Are you what you eat? Biggest-ever catalogue of food microbes finds out
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02778-8
A groundbreaking study has revealed that the food we eat directly influences our microbiome—the collection of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes in our bodies. Researchers sequenced DNA from nearly 2,000 foods and found that a small but significant portion of our microbiomes comes from what we consume. Fermented foods like cheese, sauerkraut, and kefir were particularly rich in diverse microbes, some of which had never been seen before. The study also showed that there is a notable overlap between the microbes found in food and those in our gut, especially in newborns. This research opens the door to a deeper exploration of how these microbes impact our health and the potential to develop new foods with unique properties.