Friday night, let’s talk gut microbiome!
“These results are essential for disease studies. Parkinson’s disease, for example, is typically associated with a longer intestinal transit time, [Roots of Wellness Ayurveda comments: vata vitiation slows paristalsis, resulting in chronic constipation, which in turn vitiates vata further] which in turn impacts microbiota composition. So to study the microbiota in Parkinson’s disease [known as kampavata in Ayurveda], youneed to take that into account. These and many other observations can help scientists in their research into future therapies.” Jeroen Raes
A key factor in this study was the collaboration with the Dutch LifeLines study, which allowed the researchers to replicate their findings: more than 90% of the identified factors were also detected in the Dutch cohort. International collaborations like these are the key to advancing the field and speed up the path to developing gut flora-based drugs. “Replication makes our results much more robust,” Raes emphasizes. “Of course, we also found some differences between both cohorts. Believe it or not, but one of the important dietary covariates identified in the Dutch cohort was the consumption of buttermilk.”
!["He who uses takra daily does not suffer from diseases, and diseases cured by takra do not recur; just as amrita [divine nectar] is for the gods, takra [buttermilk] is to humans.” – Bhavaprakasha 6.7](https://www.rootsofwellnessayurveda.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/buttermilk.jpg)
“He who uses takra daily does not suffer from diseases, and diseases cured by takra do not recur; just as amrita [divine nectar] is for the gods, takra [buttermilk] is to humans.”
– Bhavaprakasha 6.7
Known as takra in Sanskrit, buttermilk, or the liquid byproduct after making cultured butter, is considered sacred and life giving in Ayurvedic literature: “He who uses takra daily does not suffer from diseases, and diseases cured by takra do not recur; just as amrita [divine nectar] is for the gods, takra is to humans.”
– Bhavaprakasha Chpt 6.7
Read more from KU Leuven: World’s first populatation-level microbiome study reveals links between lifestyle and gut flora