Eating the Poop of the Young People Could Make You Live Longer: Study

By Krisana Estaura, | April 06, 2017

While it's still early, the findings could lead to a radical method of extending human lifespan. (YouTube)

A new method of extending human lifespan has been found, but something might not want to try. Can you bear eating a young person's feces?



According to the Daily Mail, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany tested the hypotheses on older fish, and the results show a 41 percent boost in their lifespan after consuming microbes in the feces of younger fish.




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The researchers replaced the gut bacteria of middle-aged fish with those from younger ones.



While it's still early, the findings could lead to a radical method of extending human lifespan.



The researchers have not yet identified a definite link between the gut bacteria and lifespan, but that the immune system loses vigor with age as harmful gut bacteria outnumber the healthy ones. Hence, it is believed that transplanting young and healthy gut bacteria could revive a middle-aged fish's gut microbiome.



Previous studies have also established the benefit of keeping gut bacteria in balance in terms of delaying age-related diseases.



A research by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that reducing bacterial levels in old flies can significantly prolong their life span.



In their study, some fruit flies were given antibiotics to reduce bacterial levels in their intestines. It was found that antibiotics prevented the age-related increase in bacteria levels and improved intestinal function during aging.



Flies with leaky intestines that were given antibiotics lived an average of 20 days after the leaking began - a substantial part of the animal's life span. Flies with leaky intestines that did not receive antibiotics, meanwhile, died within a week.



According to UCLA, scientific interest in intestinal microbes and their role in preventing age-related diseases like diabetes has exploded in the last five years.

