What’s your type?
Aug
26Posted in [Probiotics] By LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir
8/26/2011 6:47 AM
Nope, we’re not trying to pick you up. (Though you are looking very cute today.) European researchers are now saying that, just as we all have a specific blood type, we may also have a particular gut type, too.
Manimozhiyan Arumugam, PhD, a research scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, has classified the good bugs that live inside us into three distinct types:
Enterotype One possesses high levels of a genus of bacteria called Bacteroides. These people produce more enzymes for making vitamin B-7 (biotin) and are better at processing carbohydrates.
Enterotype Two contains predominantly Prevotella. Type Twos produced more enzymes for making B-1 (thiamine) and are more successful at metabolizing special proteins found in the GI lining, where they help protect against pathogens.
Enterotype Three is richest in Ruminococcus. These folks excel at processing sugars.
While we can’t picture people listing this kind of info on their online dating profiles (“I’m a Taurus and I love long walks on the beach, steaming hot vanilla lattes and am looking for a tall, kind man, 30-45, bursting with Ruminococcus,”) scientists like Arumugam think physicians will one day be able to use bacterial typing to tailor our health care, basing treatment decisions on our enterotype.
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