Question: what side affects could be associated with your idea

Kevin Lomasney answered on 12 Nov 2012:

@zackattack

Brilliant question!!! You are thinking like a scientist! As I am working with bacteria there is of course every chance that there may be side effects. However, the bacteria I work with have in fact been taken from humans originally. Our bowels, especially our colon, which is near the end, is full of bacteria which not only live in our intestine but are essential for our well being. They help absorb different foods, they help our intestines develop properly when we are born, they protect us from other bacteria which make us sick, they even contribute to our DNA! The idea behind using bacteria as a therapy for bowel disorders is that scientists now think in most disorders we might be missing the bacteria we need and so giving probiotics (good bacteria) might help restore these bacteria. These good bacteria have also been tested multiple times and so far no real side effects have been noticed.

On the other hand this kind of research is only just taking off now and we have much to learn. In my lab we even found that bacteria in your gut can change the chemicals in your brain! So we must be cautious!!!