Friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics, live on or in the body and provide health benefits. They can be found in the gut, mouth, mucous membranes, and skin. Antibiotics and health conditions can disrupt their balance, but they can be introduced through supplements and cultured foods. Probiotics should not be used to treat medical conditions without consulting a doctor.
Friendly bacteria, also known as probiotic or commensal bacteria, are bacteria that impart some sort of positive health benefit to their host. These bacteria live on or in their host’s body and, in some cases, are actually critical to well-being. Scientists are constantly learning more about these bacteria and their functions in the body, and have made some startling discoveries about the ways these bacteria work.
One of the most famous groups of friendly bacteria are the bacteria found in the gut. Numerous species of bacteria line the intestines to take advantage of the abundant supplies of food that move through the intestines daily. In the process of breaking down food to access valuable nutrients, bacteria also help the body digest various foods, thereby increasing the amount of nutrition the body can extract from the food. The probiotic bacteria in your gut also fight off bacterial invaders that can cause infections.
Friendly bacteria can also be found in the mouth, reducing the risk of infection from bacteria and viruses entering the mouth, and in the linings of other mucous membranes. The skin hosts a large number of good bacteria which digest the waste products secreted by the skin.
There are several ways the balance of friendly bacteria in the body can be disrupted. Using antibiotics to deal with infections can kill some commensal bacteria down the road, as antibiotics aren’t always very selective. Health conditions can also lead to an imbalance, such as the flourishing of a bacterial species that is normally only present in small numbers.
Sometimes, commensal bacteria can be introduced into the body deliberately to help the body deal with an imbalance. While this practice was once limited to alternative medicine practitioners, it has since gained traction among regular physicians, who may consider recommending probiotic supplements for patients with certain conditions. Experimental procedures have also involved the use of good bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics, with the friendly bacteria wiping out bacterial infections. Lactobacillus, for example, a commensal bacterium found in yogurt, appears to be effective in preventing oral infections.
Probiotics can be added to the body through the use of tablets and supplements that contain cultured probiotics, and also through the consumption of foods cultured with cultures left alive, rather than being neutralized by a pasteurization process. Yogurt and cheese are two common cultured foods that are easy to add to your diet. People should not attempt to treat a medical condition with friendly bacteria without consulting a doctor.
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