I heard a fascinating discussion last night on the National Public Radio show “On Point” about the human biome.  The blurb is below – but I am not sure how to pick up the podcast.  They even talked about the interactions of newborns with the bacteria in the vaginal canal – specifically, there appears to be a rise in lactobacillus just before birth, which would have a key role in enhancing the digestion of mother’s milk.  The theory is that the infant gets coated with the bacteria, which either later get on to the mother’s breast and/or into the infants digestive track, to facilitate lactose metabolism.  The went on to speculate that the rise in lactose intolerance could be associated with the rise in Caesarian deliveries and/or the increased focus on aseptic environments.  And of course on a larger scale, the increasing use of antibiotics and antiseptics around homes could be associated with the increase in asthma and other early childhood allergies and problems.  Great stuff!!! 
 
Your Inner Ecosystem
Trillions of bacteria live in our bodies.  They outnumber our human cells, 10 to 1.  So who’s in charge?  What are we?

Bacteria under a microscope.
Maybe you thought your body was a noble castle poised against the onslaughts and invasions of the world.  Well, think again.  It turns out, we are the world.  Our bodies are loaded with a jungle of microbial life, inside and out, that is essential to healthy life.
New science has found ten times as many bacteria cells as human cells in and on the human body.  A load of microbes that work with us from the moment of birth in all kinds of key ways.  Killing them off, avoiding them, may make us sick.  Make us fat.
This hour, On Point:  Microbes are us.  The amazing full ecology of the human body.
-Tom Ashbrook
 
Frank J. Nice, RPh, DPA, CPHP

  		 	   		  
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