We All Have Bugs in Our Stomachs

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Until the discovery of the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, which earned two scientists the 2005 Nobel prize in physiology, most researchers felt that bacteria would not survive in the harsh conditions in the stomach.  The bacteria responsible for ulcers were thought to be a special case of bacteria that had developed a unique mechanism for coping with a highly acidic environment.  The acid and enzymes should make the stomach inhospitable to microbes.

However careful analysis of samples from human stomach linings has led to the discovery of almost one hundred and thirty different types of bacteria, including some ten that were previously unknown.

None of this should get you particularly worried.  After all we have lived a long time with the knowledge that bacteria in the gut help us digest food.  Indeed if we kill off these microbes by taking antibiotics we run into digestive troubles and diarrhea.

It is now apparent that many parts of the body depend on their own special mix of microbes, which if thrown out of balance can cause illness.  It seems that the almost four hundred species of microbes living in our thirty feet of colon play an important role in keeping us healthy.  The same is true for the bacterial communities in the mouth and esophagus, which are different from the bacteria found in the stomach and gut.

So next time don't be too quick to blame your illness on bacteria, some bugs work to keep you healthy.