Ami Bhatt: Lessons from the microbial world living within us
An expert on the gut microbiome says it’s important to stop seeing bacteria as an enemy and instead as a partner in our good health. The vast majority of bacteria that live inside us are not invasive, but rather quite the opposite. They are partners in our lives, helping us to metabolize difficult to digest foods and even to fight infection. Ami S. Bhatt, MD, PhD is a hematologist and geneticist who studies these important bacteria — the so-called “microbiome.” It is possible, through disease or excessive application of antibiotics, for the microbiome to become out of kilter affecting human health. Treatment options for those whose gut bacteria are not in balance range from the simple addition of probiotic foods, like yogurt and kombucha, to the diet, to the more extreme, such as the transplant of healthy fecal matter into the digestive tracts of the patient in the hope that a more balanced microbiome might take root. The bottom line, however, says Bhatt: we still know very little about the microscopic world within us and much more study is needed. Join host Russ Altman and Ami Bhatt as they explore the role changing diet and lifestyle — and antibiotics — play in a healthy microbiome and healthy living. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.