The Importance of Microbes
The Importance of Microbes
At a recent conference I attended a session about microbes and asthma. The discussion however, focussed a lot more on the importance of microbes and our immune system. Here were some of the highlights and thoughts that arose from this session that have me thinking twice about the use of antibiotics! But before we start, here’s some helpful definitions:
Microbes: an extremely small living thing that can only be seen with a microscope (eg. bacteria, fungus)
Microbiota: the community of microbes living in or on the body
- There are more microbe cells than human cells on our bodies!
- A mother’s microbiotia is what influences her child’s microbiotia; children born vaginally have similar gut bacteria as their mother, whereas children born by c-section have gut bacteria that more closely resembles the mother’s skin
- Gut bacteria can be changed by diet (ie: good foods promote and feed the good bacteria)
- Using antibiotics has a tremendous impact on our microbiota; looking at a child’s stool can tell scientists if they’ve ever been on antibiotics
- The average child gets 10-12 courses of antibiotics by the age of 5
- Recent research has suggested that our microbiota plays a role in how our immune system functions
- It is possible that antibiotic use has made some of our microbes “endangered species”, or perhaps, even extinct
- If a species of microbes goes extinct, can we ever get them back?
- Is it possible that the loss or change in these microbe populations is one of the reasons we have a rise in asthma, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease or Type 1 diabetes in Canada?
Hmmmm….some food for thought. Please see our Family Medicine “Links” page on the website for a site that discusses viruses vs bacteria. Viral infections do not respond to antibiotics and using these medications during these infections not only destroys our microbiota, but promotes antibiotic resistance in the microbe population! Let’s use these medications responsibly and together, we can keep our guts and our community healthy!
Written by: Dr. Allison Adamus
