A perplexed Doctor determined his patient required a transplant. He transplanted some of her husband’s bacteria . Before the procedure , they observed , her intestinal bacteria population was almost non existant . “The normal bacteria just couldn’t be found in her,” said Dr. Khoruts. “She was colonized by all sorts of misfits.” Two weeks after the procedure , the donated microbes were dominant . “That population was able to function and arrested her disease faster than anyone anticipated” .

To say that the scientific community was shocked with the outcome is something of an understatement. It shouldn’t be. Scientists are frequently amazed by the complexity , power , and sheer number of microbes that populate our systems . We have more than 10 times more microbes than cells.

We end up with populations composed of different species, but they usually carry out the same essential chemistry that we need to be healthy . One of those tasks is breaking down complex plant molecules. We have a pathetic number of enzymes encoded in the human genome, so we must have extra microbes . In addition to helping us digest , the bacteria helps us in a variety of other ways. The bacteria in our nose , for example, make antibiotics that fight off the dangerous pathogens we sniff .

In order to co-exist with our internal flora own bacteria population , our immune system has to be able to tolerate myriad of harmless species , while attacking pathogens . Researchers are seeing that the microbiome itself guides the immune system to the proper balance. One way the immune system fights pathogens is with inflammation. Too much inflammation can be damaging , so we also have immune cells that produce inflammation-reducing signals. With their ability to contain unrestrained free radicals, antioxidant populations also support an inflammation fighting function.

Scientists are uncovering new links between our inner flora and our health. They’re also finding that many illnesses are accompanied by significant changes in the makeup of our inner ecosystems. For example people with asthma have a different population of microbes in their lungs than healthy people. Obese people also have a different set of species in their digestive tracts than people with normal weight.

Some surveys suggest that babies delivered by Caesarian section are more likely to get skin infections because they possibly lack the defensive covering of microbes from their mother’s birth canal. Caesarean sections have also been linked to an increase in asthma and allergies in children . So have the high use of antibiotics in the U.S. and other developed countries. Farm children — can pick up healthy exposure to microbes from the soil — are less prone to getting autoimmune disorders than their peers who grow up in cities.

We consistently underestimate the importance of microbes and bacteria to our health and our medical profession has been too quick to take out their pads of paper and write up prescriptions for antibiotics and synthetic drugs. Plant-based enzymes, healthy bacteria and natural support for our immune systems might be a more thoughtful route to take in the future if we want to change this trend.