What Bacterico CEO Suganuma Natsuki — Who is Infatuated with Intestinal Bacteria that Hold the Key to Health — Wants to Achieve with Intestinal Flora and Fermentation
Aug 24,2023
Suganuma Natsuki is the CEO of bacterico Inc., a company that provides personalized intestinal flora testing and dietary guidance for women who are trying to conceive or who are pregnant. She wears two hats, as a researcher and as an entrepreneur, as she tries to identify the effects of intestinal flora on our bodies and use this knowledge to help improve the health outcomes of people around the world. We spoke at length with her about the mysterious and wonderous ecology of intestinal bacteria, as well as her vision for the future, which she is working toward day and night in “collaboration” with bacteria.
Captivated by the workings of intestinal bacteria that impact the body’s overall health
Suganuma Natsuki set her sights on becoming a researcher while still in high school. She had been studying hard with the aim of becoming a physician. But while on a work experience placement at a hospital, she witnessed an event that would change the course of her life.
“A man in his prime working years passed away, leaving behind a partner and a child. The sight of that grieving family hit me hard emotionally. In that moment, what I felt so powerfully was that if only preventative medicine were more advanced, we could reduce such painful farewells. From that day on, my dream was to become a researcher in preventative medicine.”
After studying genetics at university and pharmacology at graduate school, Suganuma went on to work for a major food manufacturer in line with her belief that one’s diet is the foundation of preventative medicine. What awaited her there was a fateful encounter with intestinal bacteria.
“When I joined the company, I was first assigned to a research team that was studying intestinal bacteria. Intestinal bacteria are involved in a whole host of illnesses throughout the body, from the more familiar like constipation to serious diseases like insomnia, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. As such, they truly are the key to preventative medicine. Intestinal bacteria research was advancing rapidly right at that time, and before I knew it, I was captivated by the subject. Even personally, by improving my diet, I was able to cure my long-standing problem of constipation and I got a real sense of the workings of the intestinal bacteria in my gut. Moreover, the ability to make changes to my health through my own efforts underscored for me the great potential of intestinal bacteria.”
Advocating for personalized diets attuned to each individual’s intestinal bacteria
“Intestinal bacteria are living organisms just like humans. And just like no two people are alike, everyone has their own individual makeup of intestinal bacteria. Undoubtedly, generic terms like lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria apply to Japanese people and Americans alike. But within the same category of lactic acid bacteria, for example, there are a multitude of varieties, each with their own very different characteristics.”
This is why Suganuma has focused her efforts on personalized diets optimized for each individual’s intestinal bacteria profile.
She started bacterico in 2020 because she wanted to act on and realize the ideas that were coming to her while pursuing her research. Her company is currently developing personalized services centered on maintaining healthy gut microbiomes specialized for women who are trying to conceive or who are pregnant.
“The fetus ingests the nutrients it needs to grow from the mother’s blood. The mother’s gut microbiome is extremely important because nutrients absorbed in the mother’s intestines are transported through the bloodstream to the fetus. For example, research shows that if a mother takes in a proper amount of dietary fiber during pregnancy, her baby will be less likely to become obese in the future. Intestinal bacteria play a significant part in the growth and development of your precious baby. From this line of thinking, you can see the importance of properly regulating the mother’s gut health.”
What bacterico provides is optimized diets for each individual’s intestinal bacteria makeup, as an approach to improve the gut microbiome and activate beneficial bacteria. In essence, the company provides tailor-made plans for maintaining a healthy gut.
“Although we speak about intestinal bacteria collectively, the fact is that the bacterial makeup of each person’s gut is different. We ask questions like: What kinds of food do the beneficial bacteria in the client’s gut like to eat, and what do they need to eat in order to thrive? What kinds of bacteria should be cultivated and activated so that the client can be more like the person she wants to be? Our approach to answering these questions is to analyze the client’s current intestinal flora data and design a daily diet regime.”
