4 ms·

I don't think there is a relationship between your personal experience and the OP's claim that diseases, broadly, are typically mediated by the gut microbiome.

• DoreenMichele 9y ago
  So explain to me how 70% of the body's immune cells being in the gut is unrelated to how diseases are typically mediated. Pretty please.
  • wahern 9y ago
    The gut contains 70% of immune cells because your gut is actually the main point of contact between your body and the external environment. The surface area of your gut is somewhere from 20x to 100x that of your skin. One could just as well argue that because the immune system is so well developed and robust in the gut that it's the last place to look for dysfunction. Or one could argue that a 70% share of immune cells is rather low considering the relative ratio of environmentally-exposed surface area. We could say all kinds of things if we're free to make unsubstantiated conjectures. But we really can't say anything of substance without context and evidence. The human organism is ridiculously complex and consistently defies intuition.
    • DoreenMichele 9y ago
      Thank you for taking my question seriously. I don't agree, but I appreciate the expanded perspective.