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The Intestinal Universe—Full of Gut Heroes Who Need Sidekicks

2019; Frontiers Media; Volume: 7; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3389/frym.2019.00111

2296-6846

Bahtiyar Yılmaz, Joana Christina Carvalho, Marta S. P. Marialva,

Historical and modern epidemiology studies

You are not, and will never be, alone. A multitude of friends that you cannot see with the naked eye, but who help to keep you healthy, live in your body. They are the bacterial heroes in your most heavily colonized organ, your intestines, living together with gut villains in a fragile balance that, when disturbed, can lead to sickness. This was the case for a young boy born with an abnormally short intestine that allowed unusual overgrowth of gut villains. This boy’s disease symptoms persisted even when he took antibiotics (substances that kill bacteria). Only when he was given probiotics—bacterial sidekicks that help to balance good and bad intestinal bacteria—was his health restored. Although this study proved that probiotics can bring our good health back in the context of gut bacterial fights, we should never forget to take care of our intestinal heroes: eat healthy foods and exercise regularly.