Friendly gut bacteria key to healthy old life: study

Researchers from University College Cork in Ireland have linked the trillions of 'friendly bacteria' that live in the gut to the health of men and women over 60, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

As the food eaten affects the types of bugs that thrive in the gut, the study suggests that simply eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables could help stave off ills such as frailty and memory loss.

The study, unveiled at the Euroscience Open Forum, is the first to make a clear link between a boring diet, lack of variety of bugs in the gut and poor health.

 

178 men and women aged between 64 and 72 were asked for information about their diet, the bugs in their guts analysed, and they had to go through a battery of health tests.

There are several ways the bugs in our guts help keep elderly fit. Some help release energy from fruit and vegetables and keep the bowels healthy. Others are thought to strengthen muscles and keep the brain working quickly, researcher Paul O'Toole said.

Some of the volunteers lived at home, others were in hospital. The study found those who had been in hospital for more than six weeks had less variety of bugs in their guts than the others. They were also in poorer health and had less varied diets.

The researchers said it wasn't that they were being given inferior food, the menus were varied, but they made less exciting choices.