Good Bacteria May Keep You Thin

I keep reading more and more research on how important good bacteria is for us.  We have ten times the amount of bacteria than cells in our body.  We are not alone.   In fact, our gut bacteria is so much more important for us than we know.   Obviously, the yogurt companies have been all over this issue with their probiotics.   The public kind of knows it’s important but not how much.   More and more studies are showing that the bacteria in our gut may be part of what keeps us thin or fat.    A recent article in the NYT talks about a study which showed:

Researchers found pairs of human twins in which one was obese and the other lean. They transferred gut bacteria from these twins into mice and watched what happened. The mice with bacteria from fat twins grew fat; those that got bacteria from lean twins stayed lean.

The future of diets may be decided on how well they promote the right gut bacteria.   Don’t be surprised to find out that the newest prescriptions will bacteria pills (even stronger and more specific than the OTC probiotics.   Read the article as it is amazing stuff and then refer it those patients who want antibiotics for their colds.   This may convince them otherwise.