We have more microbes in our body than we have actual body cells. We are totally dependent on microbes, it’s a symbiotic relationship most of the time. Certain microbes are totally bad for us, and thus are called parasites because they have no benefit, only detriments. But the friendlies, as I call them, give us tons of benefits.
sauerkraut a good source for friendly bacteria
Gut flora (microbes in the small and large intestine) play a lot of different roles. They’re our first defense against the baddies and environmental toxins. Indeed, some microbes are being cultured and developed to clean up toxic waste dumps. They generate life-giving enzymes and vitamins, keep things clean, and they both digest a lot of what we eat, and a lot of the toxic by-products of digestion – so that we don’t have to.
Our friendlies are killed off by sugar, chlorinated tap water, overeating, many food additives, and the baddies. Our diets used to contain tons of pasteurized foods so we were constantly replacing them, but then Pasteur came along, made us hate and fear all bacteria indiscriminately, and now everything is pasteurized so we no longer get the friendlies regularly in our diets. And fermented foods went out of fashion, and once out of fashion, only education will bring it back.