Quotes About Microbiota

Inequality among siblings goes all the way to the gut: we are born with different microbes inside us, outnumbering our cells ten to one. Some of them affect our chances of becoming obese in later life and others affect how well we digest our dinner. What we eat is constantly changing the composition of our microbiota, but, equally, the nature of the microbes inside us determines how well we respond to the food we eat.

One can imagine many patients being turned off by the words fecal transplant or, as researchers call it in their academic papers, "fecal microbiota transplantation." The slang used by some doctors ("shit swap") is no better. But Borody, after years of performing this procedure, believes he has finally come up with a less disturbing name. "Yes," he says, "we call it a 'transpoosion.

bacteria can swap genes and pieces of DNA among themselves, picking them up and dropping them almost as if they were tools. This capability is especially handy when a new toxin or food source appears in the environment. The microbiota can swiftly find precisely the right gene needed to fight it—or eat it.

poop pills from healthy donors to reboot our gut. Early studies show that fecal microbiota transplantation can reverse obesity, type 2 diabetes, autism, autoimmune diseases, and more.

Several types of bacteria identified with SIBO, such as Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium perfringens, and Streptococcus fecalis, possess protein-degrading enzymes that can destroy brush border enzymes including lactase, sucrase, and maltase, which are necessary for the final breakdown and absorption of carbohydrates.[92]