Is Human Body made of / for Bacteria !

We usually think that bacteria is harmful but this notion will change after reading this article. If you are reading such information for the very first time then you might be surprised to know that your body is full of bacteria, but some people still think that bacteria harm them. If you really care about your body then you must know about bacteria in detail to keep yourself healthy. A general thinking about bacteria is that they are the disease causing agents for our body. But the truth is that most of the bacteria are good, and only a few percent are bad bacteria which are responsible for causing disease.

Good Bacteria vs Bad Bacteria

Some researchers say that human body have 10 times bacteria than the number of cells in human body. However some new researches has decreased this ratio but still the estimated count of bacterial cells in human body is more than number of human cells. There are 30 trillion human cells in the body of an average human being. Out of them 84% are RBC (Red Blood Cells). A research done at Weizmann Institute in Israel found that there are 39 trillion bacterial cells in body. Fungi, viruses and archaea present in our body are not counted in these bacterial cells. The range of these bacterial cells range from 30 to 50 trillion in different individuals depending on their gender and lifestyle. It simply means that we have got more bacterial cells than our own cells.

This research confirms that our body is host for a large range of bacteria. Usually we think of our body as a single entity, which is complete in itself. But the truth is just opposite. Our body is incomplete if it does not act as a host to numerous other microorganisms. Bacteria is a major part of these microorganisms residing in or body without our knowledge. Our whole body and metabolism is dependent on these bacteria to function properly.

Bacteria digest our Food : Our mouth, stomach, intestine and complete digestive system is full of bacteria and these bacteria are responsible for digesting the food that we eat. We can't get full nutrition in absence of these bacteria.
Bacteria develops Immune System: Our outer skin is full of bacteria and they help in developing immune system. If they are not there from beginning then our immune system can't fight with any invasive harmful bacteria.
Bacteria is first layer of defense: Our outer skin is full of bacteria. More than 200 species of bacteria reside there. They don't let any other harmful bacteria reside on our skin. We get infected with any bad bacteria only if it crosses that first layer of defense, which are good bacteria residing on our skin.

Some bacteria are useful in one organ but harmful in other. Its best example is E-Coli which causes UTI. This bacteria is meant for intestine, but if it migrates to urinary tract then it causes harmful infection. Similarly Staph bacteria resides on our skin without causing any harm, but if it gets inside through any cut or compromised immune system then it may cause infection. Every bacteria in our body is meant for a specific location and has a specific function to perform.
Note: Some studies have shown that those children who are kept in fully sanitized environment are more prone to asthma and other allergies.
So think twice before you have any antibiotic to treat a minor disease. Facts about antibiotics and bacteria

You must have heard that humans are a social being and need good coordination with our friends, relatives and society to live a good life. But what most of us don't know is that we have got a similar population living inside us in the bacterial form and a proper balance among them is necessary to live a healthy life. In reality we are more bacteria than human.
It won't be wrong to say that human body is made up of bacteria and made for bacteria. Some of the bacteria present inside body can't survive outside our body as the environment outside is not suitable for them.