Although our own genes are generally fixed, each of us carries around the genes embedded inside 100 trillion microorganisms. Those microbes outnumber our own cells by a factor of 10 to one, making us “super-organisms" composed of our own genes and the genes of our microbiome.
The finding is just one of the latest in a series of studies to show that the communities of microorganisms that live in our digestive systems -- also known as the microbiome -- may have profound effects on our health. And while there are still many details yet to be understood, the new findings suggest that we may some day be able to prevent or treat obesity by fiddling with the composition of tiny organisms that live inside us.
"Every year for the past 35 to 40 years, the weight of American society has been steadily going up, and we're now about 6 billion pounds overweight as a country," said Ronald Evans, a molecular biologist who studies the impact of the genome on diabetes and heart disease at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif. He was not involved in the new study.
"Maybe the microbiome is a critical part of that," he said. "It would be great if you could take a cultured microbiome in a dish and give it to people and create healthier individuals. This study illustrates the potential and challenges of that, but it's an important step forward."
Comment: Instead of holding your breath for the next Big Pharma-sponsored-pill, change your diet according to your body's physiological needs. For more information see our forum discussion Life Without Bread.