The war of the bacteria…may the best ones win!

Microbiology has recorded approximately 400 different types of bacteria which can inhabit our bodies. While half of them can seriously harm us, the others are natural allies of a body in good health.

Sometimes the difference between these various types is quite small, but they all have a role to play, be it good or bad. Just as in living soil, which can contain one billion micro organisms per gram, the count in our intestinal flora is tenfold or more, depending on the diversity of our diet, our heredity and the individual's body.

A century ago certain bacteria were identified as being the most dangerous: clostridium butylicum, c. difficile, coliform, streptococci and staphylococci are said to basically develop in a body which is already weakened by sickness, unless they themselves are the cause. The majority of the bacteria colonize the mucosa and even our skin surface; however, they are really partial to the intestines, since this is their most fertile breeding ground. At the same time, this is also where the greatest number of different strains of "friendly" bacteria reside. At the small intestine level we find mainly lactobacilli such as acidophilus, caseinate, brevibacterium, plantarum, rhamnosus and salivarius, while in the large intestine we find primarily the bifidobacterium bifidum and infantis in children and the b. breve and the b. longum in adults.

In all traditional, empirical healing, yogurt and fermented milk are in the forefront of "food source remedies" against bacterial infections of intestinal origin.

Today, hundreds of research projects all over the world prove the importance of probiotics for optimal health; the fact is that they are of invaluable help in cases of acute infections. To prove the point, most European doctors prescribe probiotic remedies after each course of antibiotics, which are much less systematic as compared to North America and the numbers prove it. Here in Québec, Rosell Laboratories have done marvellous research and developed products based on "friendly" bacteria that have held many infections in check and have undoubtedly saved lives.

If you decide to go through a course of conventional antibiotics, it is recommended that you not take probiotics at the same time, since they may cancel each other out (antibiotic means "against life", whereas probiotic means "for life", naturally). But, you can still benefit from them if you take them after lunch, for example. In any case, after a massive course of antibiotics, it is advised to take a complex of 6 to 10 billion "friendly" bacteria after each meal for 10 to 30 consecutive days. Furthermore, even benign disorders such as mouth sores or a sore throat can be cured by applying the powder from a capsule up to three times a day, at the appropriate dosage indicated on the bottle, even in children. Probiotics are also recommended for the prevention of colitis, chronic problems with the immune system and for obvious reasons these days, especially before a hospital stay. Specific formulations are also available that do not require refrigeration. These are ideal for travel to the south where intestinal disorders are quite common.

Even if no bacterium or antibiotic is altogether useless, our choice is clear: for your long-term wellbeing and ours, we prefer to recommend and take "friendly" bacteria!

Anny Schneider
Herbalist and Naturopath