If your bugs are missing you could be prone to many, many

[HysteryDiagnosis]

things, and if you know what this article is referring to, you probably already have taken some of these critters to address a health concern that you may have had. Some people only consider the need for such bacteria after having been on a string of antibiotics.... others realize that our antibiotic laden foods may make regular replenishing of these micro-organisms a necessity.

Personally, I wouldn't be without them, or products that contain them. You are made up of roughly 60 trillion cells, but you have potentially 100 trillion bacteria living in your gut... ask yourself how important are they, and what the effects could be when they are lacking or have been replaced by pathogenic bacteria instead.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16673007&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

1: Nat Clin Pract Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2006 May;3(5):275-84.Click here to read Links
Mechanisms of disease: the hygiene hypothesis revisited.

* Guarner F,
* Bourdet-Sicard R,
* Brandtzaeg P,
* Gill HS,
* McGuirk P,
* van Eden W,
* Versalovic J,
* Weinstock JV,
* Rook GA.

University Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. [e-mail]

In industrialized countries the incidence of diseases caused by immune dysregulation has risen. Epidemiologic studies initially suggested this was connected to a reduction in the incidence of infectious diseases; however, an association with defects in immunoregulation is now being recognized. Effector T(H)1 and T(H)2 cells are controlled by specialized subsets of regulatory T cells. Some pathogens can induce regulatory cells to evade immune elimination, but regulatory pathways are homeostatic and mainly triggered by harmless microorganisms. Helminths, saprophytic mycobacteria, bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which induce immunoregulatory mechanisms in the host, ameliorate aberrant immune responses in the setting of allergy and inflammatory bowel disease.

These organisms cause little, if any, harm, and have been part of human microecology for millennia; however, they are now less frequent or even absent in the human environment of westernized societies.

Deficient exposure to these 'old friends' might explain the increase in immunodysregulatory disorders. The use of probiotics, prebiotics, helminths or microbe-derived immunoregulatory vaccines might, therefore, become a valuable approach to disease prevention.

PMID: 16673007

[LaurenG]

1. Thanks for posting this

I take probiotics but I've never heard of prebiotics, helminths or microbe-derived immunoregulatory vaccines.

[applegrove]

Yup. They are giving dirt pills to kids these days. You need a little

garden in your person to be healthy.

[SmokingJacket]

3. Dirt pills? That's funny and sad.

Are there really kids who don't naturally play in dirt anymore? Sheesh. I could grow a garden on my filthy little boys.

[applegrove]

14. Some kids are inside most of the time. Even air doesn't get into the

modern house. There are not even little cracks anywhere.

There is lots some kids don't get.

I loved playing in dirt myself. Though I wasn't much of an eater of things.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Does yogurt help at all?

For some reason I've had the idea that yogurt replenishes (some of) the good bacteria.

[Richard Steele]

4. SOME, but not all.

Good organic LIVE-culture yogurt really helps
maintain the intestinal flora we need to stay
healthy. But probably less than one in one hundred
yogurt varieties fit those specs.

[bananas]

8. Whole-milk yogurt tastes the best!

And usually has at least 3 live kinds of bacteria.
"Brown Cow" is one brand.
There is a layer of yogurt cream on top, then the plain yogurt, then fruit on the bottom.
It can be weird the first time you see the solid yogurt cream, just mix it all together.

[SmokingJacket]

11. I love that stuff. Stonyfield farm plain whole yogurt is my

staff of life!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Some yogurt has live cultures.... but these cultures are

somewhat limited to Lactobacillus Acidophilus I believe. If you look at some of the exotic probiotic supplements out there, you would be amazed at the species/genus of bugs that we should harbor within.


http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/pro_0034.shtml
DESCRIPTION

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, including Lactobacillus species, Bifidobacterium species and yeasts, that may beneficially affect the host upon ingestion by improving the balance of the intestinal microflora. The dietary use of live microorganisms has a long history. Mention of cultured dairy products is found in the Bible and the sacred books of Hinduism. Soured milks and cultured dairy products, such as kefir, koumiss, leben and dahi, were often used therapeutically before the existence of microorganisms was recognized. The use of microorganisms in food fermentation is one of the oldest methods for producing and preserving food. Much of the world depends upon various fermented foods that are staples in the diet.

Élie Metchnikoff, the father of modern immunology, spoke highly about the possible health benefits of the lactic acid-bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in his writings at the turn of the last century. He wrote in his book, The Prolongation of Life, that consumption of live bacteria, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, in the form of yogurt was beneficial for gastrointestinal health, as well as for health in general, and for longevity. Some recent research suggests that certain live microorganisms may have immunomodulatory and anticarcinogenic effects, as well as other health benefits. There is presently much active research focusing on the development of target-specific probiotics containing well-characterized bacteria that are selected for their health-enhancing characteristics. These new probiotics are entering the marketplace in the form of nutritional supplements and functional foods, such as yogurt functional food products.

