I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. We all know that human feces are packed with trillions of bacteria. These germs live in small communities known as microbiomes that are found in different parts of the body and especially in our guts. Of course, these microbiomes don’t have any harm on healthy bodies, unless nasty bacteria invades these communities. Now it’s not a new procedure, but placing a sample of good feces into a sick person’s intestines can be an effective way to treat or cure a particular disease. Western medicine has only allowed this treatment for the deadly infection called Clostridium difficile but in Australia, it’s a whole different ballgame. Thomas Borody, a doctor in Australia, has done thousands of fecal transplants for many diseases including Crohn’s disease and colitis. Many people humor him but his patients feel cured and avoid any treatment for years. Borody even believes that these transplants can help people with autism via what you can call a “poop milkshake” that has been filtered to be tasteless, odorless and mixed with chocolate flavoring. After conducting a small study he observed that gut conditions improved and some symptoms of autism seemed to improve as well. Grinspan, another doctor who performs these fecal transplants, stated that this small study can be improved by using a placebo during the next round of research.
So let’s say you have healthy feces, did you grow up in a family that included furry pets like dogs? Researchers have found that living with a dog before and after birth helps the baby develop a diverse and healthier microbiome. Turns out all that dog hair, drool, and dirty paws turned out to be a positive aspect of your health growing up.
If you want to learn more about all the good yucky germs in your body here is the longer article that my article was based on.
