How do you cultivate the right forms of life in your gut zoo?

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Editor's note: The sum of the microbes on and inside our body is called the microbiome. The microbiome is a microbial zoo that includes bacteria, fungi, parasites and, yes, even viruses (that mainly feed on gut bacteria). In recent years, there has been intense focus on the microbes inside the gut and how they affect human health. Though they’re tiny, there are more microbial cells inside the human body than human cells. The type and number of these gut microbes vary from person to person and at different times in a person’s life. And while the genetic material we inherit from our parents is fixed, the genes we can access from these mobile microbes is much greater in number. Wouldn’t it be great if we could modify our microbiomes and tap into these genes to improve health? I am about to tell you that we can. This is a dynamic field that is coming of age right now. Major discoveries are made every week. Last month, a research article published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature showed that antibiotics cause collateral damage …