The National Institute of Health is part of an ongoing study to better understand the makeup of “Gut Microbiomes.” The effort known as the “Human Microbiome Project,” looks to further research of recent work which has pointed to the importance of the microbiome in gastrointestinal (GI) health.

April Schnieder is a Nurse Practitioner and GI Patient Navigator with Avera Health in Sioux Falls.
She says the first stage in the project is to gather a database of healthy gut bacteria….

Schnieder says in the past they have understood there is bacteria, but not how the bacteria relates to certain diseases…

Schnieder the focus right now is building the database…..

Schnieder says there are a few ways GI doctors use healthy gut bacteria now to counter certain infections, but the extent of the benefits from healthy bacteria are not yet known.