Healthy gut key to reaching 100

PEOPLE who live to 100 and beyond may have a secret weapon in their gut – a blend of microbes that contributes to longevity.

Scientists in Japan have found that centenarians tend to have a distinct set of bacteria generating unique bile acids.

They suspect this might contribute to longevity by inhibiting the growth of pathogens in the digestive system, which might otherwise cause ill health and longterm inflammation.

Their study “raises the possibility of manipulating the bile acid pool for health benefits”, the researchers said.

Researchers studied three groups of Japanese people. They were 160 centenarians (average age of 107), 112 people aged 85 to 89 and 47 people aged 21 to 55.

Compared with the other two groups, the centenarians had greater levels of microbes capable of generating unique bile acids.