The human body carries microorganisms far exceed the number of human cells. Nearly a thousand microorganisms are boarded or passed in the intestine alone. Humans and these microorganisms form mutually beneficial symbiotic complexes through the co-evolution of each other. The inte

The human body carries microorganisms , which far exceeds the number of human cells. Nearly a thousand microorganisms are boarded or passed in the intestine alone. Humans and these microorganisms form a mutually beneficial symbiotic complex through co-evolution with each other.

Intestinal bacterial flora is a complex and dynamic microecosystem . The normal human intestines contain both beneficial and harmful bacteria, and they are our symbiotic bacteria. Good bacteria and harmful bacteria must find ways to coexist in order to eventually evolve. When good bacteria and harmful bacteria coexist harmoniously, good bacteria will not allow harmful bacteria to reproduce in large quantities, and harmful bacteria will not cause harm to us.

However, we are now losing a large number of microorganisms, especially beneficial microorganisms, which destroys the symbiotic relationship between the intestinal microbial flora and the host. Harmful bacteria may also overwhelm beneficial bacteria and occupy a major position, thus leading to the occurrence of many diseases.

Helming microorganisms are essential to our health and can significantly affect our digestive, immune, neural and endocrine systems and their functions in beneficial ways, as well as other body functions. They are so important to us, so why are we still missing? There are many reasons, including:

• Modern diet
• Sugar
• Artificial sweetener
• Artificial sweetener
• Diabetes and blood sugar disorders
• Use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• 2
• glyphosate : Active ingredients of herbicides
• Modern medicine disconnects from body holism
• Sleep deprivation
• stress

Understand the number of beneficial bacteria in our bodies. Today, let’s talk in detail.

Modern diet

Fermentation is a method to preserve food. Bacteria and Yeast will convert sugar and starch in the food into acids (such as lactic acid), gas or alcohol, and then kill harmful microorganisms, so that the food can be preserved for a longer period of time. During food preservation, the number of beneficial microorganisms will increase, while the number of pathogenic microorganisms will decrease. As we all know, many bacteria that ferment foods are beneficial bacteria.

In human history, people hunted, gathered food and ate seasonal food in their area. Food fermentation, along with drying and salting, is the oldest way to preserve food. It is confirmed that people drank fermented beverage more than 9,000 years ago.

In human history, food and beverage fermentation was a home or village-level practice to preserve food, make food more delicious and reduce food toxicity. Many indigenous peoples around the world, especially in East Asia and Africa, still consume fermented foods. In some areas, fermented foods are even their staple foods.

In modern society, with the emergence of industrialized food production and fast food, many ancient methods have gradually been abandoned. Even in countries where fermented foods are still prevalent, homemade fermented foods and beverages have been stigmatized as “only for the poor”, leading people to abandon them and buy processed foods as long as they can afford them.

So where does the stigma of "only the poor eat homemade fermented food" come from? Of course this is marketing for processed food advertisers. This distorts our perception of what is truly valuable. Homemade food , including fermented foods, is the most nutritious food made from the simplest ingredients.Think about it, will world-renowned chefs add MSG, saccharin and other artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors and artificial pigments to their dishes? Of course not, because real food doesn't require these things.

Modern people hope that the food looks attractive, tastes delicious, and is convenient and quick to make. Because of this, modern diets focus more on problematic protein and unhealthy fats, and are lacking in dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, beneficial microorganisms and healthy-promoting plant compounds. These foods rely on various chemical additives to manipulate our senses. We actually consume more calories than nutrients, instead we may be consuming the nutrients stored by our bodies .

Today's society focuses on doing more with less time, and in some aspects of life, this is appropriate. Modern kitchen appliances can certainly make our lives and food preparation easier. But if we give up on the cultural way of preparing and enjoying food together for watching more TV, playing more games, or being busy with our work, it's a big mistake that makes our society pay for it.

Modern foods usually contain high levels of sugar, salt, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring , chemical preservatives, unhealthy fats, stabilizer , emulsifiers and other ingredients, many of which may damage our gut beneficial microorganisms. In addition, these ingredients contain very low nutritional components (vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, phytochemicals, etc.) and dietary fiber, and these lacking nutrients are the nutritional components of beneficial bacteria in the intestines .

Now the international community has proposed some new measures, such as: Slow Food Movement (Slow Food Movement) started in Italy and has now become an international movement, aiming to call on people to oppose monotonous fast food produced according to standardization and standardization, and advocate traditional food with personality and balanced nutrition. The purpose is to "maintain the inalienable right of human beings to enjoy happiness by protecting delicious food, while resisting the impact of fast food culture and supermarkets on life."

