Indigenous infants have healthier gut microbiomes

A study has found Indigenous babies in remote Australia are born with more diverse gut bacteria. 

While this is a key marker of health, it's still unclear why these babies will grow up to have an increased risk of chronic disease. 

It highlights how Westernisation could be having a detrimental impact on the health on First Nations people. 

Guest/s

• Professor Leonard Harrison, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne

References

• Indigenous infants in remote Australia retain an ancestral gut microbiome despite encroaching Westernization