Good Bacteria And Why They Impact Our Well-being In A Major Way

New research into the microbiome – the trillions of tiny ‘bugs’ hosted by your body that help you stay healthy and happy – is changing the way science approaches everything from depression to heart health.

- Liz Krieger

Our bodies are teeming with good bacteria, which hang out mostly in the intestines but also in other nooks and crannies. Think of them as having two main jobs: to safeguard your health by crowding out the relatively few ‘bad’ bacteria, and to digest foods that your body can’t otherwise break down. You pick up these critters from your daily interactions with the world – things you touch deposit microbes on your skin or in your eyes, and bacteria in foods you eat take up residence in your gut. You were also gifted certain healthy bacteria as you were being born or via your mother’s breast milk, and these become a key part of your total microbiome.

While this field of research is relatively new and scientists don’t have all the answers, read on to find out what we do know – and what you can do to keep this army of flora working to make sure everything in your body is running smoothly.

explore the wonders of YOUR MICROBIOME

Some findings are preliminary, but here are a few leads scientists are chasing down about the ways in which these bugs work in your body

MOOD MANAGEMENT

There is a strong link between your gut flora and your mood, which doctors are starting to figure out. Scientists have found potentially striking links between anxiety and depression and gut bacteria, notes rheumatologist Dr Martin Kriegel. In one preliminary study, when anxious mice were given gut bacteria from mice that were not anxious they experienced less anxiety, as well as changes in their brain chemistry. In another small study, 40 people with depression were divided into two groups; at the end of eight weeks, the group given probiotics experienced a decrease in depression compared with the people who took a placebo.