OK, that headline is bit out there but stay with me.
Poop transplants are proving super effective against a bunch of problems some people have with their bodies. Now there’s a field of research looking into why this works and how it can be used to impact our emotions.
Until then I’m going to stick to probiotics to encourage good bacteria growth in my internal ecosystem.
Aroniadis, like a number of researchers who study diseases of the gut, is now looking to a fresh idea that shows much promise—what she calls the ultimate probiotic: human feces.
Scientists are just starting to explore the mysteries of the trillions of microorganisms that inhabit our gut. Some diseases in which the gut’s “microbiome” may play a role are more obvious, like Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome. But this massive community inside our digestive tract is also thought to influence other more complicated metabolic conditions that are huge public health problems like obesity and diabetes, as well as seemingly unrelated diseases. For example, microbiome research is even a new frontier for understanding autism, as autistic kids have been shown to have abnormal or less diverse intestinal bacteria. There is a well-documented “gut-brain connection,” in the form of what’s called the enteric nervous system, which controls your digestive system but also is deeply linked with your brain—and thus your mood. Researchers are starting to show that this connection means that what’s happening in our guts may be affecting our behavior in ways we can barely even fathom.
