Are you truly craving sweets, or does that urge come from the bacteria within your gut?
(Image credit: Asia-Pacific Images Studio via Getty Images)
Scientists have identified more than 3,000 species of bacteria living in the human gut. We know they play a role in digestion and immune function. But can they also influence the kinds of food we crave?
In a 2014 study in the journal BioEssays, researchers proposed that gut microbes might manipulate the eating behavior of their hosts by generating cravings for foods the bacteria thrive on, or even causing discomfort until the host eats what benefits them.
Ashley Hamer Pritchard is a contributing writer for Live Science who has written about everything from space and quantum physics to health and psychology. She's the host of the podcast Taboo Science and the former host of Curiosity Daily from Discovery. She has also written for the YouTube channels SciShow and It's Okay to Be Smart. With a master's degree in jazz saxophone from the University of North Texas, Ashley has an unconventional background that gives her science writing a unique perspective and an outsider's point of view.
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