COMPENDIUM ON FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE - Flipbook - Page 774
These variations highlight the co-evolution of human populations
with their dietary environments and suggest that keystone
restoration should consider ancestral dietary patterns [168].
Age-Related Changes in Keystone Species
The distribution and function of keystone species change
dramatically throughout the human lifespan:
Early Life Development
● Initial colonization by oxygen-tolerant keystones like
Bifidobacterium [169]
● Transition to more diverse keystone networks after weaning
[170]
● Establishment of Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium by early
childhood [171]
● Development of Akkermansia populations correlating with
mucin maturation [172]
● Core keystone stability typically established by age 3-4 [173]
Adult Transitions
● Relative stability of keystones throughout healthy adulthood
[174]
● Pregnancy-associated shifts favoring energy-extracting
keystones [175]
● Stress-induced perturbations affecting keystone resilience
[176]
● Hormonal shifts influencing keystone metabolism and
function [177]
● Occupational and environmental exposures potentially
disrupting keystone networks [178]
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