Researchers have revealed the importance of having "good" bacteria in our digestive system for overall health, as it can reduce the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. The study found that being social can lead to an increase in "good" gut bacteria and a decrease in harmful microbes.
A team from the University of Oxford collected 50 uncontaminated stool samples from rhesus macaques living on an island off the coast of Puerto Rico. They measured the social connections of each monkey, as well as the DNA from the stool samples to assess the health of the gut bacteria. The results, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, revealed that those with greater social interactions had higher levels of "good" gut bacteria.
Most social monkeys had lower levels of Streptococcus bacteria, which can cause diseases like pneumonia in humans. These animals also contained a type of bacteria called Faecalibacterium, known for its anti-inflammatory properties and associated with better health. The researchers hypothesize that when monkeys care for each other, it facilitates the transfer of small microbes among them. Alternatively, monkeys with more friends may experience less stress, which could also impact gut bacteria.
Katrina Johnson, the lead author of the study, stated: "This study was conducted on primates, who are relatives of humans, and these were wild animals roaming freely on the island. Previous research in humans has also shown that people with larger social networks have a more diverse gut microbiome, and we know that a more diverse microbiome is linked to better gut health overall. The pattern we see here in monkeys, as well as in humans, regarding the relationship between social interactions and gut health, may be partly due to the direct impact of social interactions - we transfer microbes to each other when we interact."
It is clear that this can also transfer harmful microbes, as we all now understand in relation to COVID, but we also transfer a lot of non-harmful and beneficial bacteria. The findings may also reflect an indirect effect, as we know that friendships are very effective in alleviating stress, which is known to influence the microbial community in our guts.
