People fall into three categories of gut microbiota, called enterotypes, metagenomics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFj3cRNfmBkPeople fall into three categories of gut microbiota, called enterotypes, metagenomics study shows
20/04/2011
?Enterotypes can explain efficiency of uptake of nutrients and medicines
Every person’s intestinal system falls into one of three clearly distinguishable types of gut microbiota, comparable to blood types. These types are not related to race, native country or diet, according to a new metagenomics study by an international consortium of scientists (MetaHIT) including Jeroen Raes, of VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Metagenomics is the study of the genetic material of complete ecosystems, in this case the human gut. Nature is publishing the results.
“The three gut types can explain why the uptake of medicines and nutrients varies from person to person,” says bioinformatician Jeroen Raes of the VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, one of the two lead researchers in the study. “This knowledge could form the basis of personalized therapies. Treatments and doses could be determined on the basis of the gut type of the patient.”
Improved knowledge of the gut types could also lead to other medical applications, such as the early diagnosis of intestinal cancer, Crohn’s disease and the adverse effects of obesity.
http://www.vib.be/en/news/Pages/People-fall-into-three-categories-of-gut-microbiota,-metagenomics-study-shows.aspx* my comment: Good for these researchers. They are playing catch up with our collective RPD experiences. We know a good amount about gut flora by experience and from that of our other self experimentors.