Our microbiome and how it keeps us healthy

Digestive problems are on the rise - every 2nd to 3rd adult is now affected. And they are DIRECTLY linked to our modern way of life: What makes life easier for us is ruining our bodies: fast food, sitting at work - in the car - on the couch, the need to exercise is decreasing more and more. You can have everything delivered to your home - even the weekly shop. And if something does pinch and tweak, then perhaps we need to take our bums to the doctor. And then there's often: medication, e.g. antibiotics. And all of this harms our tiny little flatmates. After all, we are not alone in our bodies: the huge community of microorganisms in our gut keeps us healthy. And when things go wrong, we get sick. And not just a little: Disorders of our microbiome could be the trigger for morbid obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases and even depression or cancer. Dr Lisa Osbelt-Block knows this. She conducts research at the HZI in the ‘Microbial Immune Regulation’ research group headed by Prof Till Strowig and is fascinated by our little fellow inhabitants. Today we are talking about how our microbiome keeps our body healthy and what happens when it is not in order. We also talk about current research into the microbiome and how the findings can be used to treat diseases. And: today there's also a bit of service: namely what each and every one of us can or should not do to keep our microbiome fit and thus ourselves healthy. Transparency notice: The podcast contains AI-generated audio material.