The gastrointestinal tract represents a complex ecosystem in which a delicate balance exists between the intestinal microflora and the host. The microflora are principally comprised of facultative anaerobes and obligate anaerobes. Approximately 95% of the intestinal bacterial population in humans is comprised of obligate anaerobes, including Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Eubacterium, Fusobacterium, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus and Bacteroides. Approximately 1% to 10% of the intestinal population is comprised of facultative anaerobes, including Lactobacillus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus and Bacillus. Aerobic organisms are not present in the intestinal tract of healthy individuals with the exception of Pseudomonas, which is present in very small amounts. Most of the bacteria are present in the colon where the bacterial concentration ranges between 1011 to 1012 colony-forming units (CPU) per milliliter.

[silverweb]

6. Interesting that you should post this just now.

I just learned late last night about helminthic (worm) therapy with Trichuris suis, a type of pig hookworm, that is making an incredible difference in the lives of people with inflammatory bowel diseases. Oddly, though, I'm finding extremely scant information in the literature on this -- perhaps because Big Pharma has a lock on their drug treatments (and more drugs to battle the side effects of the drugs) and is suppressing helminthic therapy research?

During the past 75 years, industrialized nations have increased hygiene and reduced exposure to various types of microorganisms. People left farms and migrated to urban areas, donned shoes, erected cement walkways, and structured the landscape to eliminate any environmental exposure to bacteria and microorganisms in the belief that all were harmful. Crohn's disease was first recognized in the Jewish populations of New York City in the 1930s but soon surfaced in other ethnic groups and countries around the world. Over time, scientists noted an increase in other disorders of the immune systems, including multiple sclerosis, allergies, and type 1 diabetes.

_source article_

Fascinating stuff. Over sanitizing and over synthesizing our lives has been unwise, indeed. Mother Nature can be a bitch sometimes, but I believe she still knows best!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. A couple of papers for you......

or you can do your own searching at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed

The following link references can be found at this link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16965284&query_hl=10&itool=pubmed_docsum

Related Links

* Helminths, human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis. PMID: 11525348
* Causality or coincidence: may the slow disappearance of helminths be responsible for the imbalances in immune control mechanisms? PMID: 12756068
* Can worms defend our hearts? Chronic helminthic infections may attenuate the development of cardiovascular diseases. PMID: 15780483
* Regulation of allergy and autoimmunity in helminth infection. PMID: 14755074
* Epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases: the global picture. PMID: 2289300
* See all Related Articles...



1: Parasite Immunol. 2006 Oct;28(10):483-96. Links
Immune modulation by helminthic infections: worms and viral infections.

* Kamal SM,
* El Sayed Khalifa K.

Departments of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Ain Shams Faculty of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.

Helminthic infections occur worldwide, especially in developing countries. About one-quarter of the world's population, 1.5 billion, are infected with one or more of the major soil-transmitted helminths, including hookworms, ascarids, and whipworms. Schistosomes infect more than 200 million people worldwide with 600 million at risk in 74 countries. The interaction between helminths and the host's immune system provokes particular immunomodulatory and immunoregulatory mechanisms that ensure their survival in the host for years. However, these changes might impair the immunological response to bystander bacterial, viral, and protozoal pathogens and to vaccination. Modulation of the immune system by infection with helminthic parasites is proposed to reduce the levels of allergic responses and to protect against inflammatory bowel disease. In this review, we summarize the immunological milieu associated with helminthic infections and its impact on viral infections, mainly hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus in humans and experimental animals.

PMID: 16965284

[silverweb]

9. Thanks!

I have to get to work, but I'll look at these later on. Fascinating!

[SmokingJacket]

12. Wow, bizarre.

Seems that *something* has been causing an increase of allergies and asthma.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. You don't have to tell me.

I lost ten years of my life due to a doctor's stupid prescription of PCE to cure mycoplasma pnemonia. It probably would have only been one year, if the medical profession hadn't kept sending me down a wild goose chase to cover up the first doctor's mistake.

[xchrom]

13. my father produced an aggressive strain of c-diff

in his gut after using anti-biotics to treat pneumonia.

it took over 6 months of prolonged antibiotics in order to bring it back under control.

though c-diff lives in our gut -- it can become hyperactive and has become resistant to treatment.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

15. Does it not compete with other more benign/beneficial bacteria

for a place to live?? I hope this technology continues on, what better way to get rid of bad bacteria such as these than to starve them out.

