The secret to aging well may be due, in part, to your gut, according to a study that was published in Nature Metabolism in February, 2021(1). During the last five years, there has been an explosion of research into the gut microbiome—the colony of bacteria and other microorganisms that reside within us and their genetic material. This new study shows that people whose gut bacteria were able to transform over the decades tended to be healthier and live longer. This was an overservational cohort study, so it doesn’t show cause and effect, but it provides further evidence of the role that the microbiome plays in aging.

How Gut Bacteria Transform

We inherit our gut microbiome from our mothers when we pass through the birth canal, and our microbiomes are mostly formed by age three. However, the number and species of bacteria continue to fluctate based on the environment we live in, people and animals we interact with, and the foods we eat. This newest study of 9000 people, age 18 to 101, showed that distinct changes in the microbiomes began to occur around age 40. By age 65, the most lean and fit people had a distinctively different gut profile than their less fit and healthy counter-parts. The microbiomes of older adults were also distinct from people in their 20s.

In a New York Times interview, Dr. Sean Gibbons, co-author of the study, said:

A lot of aging research is obsessed with returning people to a younger state or turning back the clock. Here the conclusion is that a microbiome that is healthy for a 20-year-old isn’t that healthy for an 80-year-old. It’s good to have a changing microbiome when you’re old.

Keeping the Evolving Gut Healthy

Think of a healthy gut like a lush garden with a diversity of flowers and plants. Both the garden and the gut do best when they can adapt to changing conditions, whether it is a dry spell for the garden, or the physiological changes of aging. Diet plays a major role in helping the gut microbiome adapt in a healthy way. Consuming sufficient fiber allows the bacteria to thrive and keeps the “mucous munching” bacteria at bay. In the absence of sufficient fiber, bacteria will find anything to chew on, including the mucous lining of the stomach, which leads to all sorts of health issues.

An Easy Recipe to Get More Fiber

Fiber can be found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans. You can combine these into a Jar Meal, using a standard 16-oz mason jar. The Jar Meal pictured here has garbanzo beans, carrots, corn, black beans, quinoa, cucumbers, and chicken, but you can use any combination you want. Prepare a few jars in advance, as they keep well in the refrigerator. To eat, just pour the contents into a bowl and add a yogurt-based dressing like those from Bolthouse Farms (in the refrigerated section of your grocery store) or a vegan dressing from Folks Over Knives to complete the meal.