Bacteria is bad right? We use antibiotics and hand sanitizer to banish bacteria from our lives and live in sanitary environments in the hopes of staving off illness. But we are just beginning to understand the seminal role that healthy bacteria play in our lives. You see, bacteria is responsible for the proper digestion of our food, for improving our immune systems and, new studies show, even our happiness and mental health.
So you’ve probably heard of probiotics;those diminutive little bacterium that live in your tummy and keep you healthy, happy and sane. Well, in order to keep your little belly bugs alive, you have to feed them the good stuff and that’s where prebiotics come in. Prebiotics are insoluble dietary fibers that provides a food source for probiotics and promote healthy intestinal flora.
The Human Microbiome Project conducted a study recently which found that the body is made up of more microbes than human cells. That’s right; your body is seething with bacteria, but before you call the germ police, bacteria come in both good and bad varieties and good bacteria (probiotics) are vital to the healthy functioning of our bodies.
Probiotics are microscopic bacterial organisms that, when consumed in the right quantities, are beneficial to the host (that’s you!)
If the thought of bacteria has you reaching for your hand sanitizer, you may not be overly pleased to know that your body is a hotbed of bacterial activity.
