Tanzanian Hunter-Gatherers Boast Diverse Gut Microbiomes
A study has found that the gut microbiomes of Hadza people, a hunter-gatherer society in Tanzania, have more diversity than those of people in Nepal and California. The study also found that a Western lifestyle diminishes the diversity of gut populations. The Hadza had an average of 730 species of gut microbe per person, while the average Californian gut microbiome contained just 277 species. The team suspects chronic inflammation in the gut could trigger damage, creating a selective pressure for genes associated with responding to oxidative damage, which were not detected in the Hadza microbiomes.