Germ-free mice (animals don’t have a microbiome) live longer than microbiome-containing mice, but it’s impractical for people to live in a bubble for their entire lifespan. As a more practical approach, which microbiome-derived factors impact lifespan, and can they be modified?

Dietary supplementation with acarbose increases lifespan, and one reason for that may involve reduced circulating levels of glucose, but the other side of that story involves increased gut bacterial production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Whether acarbose will increase lifespan in people is unknown, and with the goal of increasing lifespan, are there other ways to increase SCFAs?