American Gut Project

[MattTuck]

I heard a story about this scientific effort on NPR this morning. Basically, it is similar to 23andme (which will take a saliva sample and sequence your DNA and tell you about your ancestory and genetic risks) except you send in a sample of your poop and they identify the bacterial flora in your gut.

Scientists have been finding that gut bacteria can have a pretty big influence on people's weight (obese vs. skinny), and other health concerns.

http://americangut.org/

No word yet if we can blame our gut bacteria for being slow on the bike, but I'm holding out hope.

[kgreene10]

Very interesting story. I'm thinking of participating. Would you do it?

[jimcav]

I like all the human biome discoveries, but, as with all things, what i really care about is the end result: what GI flora do I want to feel most energetic and improve my chosen athletic pursuits--ie do i want the 10 bugs in Kefir, or something else???
Personally very interesting as my overall health and phycial ability declined "step-wise" in 2006 and then again in 2009 after horrible food poisoning. took me over 2 years of yogurt and raw milk to be able to tolerate dairy again. I still don't absorb/make vit D properly.

I personally don't care on fat vs skinny because I adjust intake or workouts to maintain weight (or both).