5 Hidden benefits of bacteria
Pampering your microbes with a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet are some of the keys to good health. You’ll be surprised to find how beneficial it is.
Housed in the depths of our intestines, but also on the surface of our skin, eyes, nails, hair and even within our most private parts, a microorganism works every day to serve the body. These Lilliputians are made up of a thousand different species and provide countless services. They participate, among others, in education of the immune system and digestion of food, including the fermentation of fiber, as well as the synthesis of several vitamins (K, B2, B8 etc). Researchers are interested in this ecosystem present from birth that evolves throughout life. As soon as a person is out of balance, their wellbeing pays the price. “This induces local disorders in the skin and intestines, but also disturbances in distant organs,” says Dr Jacob Teitelbaum, medical director of Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers in the United States. An alteration of the digestive flora – or as scientists call it, microbiota – can thus lead to obesity, breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disorder or a propensity to anxiety or depression. Researchers are beginning to see that bacteria provides promising avenues for the prevention and treatment of future ailments.
A SOLUTION TO DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
“An unbalanced intestinal flora leads to stress and gastroenteritis, and taking antibiotics or certain anti-inflammatory drugs is the cause of these recurring problems: accelerated or slowed transit, bloating and abdominal pain…” observes Dr Didier Chos, President of the European Institute of Dietetics and micronutrition. Weakened, the good bacteria is becoming rarer and gives way to the less friendly microbes, such as candida albicans. Over time, the digestive tract becomes porous, “which can cause food intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome and immense fatigue,” says Dr Teitelbaum. Doctors at the Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris have also noticed that a specific bacterium (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) was absent in patients with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease that causes severe diarrhoea, intestinal obstruction and weight loss. An experiment is being conducted on twenty patients to see if grafting digestive flora will halt the progression of the disease. Look out for the verdict in 2016.
THE BACTERIA DIET
Some microorganisms well established in lean subjects prove insignificant to people who are overweight. To establish whether there is a link between gut microbiota composition and weight gain, microbiologists of the Faculty of Medicine in St. Louis (USA) transferred the intestinal bacteria of obese rodents into slender animals. Without eating more than usual, they were quickly imbedded. University of California researchers have shown that our microscopic squatters sharpen our attraction to certain foods according to their needs. If our dominant bacterial population loves fat, it can release chemical molecules that drive us, for example, to a hamburger. This message, decoded by the nerves of the intestines, is transmitted through the vagus nerve to the brain. When the meal is applied, chemical rewards are released. The addiction to junk food is engaged.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTICS
“The intestine alone contains more than half of the lymphoid tissues that produce antibodies,” remarks Dr. Médart Jacques, author of When The Gut Says No (ed. Thierry Souccar). Microbiota form a barrier against the proliferation of parasites. When it is healthy, you have a million salmonella from which one catches salmonellosis. But if it is deficient, it will take tenfold. It is the same for urinary and vaginal infections, including floras related to the gastrointestinal tract. Many urogenital infections result from a decline in local populations of lactobacilli. Flora transplants could be a solution against antibiotic-resistant infections.
A TRACK AGAINST DEPRESSION
“Our mood is partly conditioned by our flora,” says Professor Didier Desor, a neurobiologist at the University of Nancy. The excessive presence of certain Clostridium strains generates all the symptoms of depression and anxiety. It has also been proven to University College Cork (Ireland) that pups live differently when in maternal separation according to their rich flora Bifidobacterium infantis. Small well-equipped rats smoothly overcome this ordeal, while those that are deficient plunge into depression. “Competing bacteria proliferate and are abused by tryptophan, an amino acid essential to the production of serotonin, the hormone of mental wellbeing,” says Timothy Dinan, co-author of the study.
GOOD MENU FOR THE INTESTINAL FLORA
Many foods are naturally full of friendly bacteria: sauerkraut, miso (Japanese fermented soybean paste), tempeh (cooked soybeans and fermented), milk kefir or fruit. More effective than any industrial complement, they can be made easily at home from kefir grains found in stores or organic markets. To really boost its microbiota, we must also consume prebiotic fibers, the favorite food of friendly bacteria. It is found in artichokes, asparagus, ripe bananas, dandelion, salsify, onions and leeks. Regularly incorporate these into your diet in small quantities to avoid bloating.
Sylvia Vaisman and Nur Syazana H.
