Public Understanding of Gut Health and the Human Microbiome in the USA: An Exploratory Study

At a time of rising public interest in the human microbiome and calls for increased microbe literacy in public health, few studies have explored how different segments of the US public understand gut health. To address this gap, An exploratory ethnographic study was conducted in Southern Arizona. The study identified five themes that encompass Pasteurian militaristic and post-Pasteurian ecological perceptions of gut health, gut adaptability, and probiotic/antibiotic influence on" natural immunity." Future microbe literacy programs will need to engage with local ideas about gut health, build upon points of convergence with bioscience, and identify points of divergence that challenge public health initiatives.