What’s Happening: American Gut Project

Who else is living in your skin besides you? The American Gut Project wanted to know, so they collected stool samples from over 800 people, and analyzed the composition of their gut flora: the first results are out this week! As most of us could have guessed, Paleo dieters had significantly different types and proportions of flora than people eating a standard American diet. Comparatively, a Paleo diet was associated with a slightly lower number of one type of bacteria linked to inflammation, but also with slightly more of another kind linked to obesity. The researchers’ conclusion: they need more data.

Keep an eye on this initiative as even more data starts to come out: as we start learning more and more about how important your gut flora are to your health, this kind of big-picture study might reveal some fascinating new truths. If you want to add your own gut genome to the data set, or just learn more about the American Gut Project, their website is here.

For the rest of this week’s news, grab yourself a big cup of probiotic kombucha, and check it out:

• Sarah at The Healthy Home Economist picked Norah Gedgaudas’ brain about gluten sensitivity and cross-reactions: is coffee a bad idea if you react to wheat? What about dairy?

• Winter weather means you can’t just open the window to let in some fresh air, so take a look at this post from Wellness Mama about all-natural, non-toxic ways to improve the air quality in your home.

• Get your positive psychology on with this new post from Mark’s Daily Apple, encouraging you to look at your diet with an “abundance mindset.”

• What is cancer, and where does it come from? And more importantly, why is modern medicine so powerless against it? A new explanation here on Robb Wolf’s blog takes a look at cancer from a metabolic perspective: it’s long and dense, but well worth the read.

• Anyone considering an autoimmune Paleo protocol should read this detailed “review” at Phoenix Helix: the author, Eileen, describes the struggles and challenges of the autoimmune protocol, but also its incredible benefits.

• Drawing on data from a study that hasn’t even been published yet, Dr. John Briffa discusses how more is not better when it comes to exercise.

• Continuing his series on what we can learn about food and health from international food cultures, Chris Kresser takes a look at Nordic cuisines. Most surprisingly, in this installment we actually see a new kind of public health campaign: the “New Nordic Diet,” which is not based on individual nutrients, but rather focuses on eating whole, traditional foods.

Have you ever been to Scandinavia? What did you eat? Or what would you love to eat, if you had the chance to go? Let us know on Facebook or Google+!