For Children, Immersion in a Rainforest Lifestyle Can Lead to More Diverse Gut Microbes
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 - 13:10
in Health & Medicine
Can immersing yourself in a South American jungle and the high-fiber, unprocessed diet of its villagers make your gut microbes more diverse? And could it have benefits for people with obesity, type 1 diabetes and other disorders? A study led by Rutgers University(break)(break)-New Brunswick researchers followed seven city-dwelling adults and children who lived in a remote Venezuelan jungle village without electricity, soap or other amenities for 16 days. For the children, their microbiome - the beneficial germs in their intestines, skin, mouths and noses - became more diverse, with higher proportions of helpful bacteria. A similar change did not occur in the adults who visited the rainforest.