Other organizations also aim to raise awareness about how our disconnection from the food we eat affects our health and the health of the planet. Part of their task is to "restore nutrient-rich foods into the human diet" and emphasize the importance of fermented vegetables , fruits, dairy products, etc. in the diet.

These initiatives are important and should also be considered for our personal health alone, so that we should also make nutritional food a priority in life, as modern processed foods lack the nutrition needed for the health of our bodies and our gut microbiota.

sugar

sugar will destroy the ecological balance of the gastrointestinal tract. Many bacteria and yeasts prefer to use sugar as a food source. Since different microorganisms are able to reproduce at different rates, usually when they are given a lot of sugar, those harmful microorganisms reproduce much faster than beneficial microorganisms, which may replace beneficial microorganisms to dominate .

sucrose, a sweetener extracted from sugarcane or beet , is an disaccharide , consisting of two monosaccharide molecules, glucose and fructose . Our bodies can break down sucrose into monosaccharides.

fructose is mainly found in fruits and is also present in small quantities in many vegetables. Intake of fructose through fruits and vegetables is not a big problem, but in processed foods, especially soft drinks, there is a problem.

sucrose, glucose and fructose are the simpler sugars used in most sugar-added products. They are the fuel for the growth of many microorganisms, but unfortunately, they accelerate the growth of harmful bacteria and yeasts.

The pathogenic bacteria we are familiar with Salmonella relies on glucose to reproduce, and under appropriate conditions, its number doubles every 20 minutes. This is why symptoms of infection occur within 6-72 hours after infection. Additionally, Salmonella can make its own protein, creating flagella when needed, allowing it to move to the nutrient-rich intestinal mucosa layer where it continues to grow and reproduce.

In contrast, the doubling time of beneficial microorganisms such as Lactobacillus or Bifibacterium in the intestine may be measured in hours or days rather than minutes, and many beneficial microorganisms rely on our needs to optimize their growth. In addition, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria have no flagella. Therefore, although beneficial microorganisms also utilize glucose, they reproduce much slower in the intestine, requiring us to provide more nutrients than most pathogenic microorganisms and cannot push them to their own nutritional sources. Sugar intake puts beneficial microorganisms at a disadvantage.

Artificial sweetener

Since sugar intake puts beneficial microorganisms at a disadvantage, many people may say that they don’t eat sugar, but replace it with artificial sweetener, that is, sugar substitutes.

sugar was originally used in food to replace white sugar, with almost no calories, or a calories were greatly reduced under the same sweetness, and even negligible. It is generally believed that the use of sugar substitutes to reduce white sugar is of great significance to reduce the risks of obesity, caries, and cardiovascular diseases.

However, this is not the case. Artificial sweeteners can adversely affect our metabolic health by affecting our intestinal bacterial flora.

Artificial sweeteners that have been studied that have an effect on intestinal bacterial flora include:

• Saccharin
• Aspartame
• Sucralose

Experimental results of these three artificial sweeteners show that they can change the bacterial community in the gastrointestinal tract, break the ecological balance of the intestinal tract, make them unfavorable to pathogenic microorganisms and beneficial microorganisms .

Artificial sweeteners cannot provide us with any nutrients needed by the body. Their use is just to change the taste of food and make the food taste better. This not only makes us eat more and cause obesity, but also increases the risk of our intestinal bacterial flora being destroyed, laying hidden dangers for future health . Why do we still use them?

diabetes and blood sugar disorders

htmlType 12 diabetes is insufficient insulin secretion or insulin resistance in the body, resulting in abnormally high blood sugar levels and is destructive. Type 2 diabetes is mainly the result of poor diet and lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient's immune cells attack and destroy the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin .

According to the 2017 edition of the "Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Type 2 Diabetes in my country", the incidence of type 2 diabetes in adults over 18 years old has reached 10.4%, of which 11.1% for men and 9.6% for women, and the prevalence of diabetes among elderly people over 60 years old is above 20%. These numbers are also showing an upward trend year by year. More importantly, a large number of people have not been diagnosed and do not know that they have diabetes.

What’s even more terrifying is the number of prediabetes patients. Prediabetes is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be officially recognized as diabetes. It is estimated that more than one-third of adults suffer from prediabetes, with 90% unaware of their prediabetes. For prediabetes patients, if they do not lose weight, do not improve their diet and lifestyle, 15-30% of people will develop diabetes. Prediabetes is a serious wake-up call that requires us to make positive changes immediately.

