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It's not something most of us want to think about on a daily basis, but the reality is that inside our bodies (and especially our digestive and intestinal tracts) we are filled with bacteria. Yes, you read that correctly - we are filled with bacteria. Trillions of these little critters help your body function properly, help you metabolize food and protect you from geting sick. And like most things on this planet, there are both good and bad stomach bacteria and pathogens.
Bad bacteria is Firmicutes bacteria, and Good bacteria is Bacteroidetes bacteria. Studies have shown (such as the ones at University of Washington in St Louis, Missouri) that the lean people in the study had a higher ratio of Bacteroidetes bacteria than the heavyweight individuals. The heavyweight people had a higher ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bugs. For example, Bacteroidetes microbes constituted only 5% of the obese people's gut flora, but 20% of the lean subjects' gut flora.
Unfortunately, in today's world millions of people are experiencing problems related to having too much bad bacteria in their gut. Bad diet, lack of sleep, antibiotics, drugs, and stress creates an environment where the bad bacteria flourish, and the good bacteria diminish.
So how can you increase the good bacteria and decrease the bad bacteria in your gut?
Perhaps the easiest way to increase the amount of good bacteria in your gut is to add fermented foods and drinks to your diet: probiotics, cultured vegetables, sauerkraut, kimchi.
Make them a regular part of your diet, and see if you can feel and see the difference!