Rutgers Today
February 26, 2019
Rutgers welcomes a new physician-researcher, Dr. Martin Blaser, a microbiologist who has studied the microbiome for over 20 years. In this short interview, Dr. Blaser gives a synopsis of the microbiome and outlines the four main issues contributing to the changes happening inside all of us.
These four areas are: the increased use of antibiotics, the increased rate of Cesarean births, the increased use of infant formula, and the rise in use of antibacterial product in our daily lives. These items, now normal aspects of our modern lifestyle, disrupt the delicate balance inside our bodies and on our skin, which may be contributing to a rise in chronic disease and other major illnesses.
“There is an ecological problem – climate change – now happening inside of us,” said Blaser, a pioneer in the field and the new director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. “There’s a lot of discussion about climate change in the world but very little about a parallel process happening within us as our modern lifestyle affects the microbes that live inside us.”
Related Content from FFH:
Your Gut Health -The Human Microbiome
Part 4 of the Special Ed Epidemic: What the Science Says on Cesarean Deliveries
Join the Conversation