Can gut bacteria improve your health? (cover story)

HEART diseases -- Prevention; RHEUMATOID arthritis -- Diagnosis; RHEUMATOID arthritis -- Treatment; TUMORS -- Prevention; GASTROINTESTINAL system -- Anatomy; ANTIBIOTICS; BACTERIA; HUMAN microbiota; GENOMES; GRAM-negative bacteria; IMMUNE system; LACTOBACILLUS; MEDICAL care; PATIENTS; PROTEINS; PROBIOTICS

The article summarizes studies published in different journals on topics about the gut bacteria. The research focus on susceptibility of gut bacteria to rheumatoid arthritis, role of a strain of the bacterium Lactobacillus johnsonii in protecting against cancer, link of the bacterial strain Akkermansia muciniphila to heart disease prevention, and role of bacterial strain in the immune system. Suggestions for a healthy gut microbiota include not overusing antibiotics and eating fermented foods.