创新背景

在人的眼睛看不到的地方，微生物无处不在，人的机体内外存在无数微生物。科学家在以前就有猜想过，微生物或许会影响着人类的饮食选择。这个猜想如果得到进一步证实，微生物的作用在不久的将来会被无限挖掘。

创新过程

美国匹兹堡大学和康奈尔大学的研究人员对于微生物是否影响人的饮食选择的研究成果《肠道微生物组影响宿主的饮食选择行为》在2022年4月19日发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上，研究表示，动物肠道中的微生物会影响动物对不同食物的渴望程度，改变它们的食物偏好。

以30只无菌老鼠为对象，研究人员为它们分别提供不同的微生物混合物，结果现实，接受不同微生物的老鼠饮食选择不同，证明微生物群影响它们的饮食偏好。研究发现，微生物或许是通过影响人体必需食物氨基酸来影响饮食选择。含有不同肠道微生物群的老鼠血液中的必需氨基酸不同，尤以色氨酸最为突出。色氨酸是人体必需的氨基酸之一。

色氨酸对饮食影响还可表现在其他方面。例如，有人在吃完火鸡后会犯困，这是火鸡中的色氨酸导致的，色氨酸是火鸡中常见的物质。色氨酸进入大脑后会转化为血清素，成为饱腹感的信号，然后转化为褪黑素，让人产生困倦。

研究证明了微生物对人的饮食选择的影响，进一步探究微生物的作用，或许能挖掘出更多的用途。饮食影响着人的营养和身体机能，在疾病影响营养无法保证被身体吸收时，也许能够通过微生物的作用帮助身体摄入营养，保证营养均衡，增强免疫系统。

创新关键点

从微生物探究人的饮食行为机制，探究微生物对人体的作用。

Microorganisms may balance human nutrition

The findings of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Cornell University on whether microbes influence people's dietary choices "Gut Microbiome Influences Host's Dietary Choice Behavior" was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 19, 2022 Above, the study showed that the microbes in an animal's gut can influence how much animals crave different foods, altering their food preferences.

Using 30 germ-free mice, the researchers provided them with different mixtures of microbes, and the results showed that the mice that received different microbes made different dietary choices, proving that the microbiota influenced their dietary preferences. The study found that microbes may influence dietary choices by influencing the body's essential food amino acids. The blood of mice with different gut microbiota differed in essential amino acids, most notably tryptophan. Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids for the human body.

The effect of tryptophan on diet can also be manifested in other ways. For example, someone who gets sleepy after eating turkey is caused by the tryptophan in turkey, which is a common substance in turkey. When tryptophan enters the brain, it is converted into serotonin, a signal of satiety, and then into melatonin, which causes sleepiness.

Studies have demonstrated the influence of microbes on people's dietary choices, and further exploration of the role of microbes may lead to more uses. Diet affects human nutrition and bodily functions. When the disease affects nutrition and cannot be guaranteed to be absorbed by the body, it may be able to help the body absorb nutrients through the action of microorganisms, ensure nutritional balance, and strengthen the immune system.