Many diets claim to improve health or help you lose weight, recent research shows that what counts is not what you eat but how your body reacts. Neil and Sam discuss how microbes matter when it comes to food, and teach some related vocabulary.

This week's question
How long exactly is the average adult’s gut?
a) 3.5 metres
b) 5.5 metres
c) 7.5 metres
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Vocabulary
gut (informal)
intestines; long tube inside the body which starts below the stomach and helps digest food

microbes
tiny, microscopic organisms living inside the human body

calorie
unit measuring the amount of energy that food provides

flimsy
weak and difficult to believe; not convincing

skinny
very thin

stick out of the crowd
be very easy to notice, in a positive sense

To download the audio and a transcript, go to our webpage at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learning....english/english/feat

[Cover: Getty Images]

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