COMPENDIUM ON FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE - Flipbook - Page 802
● Functional outputs affect host health more than simple
presence/absence of organisms [6]
● Ecological resilience determines long-term stability [7]
● Environmental factors continuously shape microbial
communities [8]
This ecosystem view challenges the traditional "identify and
eliminate" approach that has dominated much of conventional
medicine's approach to gut health [9,10].
Core Metrics in Modern Microbiome Analysis
Alpha Diversity
Alpha diversity measures the total number of different microbial
species present in an individual sample - essentially the species
richness of the microbiome [11]. This metric has significant clinical
relevance:
● Higher alpha diversity generally correlates with improved
health outcomes [12,13]
● Lower alpha diversity is associated with numerous chronic
conditions [14]
● Alpha diversity scores should be compared to healthy
reference populations [15]
● Diversity increases resistance to pathogen colonization and
functional resilience [16]
When examining test results, alpha diversity provides a
fundamental starting point for understanding the overall health of
the microbiome.
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