By mixing food additives with human gut microbes in petri dishes, scientists at the Czech Republic’s Institute of Microbiology found that gut microbes with anti-inflammatory properties were highly susceptible to being harmed by additives, while microbes with pro-inflammatory properties were mostly resistant. “We speculate that permanent exposure of human gut microbiota to even low levels of additives may modify the composition and function of gut microbiota, and thus influence the host’s immune system,” wrote the authors.

This article appears in the April 2019 issue of Natural Awakenings.