Your Best Friends are in your Gut – By Dr Harold Gunatillake

Working Script

Fifty years ago, and prior, we knew that we had good bacteria in our gut. We named them “Bacterial Flora”

We were then advised to go soft on antibiotics, as they destroyed our friendly gut bacteria and changed the ecosystem
Scientists call them microbes, and a group that includes bacteria, viruses, bacteroid, and fungi in the gut- was given the name Microbiota and microbiomes.

They are found not only in your gut but also your skin, mouth, nose and other openings
Each microbiome includes over 10, trillions of microbial species, all interacting with one another.

In toto there are over 100 trillion of bacteria, viruses and fungi in your gut.

They keep bad bacteria in check and looks after your health and wellbeing.

In the human gut, microbes not only aid digestion, but also affect obesity, allergies, immunity and even brain development;

Beyond people’s bodies, these microorganisms have created the Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere, and, also enable plant and ocean life to thrive.

The number of bacteria in our gut outnumbers the total number of cells in our body. We have 100 trillion cells in our body.
There is an estimated 1 kilogram of bacteria within each average human adult.

One gram of your faeces contains a greater number of bacteria than there are humans on the planet Our microbes could be the key to our future health

Microbiota- those microscopic organisms in our gut play a vital role in keeping us healthy. Some microbes secrete molecules like the Bifidobacterium which digests dietary fibre in the colon, produces short-chain fatty acids that stimulates the growth of the immune cells that control inflammation.

Eating foods with high dietary fibre like the veggies seems to prevent large bowel inflammatory diseases like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and some forms of cancer and these microbes seem to assist in the process.

A vaginal microbe, Lactobacillus feeds on sugars and produce lactic acid, which discourages other bacteria that gives vaginal infections.
Knowing which sorts of microbes are normally found in healthy people can help us understand the roles that changes in microbe

populations play in disease -said Dr. Curtis Huttenhower, associate professor of computational biology in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Why microbial diversity is important

Diversity is the key to beneficial microbial populations. Not only does a wider array of microbes mean a greater variety of bacterial by-products for body cells to use, it also leaves less territory for disease-causing bacteria to occupy. That’s why the new approach to microbes is directed at maintaining a healthy balance of germs throughout the body.
The gut response
Foods affect our health in two ways—through the fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients they pro-vide, and through the bacteria that break them down in the intestine. Early research indicates that a diet high in saturated fat increases the proportion of one phylum (major group) of bacteria, Firmicutes, to that of another phylum, Bacteriodetes. A high ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteriodetes has been linked to obesity. If we eat a lot of processed foods, populations of fibre loving Bifidobacterium, which is linked with lower rates of inflammation, will shrink.

Our intestinal bacteria may be key to understanding why the traditional “Western diet” hasn’t served us very well. Studies comparing populations of intestinal

microbes have indicated that people eating a traditional Mediterranean diet or a traditional Asian diet—both of which are plant-based—have a greater diversity of intestinal bacteria and a higher proportion of beneficial bacteria than Americans and Europeans whose diets are heavier in red meat, sugars, and other refined carbohydrates, and lighter in fruits and vegetables. Westerners also have a higher rate of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.
Avoid unnecessary antibiotics
Too many antibiotics are prescribed for minor ailments especially among kids. This can harm by destroying the beneficial bacteria in your gut. You should check whether the infection is caused by bacteria or a virus.
How does a baby get those beneficial bacteria when just born for good health?
When the baby enters the world through the birth canal gets a coating of vaginal microbes. These bacteria protect the baby from skin and gut infections.

On the other hand, those babies born by Calcarean section miss out on these beneficial microbes and are exposed to infections, unfortunately.

There is a war going on in our gut between the good bugs and the bad germs.

Good bacteria reward our dietary choices by producing metabolites for a healthy gut & well being

Eating the right foods is important to keep our good bacteria in harmony and they in return will reciprocate good bowel & general health

This is where you need to take prebiotics and probiotics daily to keep your good bacteria happy

Reference -articles by Alanna Collen & Alan Brown