1: J Food Prot. 2006 Jul;69(7):1675-9. Links
Adhesion properties and competitive pathogen exclusion ability of bifidobacteria with acquired acid resistance.

* Collado MC,
* Gueimonde M,
* Sanz Y,
* Salminen S.

Functional Foods Forum, University of Turku, Itainen Pitkakatu 4A 5th Floor, FIN 20520, Turku, Finland.

The adhesion properties of Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium catenulatum strains with an acquired resistance to acid and their ability to competitively exclude Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterobacter sakazakii, and Clostridium difficile from adhering to human intestinal mucus were evaluated and compared with the results when the same experiments were run with the original acid-sensitive strains. In half of the four studied cases, the acid-resistant derivative showed a greater ability to adhere to human intestinal mucus than the original strain. The ability of bifidobacteria to inhibit pathogen adhesion to mucus was not generally improved by the acquisition of acid resistance. In contrast, three of the four acid-resistant strains showed a greater ability to displace preadhered pathogens than the original strains, especially preadhered Salmonella Typhimurium and C. difficile. Overall, the induction of acid resistance in bifidobacteria could be a strategy when selecting strains with enhanced stability and improved surface properties that favor their potential functionality as probiotics against specific pathogens.

PMID: 16865903

[xchrom]

16. c-. difficile lives in our gut.

and somehow certain anti-bitics creates this imbalance -- therby allowing c-diff to over compete{?} and it's very difficult to bring balance back into the gut with more benign methods.

[pansypoo53219]

17. oy

so far i am lucky. i hate yogurt. but when i infrequently do antibiotics, i never have much problems. but then i eat what falls on the floor. and cleaning is minimal.
and i have cats.
i may need antibiotics once a year at the most. usually less.

[dflprincess]

18. Makes sense

I saw a Nova program once where they said that improved sanitation was actually one of the causes of polio outbreaks. Apparently, the germ lives in dirt and at one time most people were exposed to it in small doses and had milder cases of the disease that were diagnosed as bad colds or sometimes scarlet fever. It also was probably the reason polio outbreaks were worse in cities, where kids were less apt to be playing in the dirt.

[Berry Cool]

19. I was just thinking about that. Polio is also waterborne

and in the days when kids--especially country kids--were more likely to swim in natural water than in sanitized pools, they used to be exposed to all kinds of bugs from hanging out in the old swimmin' hole. They developed resistance to these bugs that later kids, who had swum only in pools, did not get exposed to (unless someone dirtied a diaper in the water!) and thus did not develop resistance to. Hence, the huge polio epidemic of the fifties that had mothers keeping their kids away from pools and all public places for fear of exposing them to it.

People were talking about yogurt--well, acidophilus is necessary for a healthy vaginal tract and when you don't have enough of it, that's what makes for yeast infections. Best, fastest, cheapest cure in the world for a yeast infection--especially if you don't want to build up the yeast's resistance to powerful (and expensive) antibiotics--is plain yogurt with acidophilus. Some prefer to eat it and wait for it to reach its destination that way; others prefer to apply it directly to the problem. Either way, it works.

[dflprincess]

20. I used yogurt for a persistanct yeast infection

I had when I was in college. After going with the prescription medication for two or three months, a friend suggested I try yogurt. And, I ate and applied it directly (at least the applicator I got with the prescription was good for something). The infection cleared up in a couple days and didn't come back.

[Warpy]

22. I lived in the city and I played in the dirt

and I had polio when I was two and a half.

It WAS a mild case, though.

[Warpy]

21. This is another reason not to demand antibiotics

unless you're really in trouble, although most illnesses should be checked out and blood work done to confirm just what it is that has you laid low.

It's why children who have spent their lives in the US getting antibiotics for every viral ear infection have much weaker immune systems than immigrant children who did not. Antibiotics kill the normal flora in our guts as well as the bugs that have made us sick.

A good precaution if you're taking antibiotics is to eat lots of yougurt during the course. Just make sure it's a yogurt with live cultures--read the label. Treatment with the other probiotics may be a part of antibiotic treatment in the future.

[Odin2005]

23. The "cleansliness is next to Godliness" BS is the cause in other words.

"anti-microbial" is just the latest gimmick taking advantage of modern society's obsession with things having to be be immaculately clean. It's no wonder we are having an increase in allergies. When cleaning all you should need (unless you need something strong to get a really tough spot) is soap and water, all this anti-microbial/disinfectant stuff is overkill.