Be nice to your bacteria and it'll be nice to you

1.    Churnin, Nancy. (2013, September 30).  Health:  Be nice to your bacteria and it’ll be nice to you.  Albuquerque Journal, C4.

2.    Category of problem:  Health

3.    Level of problem:  National level

4.    The article concerns:  Studies by Rob Dunn, a biology professor at North Carolina State University, and others, are showing that certain bacteria from probiotics are promoting better health for individuals.

5.    Why is this important to families / individuals OR how does it affect individuals / families?

a.    Many people suffer from one form of gastrointestinal malady or another.  The studies are showing that people affected by Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease and other digestive, mental and even arthritic diseases may benefit from the introduction of probiotics into their diet.  Other studies are looking into the possibility of probiotics helping people with weight regulation and stress, plus limiting the amount of antibiotics to treat diseases.

6.    What are your views on the issue / policy?

a.    I have known people with severe intestinal disorders who have to plan around their day’s activities to prepare for a gut flare up of some sort.  The mother of a friend I played softball with growing up had Crohn’s disease.  She either had to be close to a bathroom during our many games, or miss them altogether because of the disease.  She would have probably benefited from this research on probiotics where ‘healthy’ bacteria are consumed to offset the harmful bacteria that kept her body out of balance in the first place.  Our bodies are mysterious mechanisms that fight every day to maintain our health despite the many bad things we put inside ourselves.  Even though probiotics and healthy bacteria is nothing new, the thought that of taking a pill or receiving an injection to put ourselves back into a ‘normal’ state is exciting.  As some of these studies point out, harmful bacteria may be behind stress-related sicknesses such as heart attacks and strokes, as well as mental disorders like schizophrenia.  If that is the case, then the future of controlling these syndromes with the introduction of a bacteria that fends off the effects of some damaging bacteria lurking in our body should be exciting to everyone.  Doctors are usually very eager to prescribe antibiotics for just about every disease there is, and the effects of long-term antibiotic use are showing that their value may be diminishing according to other studies.  If that is the case, then studying the benefits of probiotics and other bacteria would seem to be the place to put research money.  I don’t think this is the ‘fountain-of-youth’ cure for everything, but if these bacteria can extend, or, at least, make our lives better, then testing and making it available for the masses seems like a worth idea.