Drinking moderate amounts of coffee each day is associated with a number of health benefits. It turns out that the coffee is also feeding a particular strain of gut microbe - Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus.
Researchers found that more people who drink coffee daily have Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus in their gut microbiome (the community of microbes, bacteria, and viruses that live in the intestines) than people who don't drink coffee. Additionally, the more a person drinks coffee daily, the higher the levels of the bacteria.
Newborns and children rarely have this bacteria in their gut microbiome. The bacteria is mainly found in adults living in places with an urbanized Western-lifestyle. Further research showed that the coffee stimulates the growth of L. asaccharolyticus.
By the way, it appears to be a beneficial bacteria. And yes, many other studies find that what you eat (your daily diet) influences the composition of microbes living in the gut.
From Newsweek: What Coffee Does To Your Gut
Coffee drinking seems to alter which microorganisms live in our guts, with potentially far-reaching implications for health, a large study has found.
...continue reading "Coffee Drinking Alters the Gut Microbiome"