When we are born, our body begins with a basal gut microbial community, and this microbiome can change and fluctuate as we grow based on a variety of factors. While we may not realize it all the time, our behaviors and habits affect our gut microbiome and thus we have more control over it than we know.
There are some behaviors such as taking antibiotics or probiotics that have a more obvious effect on the microbiome. Antibiotics destroy different bacteria in your gut, therefore should only be used if prescribed so that one does not destroy their natural healthy microbiota. Therefore, they are beneficial if used correctly, but could otherwise be potentially dangerous.
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts which are beneficial for your health and can be used either as a supplement in your diet, or for some specific cases. For example, if you use antibiotics, probiotics are helpful to replace the good bacteria in your gut. They are also helpful to simply maintain the balance of good and bad bacteria. Many doctors prescribe this if you will be travelling out of country to a place which may disrupt your gut microbiome.
However, besides the obvious ways to affect your gut microbiome, there are also more subtle behaviors which affect it such as your diet such as the food your consume. Different foods contain different nutrients and thus render different metabolic responses when you consume them. This can affect the different enzymes present and produced within your gut. Bacteria benefit from different nutrients and thus in general, a more diverse diet will lead to a more diverse gut microbiome. Thus in general, having a healthy, nutritious and diverse diet can be beneficial, while having a poor diet can be detrimental.
