There are more microbes (roughly 38 trillion) in your body than human cells (about 30 trillion). And the particular makeup of your personal microbial community, known as the microbiome, is important to your overall health. With every bite you eat, you’re feeding the tiny critters that make up your gut’s microbiome.
A healthy microbiome can protect against metabolic disorders and inflammatory bowel disease, according to Chris Damman, a University of Washington School of Medicine gastroenterologist, who spent the last 20 years studying the microbiome and its effects on health. Through research at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that developed therapies for malnutrition, Damman discovered what the critters in our guts need to keep us healthy.
