Editor's Note: The extended Q&A with Jeremy Nicholson mentioned in the July magazine can be found here.

Jeremy Nicholson was only trying to be thorough. It was 1981, and the young biochemist was using a technique called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which can identify chemicals based on the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei. In particular, Nicholson wanted to study how red blood cells absorb cadmium, a metal that causes cancer. Realizing that he would achieve the best results if he could mimic the cells’ natural environment, he added a few drops of blood to the cells and ran the test.

“Suddenly there was a huge variety of signals that we hadn’t seen before—there were these amazing sets of spectra coming out,” Nicholson recalls. A sample of blood or urine contains thousands of metabolites—signatures of all the chemical reactions occurring in the body at a given time. If he could find a way to identify those chemical signatures and their significance, he reasoned, he would be able not only to better understand different diseases—based on chemical reactions that had gone awry—but also to identify early warning signs and potential interventions. That kind of science, he decided, was his kind of science.

Today the 51-year-old Nicholson is one of the world’s foremost experts on the so-called metabolome, the collection of chemicals produced by human metabolism. Whereas the genome provides detailed information about a person’s genetic makeup, the metabolome is a few steps down the line—it reveals how genes interact with the environment, providing a complete snapshot of a person’s physical health. “The genome is really like a telephone directory without any of the names or addresses filled in. On a very basic level, it’s got a lot of numbers,” explains Nicholson, who now heads the department of biomolecular medicine at Imperial College London. The metabolome “helps to give value to genome information and put it in perspective.”

But first it has to be deciphered, and that is no easy task. The job requires the analysis of blood, urine, breath and feces within large populations. For instance, to find potential chemical signatures, or biomarkers, for high blood pressure, Nicholson and his colleagues analyzed the urine of 4,630 individuals from the U.K., the U.S. and Asia and compared the urinary metabolites with blood pressure data to determine if any consistent metabolic differences exist between individuals with hypertension and those without it.

It is kind of like doing science backward: instead of making hypotheses and then devising experiments to test them, he performs experiments first and tries to decipher his results later. He must sift through the range of chemicals produced by the genes people have, the food they eat, the drugs they take, the diseases they suffer from and the intestinal bacteria they harbor.

Those bacteria in particular have become Nicholson’s prime focus. They influence how our bodies break down food and drugs and may explain why food affects people differently. For instance, some people cannot derive benefit from one of soy’s components because they lack the gut microbes necessary to process it. Although deciphering which metabolites come directly from our gut microbes can be difficult, in some cases it is easy—they are the chemicals that are not produced by cells or ingested in food.

Nicholson focuses on these chemicals both because little is known about them and because they appear to be highly relevant: recent research suggests that gut microbes play a crucial role in human health and disease. They help us absorb nutrients and fight off viruses and “bad” bacteria; disrupting intestinal colonies, such as with a course of antibiotics, often leads to digestive sickness. In fact, Nicholson says, “almost every sort of disease has a gut bug connection somewhere.”

6 Comments

1. 1. MelindaSandberg 05:04 PM 6/17/08

   There has long been speculation and some evidence about the gut/brain connection but Jeremy Nicholson's work removes all doubt. Fantastic! A ray of hope for so many.

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2. 2. Ariana 11:51 AM 7/13/08

   As someone suffering from Fructose Malabsorption Disorder (which affects blood levels of serotonin, melotonin, etc), I am thrilled that more attention is being paid to how fundamentally our gut bacteria is connected to our health.
   
   I look forward to more news on this front!
   
   

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3. 3. gephcy 12:41 PM 8/2/08

   Jeremy Nicholson is on a very important mission. Thus far Glen Ellyn Pharmacy is using synbiotic therapy (Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 630-469-5200) in connection with some 103 health conditions identified with gug microorganism imbalances. They cover almost all of the body systems. Our knowledge has come from Dave Sullivan a bacteriologist from U of Wisc, Kelly Karpa Pharmacist PhD and professor Penn State Medical School, Gary Huffnagle PhD professor U of Michigan medical school, and Roby Mitchell Physician on yeast overgrowth in the gut. Our pharmacy has helped over 2,000 patients in 13 years with these conditions. Bob Listecki Pharmacist 630-469-5200.

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4. 4. Adge 09:46 AM 8/5/08

   A subject I haven't heard too much about. It raises the topic "which came first, problems with the brain, or problems with the gut". Have they got seperate causes as well as a sometimes common cause i.e. the gut.

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5. 5. winib 06:05 PM 8/12/08

   A pediatrition friend of ours mentioned that he always recommends taking a pro-biotic when an anti-biotic is required. My husband had numerous bouts of diverticulities and his physicians always prescribed anti-biotics, which totally knocked him out. I purchased the strongest pro-biotic I could find at a health food store and have been giving it to him regularly.He has not had another bout since I started this regemine two years ago in spite of many other health issues.

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6. 6. Ahimsa_Fruitarian 10:43 AM 4/20/10

   I wonder if gut bacteria may consume or destroy some dilute free form nutrients (such as free amino acids) in food eaten like in fully ripe fruits and before we can absorb such free form nutrients, or possibly there may be rare nutrients of anabolic value to our cells but that may became catabolised/denatured by gut bacteria before our cells get a chance to use such nutrients? I suspect that human gut bacteria has adapted to process civilized/processed cooked foods unlike other wild animals in nature , but if humans were to evolve/adapt to a BALANCED raw fruit diet (but mainly based on wild species of high nutrient/high protein /low sugar fruits, - and not the high sugar commercially grown fruits) then perhaps ALMOST all that gut bacteria would be unnecessary, - I wonder? Finally, I have a question- is the bulk of the gut bacteria that is so common in modern man there because our immune system invited it there because we lack enzymes to fully digest ingested protoplasm based foods? (unlike ripened fruits that have undergone programmed cell death, - see fruit SENESCENCE)

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