fuel. However, its health has implications for everything from a well-functioning immune system to cardiovascular disease. Individual’s gut microbiomes are unique – influenced by everything from diet to stress levels to the environment. They evolve to meet our needs. The ones that change the most over a lifetime and have the highest diversity tend to belong to the healthiest among us. In fact, the gut microbiomes of healthy agers over 100 have common, familiar characteristics including the fact that they resemble the gut microbiomes of far younger people and have a greater quantity of beneficial, probiotic bacteria.

Although the effects of gastrointestinal microorganisms on the body have been studied since long before microorganisms were even identified, the word “microbiome” was coined less than 25 years ago by Joshua Lederberg. He used it “to signify the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms that literally share our body space and have been all but ignored as determinants of health and disease.” Shortly after the human genome project finished its work sequencing the complete set of human genes, a new project developed to create a full inventory of microbial genes and genomes in four microbial colonization sites in the human body including that of the gut microbiome.  

Cataloging the trillions of microorganisms who make up the gut microbiome’s complex community, the project identified not just bacteria but protozoans, fungi, non-living viruses and many other residents of our gastrointestinal tracts. Today the connection between the gut microbiome and inflammation is a source of extensive longevity research. While beneficial as a short-term response to injury or infection, when inflammation becomes chronic and doesn’t abate it can lead to all sorts of health problems including some cancers. Reducing inflammation often means improving your gut health. 

Diet is a primary driver of this. The bacterium dwelling in the gut microbiome do best on a healthy collection of dark, leafy greens like spinach salad, fruits, bean, peas, and other legumes along with whole grains including brown rice and whole wheat products. “Those foods contain fiber,” explains April Pawluk, strategic program manager at the Harvard Chan Microbiome in Public Health Center. “Our bodies don’t break down fiber for food; fiber passes through to the gut and microbes feed on it. It gives them a good environment to grow.” 

On the other hand a diet heavy in processed foods filled with added sugar and salt leaves those same microbes practically starving. “In the absence of diversity-promoting nutrients like fiber in our diets, the genes of our gut microbiome can produce chemicals that could increase our risk for developing different diseases,” points out Pawluk.

This chemical reaction can shorten your lifespan. Anyone concerned about lowering their biological age, reverse aging and improving overall health can start with a simple at-home blood test. While many companies charge hundreds of dollars for similar tests, Kyla’s is just $99. The cost may even be covered by your insurance. Start by taking a short quiz so you can choose the best test. After ordering, you’ll receive the testing kit along with instructions for sample collection in just a few days. Collect a few drops of blood and mail your sample back to our labs postage free. 

Soon, you’ll receive detailed results. You’ll learn if there were inflammation markers in your blood – a warning sign for elevated cancer risk. You’ll discover the current state of your hormonal and cardiovascular health along with how well your liver is functioning. There will be information about vitamin and mineral deficiencies. You can even discover your brain health risks and make changes to your lifestyle that will support cognitive function and overall well-being.

Best of all, by downloading the Kyla app you’ll be able to enjoy a brand new, cutting edge feature. While there may not be a biological age test, using data driven analytics and your test results the Kyla app can estimate your biological age. It can even tell you your expected lifetime duration. 

Remember, this number isn’t set in stone. You’re in control. So if you’re worried about your biological age and want to lengthen your lifespan, there are things you can do. It’s even possible to reverse aging by making some simple lifestyle changes. Using graphs on the app, you’ll be able to visualize your progress. And by consulting with a Kyla doctor, you’ll learn how to lengthen your lifespan. That means you will be making the first steps to a healthy gut and increased longevity.  

Extending The Lifespan of Gut Bacteria 

One effect on longevity is the way bacteria in the gut microbiome changes, Many beneficial bacteria which are vital to healthy aging begin to decline like Bifidobacterium which as one study notes “confer positive health benefits to their host via their metabolic activities.” The key to increasing their population is through plant-derived carbohydrates and probiotics which can stimulate the growth of some bifidobacterial species. Probiotics found in foods like yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso soup, kombucha, and pickles contain living microorganisms that can benefit the consumer when they are eaten in sufficient quantities. Probiotic supplements are also an option. 

Other helpful bacteria that often decline as we get older include the Lactobacillus species which conveys similar benefits. Meanwhile potentially pathogenic microorganisms multiply. Often diets high in processed foods increase the gut’s permeability, causing leakage of these pathogens and subsequent chronic inflammation. 

This is why taking control of one’s diet is so important.  Along with consistent consumption of fiber and complex carbohydrates, adding probiotic rich food to your meals can make a real difference in the composition of your gut microbiome. Improving your gut health can deliver not just a longer lifespan but a longer healthspan. Increasingly doctors are focusing on this as a sign of healthy aging. Healthspan are the years you enjoy a disease-free life. Because after all, extending your life expectancy isn’t very valuable if it’s time spent battling a chronic condition. 

That’s why Kyla is so focused on programs that can actually reverse aging and lengthen longevity while improving your overall good health. One important step is to actively reduce biological age which in the future could lead toward achieving age escape velocity. This is when your efforts at combating aging and disease will add more than a year of lifespan for every year you’re alive. 

When you take control by improving your gut health and testing for numerous conditions that can reduce longevity, you will extend your healthspan. The Kyla app allows you to take proactive steps to reduce the effects of aging. it also empowers its users to take a data-driven approach to improving their health, potentially enhancing longevity and well-being through personalized insights. So download the Kyla App today and start improving your gut health as you embrace longevity-extending habits. 

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