A popular doctor has shared his views on microbiomes and how who you hang out with could impact them, sparking a wave of confusion online.
The doctor went viral after explaining why he thinks spending time with healthy people could make you healthier. That’s why he says he doesn’t wear gloves when working with particularly healthy patients.
Dr. Sean O’Mara recently appeared on The Genius Life podcast where he suggested that spending time with healthy people could have health benefits. Likewise, he suggested that being around unhealthy people or their environments could cause you to acquire unhealthy microbes.
Apparent warning to avoid certain places for your health
Dr. O’Mara focused his discussion on the microbiome. Harvard reports that “the microbiome is made up of microbes that are both helpful and potentially harmful. Most are symbiotic (where the human body and microbiota benefit) and some, in smaller numbers, are pathogenic (promoting disease).
Harvard reports that in a healthy body, symbiotic and pathogenic microbiota coexist without causing problems.
“But if this balance is disrupted – caused by infectious diseases, certain diets, or prolonged use of antibiotics or other bacteria-killing drugs – dysbiosis occurs, ending these normal interactions. As a result, the body may become more vulnerable to disease.
On the podcast, Dr. O’Mara said he went so far as to avoid certain places and objects that he thought might have hosted people with an unhealthy microbiome.
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“I tell my children and my customers: don’t ever sit in those four-foot-wide wheelchairs that are in airports. There are a lot of bad ones in there,” he said.
Instead, he recommends people go out of their way to spend time with people who may have positive germs.
“Maybe what you want to do is be the towel boy for the U.S. Olympic ski team or the gymnastics team or the soccer team and get their good microbes back because they’re going to perform better,” he said. declared.
The podcast host summarized the views by saying: “If you see people who clearly embody good health, spend more time with them. »
Dr O’Mara says he only uses gloves on patients in poor health
Later in the podcast, Dr. O’Mara explained how he even practices this method during his work, saying he only uses gloves on patients he considers to have a bad microbiome.
“As a doctor, I will wear gloves on unhealthy people, and for healthy people who have good germs, I will not wear gloves. So, I’m really enjoying it,” he detailed.
“You want to spend time with healthy people, you are more attracted to them because they will have a larger collection of more efficient microbiomes. But if they’re really healthy, you want them. It’s the same with people in poor health, you can also acquire their FMT.
What the studies say
It’s no surprise that such claims went viral and ultimately left people even more confused. The transmission of microbes is an area of study about which knowledge is apparently very limited. It is important to note that although studies have shown that microbial profiles can be altered by significant exchange of bacteria with other people, these studies often only look at transmissions between people with whom you are in regular contact and narrow.
In 2017, a study found that couples who live together transmit microbes, but not enough to significantly change each person’s microbial profile. Another study found that those who live in the same household change each other’s gut microbiomes, while those who have social interactions (i.e. living in the same village) do so to a lesser extent.
A study in 2016, they discovered that sociable people tend to have more diverse gut microbiomes due to the transmission of “good” bacteria between them.
However, there are studies that look at the microbiomes of built spaces, such as plane cabins or Metro seats. These studies found that people likely modify these microbiomes of physical spaces through transmission from their own.
