this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Could this mean that fecal transplants are generally useful? The mechanism it proposes is that microbial diversity helps with autism symptoms. Does the helping peter out when a person reaches typical microbial diversity, or could somebody with typical microbial diversity reap some benefits by increasing it from there? How far is a typical person from the theoretical peak microbial diversity where they have a population of pretty much every microbe that's in somebody's gut?
I guess it's more like 'having gut microbes that can help you digest the food you eat is helpful', and less pokemon collecting all the microbes that can grow in your gut. H. pylori can grow in your gut, but you probably don't want it.