Intestinal flora is like a multinational corporation with 40 trillion employees
“Some 40 trillion bacteria live in your gut. What’s important here is the diversity of bacteria and the percentage of beneficial bacteria. The more diverse the bacteria that can coexist and the more of them that work for the benefit of the body, the better the gut microbiome will be.”
The clusters of intestinal bacteria are called intestinal flora because they look much like flower garden. Suganuma, who is also an entrepreneur, looks at them from a different point of view.
“To me, intestinal bacteria resemble a corporation. Companies with many diverse and talented people will see their business performance grow. On the other hand, if the work environment deteriorates, talent will leave the company and the business performance will decline. Therefore, improving the intestinal environment is the same as improving the work environment and raising employee motivation. So I view our business as a type of corporate consultant. We listen to the client’s desired outcome — their vision, analyze the current situation, and consider what measures should be taken. First, we read the genetic information of intestinal bacteria from a stool sample and convert it into data, and then a registered dietitian provides specific dietary guidance based on the data.”
With the Mama Flora service bacterico provides, a registered dietitian gives detailed advice on daily meals through a chat tool and online consultations and follows the client’s dietary habits right up to the time of childbirth. The service has been lauded for teaching basic nutritional knowledge that can be used for a lifetime.
“What ingredient and meal choices make me feel energized and healthy? If you know that, you can be more selective when buying prepared meals at a supermarket or convenience store.”
Eat delicious food, stay healthy, and aim to stay ahead of illnesses while enjoying yourself
Many people have the impression that diets that promote intestinal bacteria are frugal, bland, or otherwise lacking in some way.
“When you ingest animal fat, the liver produces bile acids to break down, digest and absorb the fat. The small intestine absorbs some of the bile acids, but those that are not absorbed reach the large intestine. Bile acids that reach the large intestine are broken down by bad bacteria and other organisms, forming secondary bile acids. Too much of these substances can have an adverse effect on the body. On the other hand, if you do nothing but suppress your food cravings, stress will build up. This is why one of the things we do is recommend recipes that both satisfy the taste buds and regulate intestinal bacteria.”
A “healthy gut” yogurt cream puff made with a rice-flour choux pastry shell filled with a generous amount of yogurt cream
“This is a sweet that promotes gut health that we developed in collaboration with a sweets shop in Tokyo’s Jiyugaoka area. It was developed and sold as part of Oita Ward’s project to extend people’s healthy life expectancy in view of the coming age of centenarians. The cream puff turned out to be very popular, exceeding our sales target. The concept was to develop a sweet that helps prevent diabetes by limiting spikes in blood sugar levels. We started developing the sweet after analyses of health checkup data from Oita Ward residents showed that many people in the area are at risk of developing diabetes. We replaced sugar with oligosaccharides, which feed good bacteria, and lowered the fat content by using yogurt in the cream. We know that eating fermented foods like yogurt increases the diversity of bacteria. Fermented foods are also packed with vitamins and other nutrients produced by bacteria. So this cream puff is expected to promote regulation of gut microbiomes.”
Making people around the world healthy and happy through intestinal flora and fermentation
By having your very own user’s manual for your intestinal bacteria and caring for them in an optimized way can prevent illnesses and allow you to live a happy life. Suganuma has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve through her intestinal bacteria research and business.
“The nutrients we take in through our mouths are metabolized by bacteria in the intestines and converted into other substances. This metabolic activity of bacteria is actually fermentation. If we can properly support the workings of a client’s intestinal flora and fermentation, I think the client can approach their ideal image from their intestines. An example might be like Bacteria A is related to endurance, while Bacteria B impacts concentration. And to boost immunity, increasing the percentage of Bacteria C seems to be beneficial.
“I want to further research into the individual functions of bacteria and find ways to regulate gut microbiomes so that these bacteria can ferment at ease. My ultimate goal is to advance the prevention of diseases and support people in reaching their dreams. This is the future I want to achieve through the combination of intestinal flora and fermentation.”
