What's all of this about Bacteria being GOOD for us?

The human body is made up of more than 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells making us MORE microbe than human.  We feed, water and give warm shelter to plentiful bacteria that work symbiotically with our systems in order to help us survive.  A large majority of microbes hang out in the large intestine, but they are also found in tissues exposed to external surfaces such as the lungs and gastrointestinal tract.  Microbes play a key role in developing immunity to help us fight off infections. Not only do they provide a physical barrier to incoming pathogens, but they also help with maintenance of our intestinal barrier, food metabolism (such as the absorption of vitamins and minerals), as well as brain development.

As the balance between GOOD and BAD bacteria begins to be altered, the permeability of the gut begins to increase. Gut wall integrity is crucially important in preventing allergies, auto-immune reactions and maintaining the health of the entire immune system as well! When our system becomes overly permeable, proteins that have not yet been properly broken down into amino acids may get absorbed into our blood stream. Once in the bloodstream, the body recognizes these larger proteins as trouble and may generate an immune response, or allergy, to them.  For some people this response is minor (itchy eyes, runny nose, hives, etc.) and for others it is life threatening (anaphylaxis).

Probiotics help to build and maintain the ratio of GOOD to BAD bacteria, keeping the intestinal wall strong and impermeable to unwanted peptides. As mentioned above, bacteria help us with many functions of the body and without them we couldn’t survive. Other ways we can promote good bacteria in our system is with stress relief, eating a well balanced diet and with supplemental probiotics. Come 

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