WHAT'S BUGGING YOU?

Maybe it’s your microbiome! My what? Yes, you have a microbiome, we all do! It is the community of microorganisms that inhabit our “inner-tube” (intestinal tract). You might know some of them some of their effects on us. If you’ve ever had food poisoning the likely culprits might be pathogenic “bad” (disease causing) microorganisms like E. Coli, Salmonella, Listeria or if you have taken antibiotics (drugs that kill microorganisms), you might have followed up with a group of “good” bacteria commonly called “probiotics” to help restore your gut balance to counter symptoms like diarrhea.

The microbiome world is being extensively researched and scientists are discovering that these organisms are playing a big, previously not understood role in our overall health and even weight.

I was at a lecture some years ago on human microbiota (what we call the inhabitants of the gut) and the presenter said that our personal microbiota makeup is as individual as our fingerprint. I found this absolutely fascinating! The balance of bugs in our gut is unique for each one of us and recent discoveries inform that the composition and balance of our gut has many influences.

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