Your gut probably isn’t the first part of your body that springs to mind when you think of ageing well, but new research suggests it plays a significant role.
Scientists from the Netherlands have linked bacteria and other microorganisms with dozens of conditions including high blood pressure and body mass index increases.
Small scale studies have been able to link human gut microbiome (basically microorganisms and bacteria in the gut and the digestive tract) with individual diseases in the past.
But this is the first study that shows the significant influence this has on sickness and health.
The study examined 422,417 unrelated individuals in the UK and found higher levels of 11 bacteria are associated with 28 health and disease outcomes.
The study’s author, Dr Hilde Groot of the University Medial Centre Groningen, the Netherlands, said the information could eventually be used to develop novel treatment to disease.
“What we eat and drink is connected to microbiome content, so we studied the links with meat, caffeine, and alcohol. We observed a relationship between raised levels of Methanobacterium and drinking alcohol more often,” she said.
Dr Groot says more research is needed, but it just goes to show – you are what you eat!
