What You Are is What Eats

The takeaway, you might say the fecal point, of this article is that a crappy meal might cure what ails you. Who knows? Could be.

The NYT had a story on this too:

When Pills Fail, This, er, Option Provides a Cure
By DENISE GRADY, January 16, 2013

[....] A new study finds that such transplants cured 15 of 16 people who had recurring infections with Clostridium difficile bacteria, whereas antibiotics cured only 3 of 13 and 4 of 13 patients in two comparison groups. The treatment appears to work by restoring the gut’s normal balance of bacteria, which fight off C. difficile.

The study is the first to compare the transplants with standard antibiotic therapy. The research, conducted in the Netherlands, was published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. [.....]

What that suggests to me is that someone at the NEJM is doing PR on the report. That in itself is hopeful to me, that they are promoting some research that in the past would be dismissed as "alternative medicine" from countries where they have "socialized medicine." Things can change! On the other hand, maybe I should be careful not to be too naive.  Even though the research was in the socialistic Netherlands, the study's researchers may have already invested heavily in fecal transplant execution packets available for your hospital at $$$$ per patient.

That's some good #^%#^.

All joking aside, this is a concept so simple that it seems hard to believe. If you don't like the bacteria garden you have, bring on some new plantings. They'll grow.

Interesting. I wonder what the application might be for all the autoimmune diseases which have been theorized as being triggered by 'leaky gut syndrome' ...