We said earlier that harmful microorganisms like sugar, and they can easily use sugar to suppress beneficial microorganisms. While we have been paying attention to sugar in our diet, which makes most people think only about the effects of sugar in the digestive tract, sugar in the digestive tract also enters the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to rise there.

High blood sugar levels caused by any type of blood sugar disorder provide food for harmful microorganisms and promotes some harmful microorganisms, such as Canida albicans , invading our tissues. These invasive microorganisms are difficult to replace.

So, Whether you are a diabetic, a prediabetes, or an occasional high blood sugar level due to eating sugary foods and beverages, the net result of our intestinal flora is the same, that is, supporting harmful microorganisms and putting beneficial microorganisms at a disadvantage .

Using prescription and over-the-counter medications

In the modern world, almost everyone will take a certain drug at some point. Statistics about over-the-counter drugs are relatively lacking, but for prescription drugs, it is estimated that within one month, nearly 22% of people took 3 or more prescription drugs, and nearly 11% took 5 or more prescription drugs.

Many drugs will have a direct impact on the intestinal microbiota, such as antibiotics. Their purpose is to inhibit or kill bacteria. While they kill harmful bacteria, they will inevitably cause harm to beneficial bacteria.

In addition to its obvious antibacterial activity, another secret way for drugs to affect gut microorganisms is that many drugs consume nutrients, which makes it difficult for those beneficial microorganisms that require our nutrition to reproduce. The types and quantities of drugs that can consume nutrients are amazing.

For example, birth control pills are known to consume vitamin B, vitamin A, vitamin C and many minerals. So, essentially, birth control pills deprive us and our beneficial microbes of some of the nutrition needed for health.

In addition, although the specific effects of most drugs on intestinal flora have not been investigated, it is not difficult to imagine that if any drug only causes side effects of nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea or other gastrointestinal discomfort to the gastrointestinal tract, then the intestinal flora may change as a result.

Let's take a look at four common types of drugs that negatively affect our intestinal flora: Antibiotic , antidepressants, gastroesophageal reflux drugs, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

, antibiotics

Antibiotics kill bacteria, it is no secret that this is their purpose, however, they will also kill beneficial bacteria without choice, and antibiotic-related diarrhea is one of the results.

However, since antibiotics cannot kill 100% of bacteria, the number of harmful bacteria in the remaining bacteria can quickly exceed the beneficial bacteria, and the result is that the intestinal bacteria may never be able to fully restore to its previous health status.

We may not have realized how severe we are exposed to antibiotics and how they negatively affect the beneficial microorganisms in our bodies.Some of these contacts are through:

• antibiotics taken to treat infections;
• antibiotics in drinking water come from improperly treated drugs and human waste;
• antibiotics widely used in traditional animal breeding can be distributed in traditionally cultivated meat, fish, poultry and milk. Now;
• antibiotics present in fertilizers or production wastewater;
• Antibiotics sprayed on certain fruit trees

Now, antibiotic resistance has become a very serious problem, and it occurs because some bacteria can adapt to the threat to their survival. People die from infections, usually because pathogenic bacteria develop resistance to even the most complex antibiotics. It has been gradually realized that measures should be taken to limit the use of antibacterial drugs.

So what should we do?

• Only use antibiotics when they are really needed in medicine. If it is not necessary, do not use them;
• If you take it, be sure to take the full course of antibiotics and do not flush unused drugs into the sewer or toilet;
• If you take it, be sure to take the full course of antibiotics and do not flush unused drugs into the sewer or toilet; l2
• After using antibiotics, you can appropriately supplement probiotics and refille the gastrointestinal tract;
• In addition, according to your own actual situation, try to choose livestock, fish and poultry products and agricultural products that do not use antibiotics as much as possible.

, antidepressants

A study by the University of Michigan showed that patients with severe depression had much higher risk of infection with C. difficile than those without depression . Clostridium difficile can cause life-threatening gastrointestinal infections and are difficult to cure. Taking the antidepressant mirtazapine or fluoxetine doubles the risk of C. difficile infection, while taking mirtazapine and trazodone increases the risk of C. difficile infection by nearly 6 times.

In vitro tests showed that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) sertraline, fluoxetine and paroxetine had significant antibacterial activities, mainly targeting Gram-positive bacteria, but had no effect on most Gram-negative bacteria. We know that most beneficial bacteria are Gram-positive, while most harmful bacteria are Gram-negative.

Whether these results directly reflect the situation in the intestine is not clear. However, a common side effect of SSRI is gastrointestinal discomfort, which manifests as a range of symptoms from dry mouth to to diarrhea. This discomfort may be due to the effect of -hydroxytryptamine receptor in the intestine and the possible harmful effects on beneficial bacterial groups.

