Western Diet Lacks Bugs and Gut Bacteria
New research suggests that people living in rural Africa have a healthier mix of microbes in their stomachs than do their Western counterparts. These microbes protect them from the intestinal diseases that are common in modern developed countries.
A team of researchers, led by Dr Paolo Lionetti, from the University of Florence in Italy, reported their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They compared intestinal bacteria between European Union kids and young villagers in remote Burkina Faso, and discovered sufficient differences to help explain disparities in chronic disease and obesity.
The African kids who consumed a high-fiber diet (and sometimes wood-digesting insects) have intestine bacteria that assist them to digest plant fibers and protect them from diarrhea and inflammatory disease. The insects generated fatty acids that are known to protect against inflammation, and may help to prevent the over-active immune reactions that lead to allergies.
Without these microbes to prime the immune system, children are more likely to grow up suffering from asthma, eczema and other allergies, the researchers noted.
The human gut is home to trillions of microbes, our microbiota, that help us digest and metabolize what we eat, protect us against diseases, and guide our immune system to find and reject pathogens.
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Yes, all that is true, but by and large this is a mother driven epidemic and the silence is deafening.