Microbes and toxins might be making you fat or diabetic
Date: 11.11.2011
Could persistent pollutants like DDT and PCBs or chemicals found in plastics be making you fat or diabetic? The answer may depend on what sort of bacteria you have churning around in your gut, according to Cornell scientists.
After reviewing numerous studies -- including some by their Cornell colleague Ruth Ley -- they concluded that "there is mounting evidence that gut microbiota composition affects obesity and diabetes, as does exposure to environmental chemicals" and that individual variations in gut microbiota may affect the way those chemicals are metabolized in the body.
