The Science of Being Human by Marty Jopson

Author:Marty Jopson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael O'Mara

Bacteria are not just found in our guts, they are all over us. The Belly Button Biodiversity project, run from North Carolina State University in the USA, has found over 2,000 different varieties of bacteria, with an average of sixty-seven types in each belly button.

It is clear now that the bacteria that live on and inside us are more than just hitching a ride. While not all bacteria are good guys, even with pathogenic bacteria our own microbiota can apparently help out. The presence of Bacteroides fragilis in your gut can, so long as it stays there, help your immune system combat other infectious bacteria. Even the bacteria on your skin have a role, with evidence pointing to them helping fight infections of parasites. So, do we risk damaging this only recently discovered ecosystem of helpful bacteria if we are too cavalier with anti-bacterial agents and antibiotics? Should we be exposing ourselves and our children to more bacterial diversity? There is a growing body of evidence that the obesity epidemics in Western cultures such as the USA may have, at least partially, a link to the bacteria in the gut. How, then, can you establish a healthy gut microbiota and maintain it? The secret turns out to be no secret at all and a healthy balance of foods, with a preponderance of vegetables and fruits giving your gut bacteria the best chance to develop a rich and healthy diversity. However, there is only so much that can be done, as there appears to be a genetic dimension to which bacteria thrive inside you and which do not. One thing is for certain, though: the use of antibiotics makes a mess of the bacterial community inside you. While it may help clear that infection, we now have yet another reason, on top of the rise of resistant bacteria, to give pause to where and when we use these drugs. There is always the possibility of resetting your gut microbiota with a poop transplant. Since the very best transplant would always be from a source that you know is guaranteed to be compatible, and that means yourself, some researchers have gone to the extent of keeping in their freezer a stool sample from all their family members, just in case one of them needs a faecal transplant and a top up of the good bacteria.

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