Your immune system and metabolism are closely connected. The gut microbiome interacts with both.
Gut microorganisms produce many substances as they process nutrients. These microbial metabolites can enter biological pathways involved in metabolism, immune regulation and inflammation.
Some are considered beneficial. Short-chain fatty acids, for example, are produced when certain gut bacteria ferment dietary fibre. They can support the intestinal barrier and interact with immune and metabolic pathways.
Other microbial products may promote inflammation when their levels or exposure increase. One example is lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of the outer membrane of certain bacteria.
The relationship also works in the other direction.
Your immune system helps shape the environment in which gut microorganisms live. Changes in immune function can therefore alter the microbiome.
Metabolic health can influence it too. Diet, physical activity, medications and disease can affect both metabolism and the gut microbial community.
These relationships become particularly interesting with age.
Ageing is accompanied by changes in immune regulation and metabolic homeostasis. The gut microbiome also changes. In some people, these changes may be associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.
This does not mean that the microbiome alone determines how the immune system or metabolism ages. Many biological and lifestyle factors are involved.
The important point is the connection.
The gut microbiome, immune system and metabolism form an interacting biological network. Microbial metabolites are one of the ways these systems communicate.
Understanding these interactions may eventually help identify more personalized ways to support healthy ageing.
