Thoughts about thinking

This news is related to the research I did when working at BioSS in Aberdeen:

There are two important facts in here:

1. that only 10% of cells in our body are human: the rest are bacteria and other microorganisms, and these vary a lot between people.
2. What we eat affects which bacteria thrive inside our digestive system, and which bacteria are inside us affects us dramatically.  For example, our bacteria can change whether we get fat when eating food.  It can also affect our chances of getting cancer.

The findings of this research are a little depressing for anyone wanting to lose weight: if you are fat, your gut bacteria will give your more calories back from food than if you are thin.  But if you diet properly you can get a thin person’s gut bacteria whatever your weight – so all is not lost!

The bugs may have power over you, but you can still control the bugs.