Balanced Immune Health

Did you know there are over 4 pounds of bacteria in a typical human gut? Most of these are good bacteria, they aid in digestion and live very happily. There are always a few rogue bacteria around, but in a healthy digestive system all the different species are in balance. However, just like the immune system, the different bacterial species can get out of balance and cause problems. Poor nutrition obviously, but other things as well.

One of the causes of travelers’ diarrhea can be a significant change in the type of food being consumed – a person’s normal, healthy flora are living very happily in a reasonably constant environment in terms of the food consumed. A single radically different meal can cause some perturbations, but moving to a different country can cause very significant shifts and put things out of balance.

As a result, even without consuming more harmful bacteria, the bad bugs already present may thrive more and cause digestive problems. Other factors leading to imbalance can be excessive use of antibiotics, illness stress in general, change of seasons etc. I should also add that there is probably not a “perfect” or even a “standard” population of bugs for humans. It will vary with age, location, type of food being consumed etc. So in general, a healthy person eating a good diet will have their own gut bacterial ecology that has developed to work efficiently on that person’s normal food intake.

Taking all this into consideration, it is doubtful if there is a single probiotic, prebiotic or synbiotic that is right for everyone. Our gut flora is as individual as we are, and what works well for one person will not work well for another. Trial and error is probably as good a way to go as any, always remembering to giving the particular choice of product time to work – beneficial effects should be established in a couple of weeks.

Filed under Bacteria, Bacterial Environments, Balanced Immune Health, Gut Health, Immune Balance, Immune System, Inflammation, Nutrition, Prebiotics, Probiotics, Research