Eating more plants like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains seems to change the good bacteria in your gut to more helpful types and reduce the harmful ones, which might help your body manage weight...

Eating a lot of added sugar, especially in sodas and sweet drinks, might change the good bacteria in your gut, letting some bacteria that love sugar grow too much while reducing others that help keep your gut healthy—this could lead to leaks in your gut lining and inflammation that’s tied to diseases like diabetes.

Fermenting bitter lupine seeds under controlled conditions leads to higher levels of specific gut bacteria—Lactobacillus mucosae, L. plantarum, and L. reuteri—in a laboratory model of a calf's colon, which may correspond to a bacterial community linked to better gut health.

The mix of bacteria in your gut might be connected to conditions like obesity and diabetes, and certain types of bacteria could be tied to storing more fat and how your body handles sugar.