You may not sense it, but many aspects of your life are controlled at the microscopic level. A number of intriguing studies from the last few decades have shown that we each possess a personal colony of bacteria that has a big influence on our weight, mood, metabolism, fertility, and propensity for disease.
This diverse microbial part of ourselves is called our microbiome. The majority of this bacteria—3 to 5 pounds worth—live in your intestines, but your other organs have their own set of microbes as well.
