Could a pill full of bacteria improve your health?

That’s the idea a team of researchers in Brussels have been testing. On Tuesday, in a paper in the prestigious Nature Medicine, they announced preliminary data showing that it really might work.

The researchers gave the bug-filled-pill to 20 volunteers every day for three months.

By the end of the study the volunteers responded better to insulin - which helps prevent diabetes - reduced their cholesterol levels, and even lost a small amount of weight.

That was even though the volunteers were asked to maintain their regular diet and exercise.