These days, seemingly everyone is waxing poetic about the microbiome. There is a growing body of scientific evidence to suggest that gut dysbiosis (microbial imbalance of the intestine) is associated with inflammatory and immune-mediated ills, including heart disease and diabetes. So to improve quality of life, more people are looking for ways to fertilize their gut with beneficial micro-bugs. A wide body of evidence has demonstrated that diet shapes the gut microbiome, and it turns out one way we can give our colony of microorganisms a boost is to feed it more not-so-fresh foods. After analyzing blood and stool samples of healthy adult participants, Stanford School of Medicine researchers discovered that a 10-week diet high in fermented foods (6 servings daily) resulted in measurable improvements in microbiome diversity and decreases in markers of inflammation, suggesting improved immune status. This is noteworthy because science has identified that healthy people typically have …