, gastroesophageal reflux medicine

The purpose of gastroesophageal reflux medicine is to reduce gastric acid. Gastric acid is usually between pH 1-3 and is buffered to around pH 4 when it is filled with food. Typically, gastric acid can resist pathogenic bacteria, because although there are various cunning ways to adapt to harsh environments, many pathogenic bacteria cannot survive at low pH.

Gastroesophageal reflux drugs eliminate this protective mechanism, allowing pathogens to pass through the stomach to enter other parts of the digestive tract where they can play a harmful role. In scientific research, before giving experimental animals a pathogenic microorganism, the experimental animals are usually given acid blockers, so that the pathogen can be established in the animal's gastrointestinal tract, so that the pathogen's effects can be seen.

However, beneficial bacteria that produce lactic acid are generally able to survive in low pH environments. Therefore, stomach acid is designed to allow beneficial bacteria to pass through while killing pathogenic bacteria. If you take certain acid-suppressive drugs frequently, you should consider this.

, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can damage the upper gastrointestinal tract, small intestine and colon in a variety of ways, resulting in increased mucosal permeability, inflammation, erosion, ulcers, and even other more serious clinical consequences, such as anemia , bleeding, perforation, obstruction, diverticulitis and death.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can also significantly reduce lactic acid bacteria . Other studies have shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs promote the occurrence of bacterial infection by reducing the body's immune response to infection. Gram-negative bacteria appear to be particularly important in the occurrence and progression of NSAIDs-related intestinal diseases, possibly through the release of LPS toxins.

glyphosate: The active ingredient of herbicide

glyphosate is the active ingredient of the herbicide Rongda. Roundup combines glyphosate with surfactants and other ingredients to make glyphosate more easily into cells. Glyphosate-resistant genetic materials are used in genetically modified crops, such as corn, cottonseed, rapeseed, soybeans, beets, alfalfa and some other crops. Glyphosate is also sprayed on the crop to accelerate maturity.

Glyphosate is beneficial to the growth of pathogenic bacteria rather than beneficial bacteria. There are two reasons:

• Targets those beneficial bacteria that have no defense ability to glyphosate
• Increases the resistance of some pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics

First, glyphosate is targeted at a molecule called EPSP synthase. In plants, in many bacteria and other microorganisms, the pathway to produce the amino acid necessary for survival depends on the EPSP synthetase. Neither human nor animals have EPSP synthase, so at first glance, glyphosate doesn't seem to affect us.

However, glyphosate can effectively target EPSP synthetases in certain gut bacteria that have no defense against glyphosate, which destroys their function. Many beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, have moderate to highly sensitive effects on glyphosate.

In addition, it is worrying that some pathogenic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas, can break down glyphosate and use them as energy sources. It is also worth noting that harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and Clostridium , are very resistant to glyphosate. Therefore, glyphosate appears to be conducive to the growth of pathogenic bacteria and reduce the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. The second reason why glyphosate is conducive to the growth of pathogenic bacteria rather than beneficial bacteria is that when exposed to glyphosate, some pathogenic bacteria can increase resistance to antibiotics. Compared with many harmful bacteria, antibiotics are more harmful to beneficial bacteria. The increased resistance of pathogenic bacteria caused by glyphosate to antibiotics means that conventional doses of certain antibiotics will not kill the "bad people" but will only kill the "good people", so higher doses of antibiotics are needed to fight the infection. But we may not be aware of this, nor do we know exactly how many doses of antibiotics are necessary to fight infection, resulting in insufficient treatment for the infection.

glyphosate is also listed as a "possible carcinogen" by International Cancer Research Agency of the World Health Organization .

Residues of glyphosate and its decomposition products were found in GMO soybean , animal feed and even some non-GMO foods. Therefore, humans and animals have the opportunity to consume glyphosate. By affecting gut bacteria, glyphosate will inevitably have an impact on our health.

The disconnect between modern medicine and body holism

Our body is an organic unified whole, and the various organ systems are connected together, while modern medicine is disconnected from the concept of body holism.Modern medicine regards the human body as a simple synthesis of various organ systems, believing that each part plays a role independently of other parts. We usually treat the head with headaches and feet with pain.

In order to "repair" a part of the body, sometimes another part will be hurt. This is the case, especially the prescription of antibiotics and other medications, which do not consider maintaining the balance of the gut microbiota. Many drugs can negatively affect our gut microbiota, and we must be aware of this and avoid these consequences as much as possible.

