This article is about the impact of gut microbiome on children’s development. Malnutrition often leads to low gut microbiome and this paper explores why nutrient supplements cannot reverse the effects of malnutrition. The findings between two biologists were that animals given germ free diets were smaller, scrawnier, and contained immature gut microbiomes. Malnutrition leads to these adverse characteristics because mature microbes activate the insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a hormone primarily involved with tissue growth, where a lack of microbiomes result in decreased tissue mass. It is suggested that probiotics may help mature the microbiome children who have suffered from malnutrition to replace the mature microbiome. The maturity
