In Cooperation with Microbes: 2/4 Microbes Keep us Healthy

Traditionally, microbes have been seen only as harmful and dangerous.

Only recently have scientists started to map the benefits that they have on us.

In the first part of our blog series we wrote about microbes and nature. The second part covers how microbes affect our health.

In cooperation with microbes:
1/4: Microbes are a prerequisite for life
3/4: Let’s get exposed!
4/4: Food, clean water, and buildings from microbes

Vital microbes

Microbes are part of our system and we carry with us useful microbiome that protects us from harmful bacteria and virus. Our microbiome starts to form from our birth. During the birth a baby gets on his skin a protective microbiome and little by little a child’s skin, mouth, mucous membrane and intestines will be inhabited by bacteria typical for them.

Lacks in our microbiome can expose us to infections in middle ear or in urinary tracts, obesity, kidney stones, allergies and cancers.

According to microbiologist Aija Luoma, part of microbes are harmful for us, whereas without some of them we can’t live. Pathogens, disease-causing agents, have not been found to be beneficial for us in any way. They are only harmful to our health.

On the other hand, some bacteria are not harmful to us because when we are healthy our own microbiome keeps them away. As we get older our immunology weakens the same bacteria can be dangerous.

Jonathan Eisen argues in his TED talk that we should view our microbial population as a functional organ. Nowadays we know that illnesses, that previously have been considered to be caused by some pathogens, in fact result from lacks in our microbial population. Therefore we should treat it carefully.

Lacks in the microbiome cause health problems but certain "extra" microbes, on the other hand, can help prevent diseases.

Lacks in our microbiome can expose us to infections in middle ear or in urinary tracts, obesity, kidney stones, allergies and cancers. Lacks in the microbiome cause health problems but certain "extra" microbes, on the other hand, can help prevent diseases.

Every other Asian and every third European carries in their intestines bacteria that can transform the soy flavone daidzein into S-equol.Equol is a nonsteroidal estrogen that has beneficial effects on bone health and hormonal cancers. Without the right intestinal bacteria daidzein stays inactive and the body does not get the health benefits.

Antibiotics alter the delicate balance of microbes

Microbes are constantly used to treat our health. The most well known use of them are antibiotics that are substances produced by microbes. A course of antibiotics is also great example of the effect microbes have on our wellbeing.

When we treat infections with antibiotics, a great number of bacteria living in our intestines die. In this case the bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics becomes more common. This is the reason why after a course of antibiotics we often  suffer of upset stomach. Furthermore, the risk of infections being transmitted rises as our defenses weaken.

The help for this can also be found in the world of microbes. Probiotics, microbes that provide health benefits, are used with courses of antibiotics to balance microbiome of intestines.

The next part of blog series tells more about the health benefits of being exposed to microbes especially in nature.

More information:

Tiede: Bakteerien puute sairastuttaa (in Finnish)

TED: Meet your microbes

Tiedevartti: Mikrobien merkitys ihmisille aukenee (in Finnish)