Genes set the frame of the gut ecosystem, but everyday health is shaped far more strongly by a microbiota molded by diet and environment.
The place and maternal environment we are born into set the first microbial encounters that launch the development of an infant's gut community.
Babies born by cesarean begin with a different microbial start, yet skin contact, breastfeeding, and prudent medication use can still support gut community development.
Breast milk is more than nourishment: its oligosaccharides selectively feed bifidobacteria, and its immune factors guide an infant's early gut and immune development.
The microbiota is inherited along the maternal line, at birth and through breastfeeding, so tending our own gut community is also a living legacy passed to the next generation.