Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The best predictor of our lifelong health may well be the bacteria that live within us. Specifically, the trillions of microbes that colonize our bodies from childhood on, and outnumber our own cells 10-to-1. Autism, allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and obesity are just a few of the conditions now thought to be at least partly tied to the health of our microbial partners, which are integral to human processes such as digestion, neural and hormonal signaling and guarding against toxic chemicals.
Researchers warn that this vast ecosystem -- our so-called microbiome -- has become endangered, due to an excessive use of microbe-killing antibiotics and toxic chemicals. The health consequences, they add, could be profound for our current generation of children, and perhaps for generations to follow.
"The diversity of these microbes is really beneficial -- it's a preventative tool like no other," said Rodney Dietert, an expert in children's health at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "Too narrow a set of microbes could set you on the path for problems."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...lth_n_5366066.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
Researchers warn that this vast ecosystem -- our so-called microbiome -- has become endangered, due to an excessive use of microbe-killing antibiotics and toxic chemicals. The health consequences, they add, could be profound for our current generation of children, and perhaps for generations to follow.
"The diversity of these microbes is really beneficial -- it's a preventative tool like no other," said Rodney Dietert, an expert in children's health at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine. "Too narrow a set of microbes could set you on the path for problems."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...lth_n_5366066.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063