Another example of the disconnection between modern medicine and the concept of body holism is iron reinforcement. Iron fortification can save people's lives because solving anemia is one of the top priorities of health. However, unselective addition of iron to a person's diet, especially in a non-ideal form, without evaluating their gastrointestinal state, can lead to a balance between harmful and beneficial microorganisms tilt towards harmful microorganisms. This is because Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus need only a small amount of iron to grow, depending on the environment they are in, but due to stress, intestinal bleeding, surgery, trauma, iron fortification or dietary supplements, excessive free iron in the intestine can lead to accelerated growth of other potentially harmful microorganisms that can reproduce in large quantities in high-iron environments.

studies have confirmed this, and when iron is added to the cookies and given to children who already have a bad bacterial ratio, the harmful Eccoli in their feces increases, while beneficial Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus are reduced.

At any time, when we receive care from any part of the body, we should consider whether this care may have an impact on the intestinal microorganisms and take precautions to protect them.

Deficient sleep

If you want to lose weight, you need to check your sleep quality; if you want to fight infection better, you need to check your sleep quality; if you want to have a healthier bacteria, you also need to check your sleep quality. Basically, if you want to live a healthier life, you need to check your sleep quality.

We know we need high quality sleep, but what are we doing to make sure we can get it?

Our sleep-wake cycle is our circadian rhythm. This disruption of the circadian rhythm or biological clock is associated with a range of diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and low immunity.

Bacteria also have circadian rhythms. Our sleep-wake cycles affect not only ourselves, but also our gut bacteria. Studies in mice and humans have shown that when sleep is disturbed by factors such as jet lag or changes in shift work, not only our own cells will be damaged, but some bacterial cells in our bodies will also be damaged. Certain beneficial species, such as Lactobacillus, appear to be more susceptible to impact than others.

Therefore, adequate sleep is one of the important ways to maintain healthy gut microbiota.

pressure

pressure can be defined as the brain's response to any need. Many events that are often seen as stress have one thing in common, they all involve some kind of change, whether positive or negative, whether it happens suddenly or over a period of time, such as changes in work status, changes in daily life, changes in health status, changes in family status, changes in place of residence, and so on. This change can be physical, mental, or emotional. Sometimes it is the lack of control over a certain situation that can cause stress, such as traffic conditions during peak hours.

is the perception of events in our brains that determines whether it will put pressure on us. Some events are real, and almost everyone feels stressed, such as meeting a vicious dog on the road or witnessing a violent incident.Other things, such as speeches, exams, lunch meetings with your boss, may be more stressful for some than others. There are other stressors, such as the imbalance of the intestinal flora, which we may not even detect, but our brains can sense from the immune response .

The brain's response triggers a series of reactions in our body, leading to an increase in levels of stress hormones and stress chemicals. These hormones and chemicals can further lead to typical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, muscle tension, sweating, indigestion, etc., which we experience under acute stress.

Pressure itself is not always a bad thing. Humans evolved to be able to respond to acute short-term stress through fighting or flight, such as being chased by wild animals. Putting pressure on muscles and bones while exercising makes them stronger. Acute stress during an exam or competition can help us focus. Stress can provide goals and meaning to life.

When acute stress disappears, human stress hormones and stress chemicals should return to normal levels. Unfortunately, in this complex era, acute stressors become chronic stressors and continue. When stress exceeds our management capabilities, whether acute or chronic, it can cause problems for us.

A variety of stressors, whether emotional (such as anger or fear), mental (such as during exams) and/or physical (such as overexercise, crowded, noise, high temperatures, lack of sleep and unsuitable foods for us) can cause our gut microbiota balance to be destroyed.

Generally speaking, stress responses can lead to an increase in non-benefit microorganisms in humans and animals, while a decrease in beneficial microorganisms, especially Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. Stress will lead to flora imbalance, which will lead to more stress, forming a vicious cycle of self-continuity.

Summary

Many things we are doing may unknowingly damage our intestinal microbial population, reduce the number of beneficial microorganisms, and then unknowingly damage our overall health. We should look at everything in life with a critical eye, but treat ourselves tenderly. Rapid changes in behavior usually don’t happen overnight, and once we have this information, we can start making better changes.

Benefit microorganisms absolutely occupy a place in our health plans, and it is by no means an IQ tax. As we mentioned earlier, probiotics can significantly affect our digestive, immune, neural and endocrine systems and their functions in beneficial ways, as well as other body functions .

But remember, as it is generally believed, We cannot eat an unhealthy diet while counting on exercise to stay healthy, nor can we eat an unhealthy diet, do not exercise, abuse drugs, do not sleep well, and have other life habits that are harmful to us, while counting on probiotics to correct all of this, so that we can stay healthy .

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