Our gut does more than help us digest food; the bacteria that call our intestines home have been implicated in everything from our mental health and sleep, to weight gain and cravings for certain foods. This article is part of a series that examines how far the science has come and whether there’s anything we can do to improve the health of our gut. The gut microbiota is the community of bugs, including bacteria, that live in our intestine. It has been called the body’s “forg