The idea that humans have power over our health has a long history in American popular culture. We tend to believe we are the masters of our own destiny and can solve the problems of our internal workings according to our will, power of positive thinking, upbeat attitude or a fighting spirit however we cannot ignore our living environment and the organisms that co-exist among us. As it turns out, we share our bodies with an unimaginably vast array of organisms that seem to play a substantial role in our well-being.
Both in and on our body, there are 10 bacterial cells for every single human cell. This collection of organisms that inhabit the human body is referred to as the microbiome and accounts for nearly 2% of our total body weight. Trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms are thriving on our skin, genital areas, mouth, and especially intestines. (Ackerman, 2012) It is estimated that there are more than one thousand species that make up this community living in the digestive system alone.
When we think of microbes in the body, we tend to think of bacteria that causes disease or germs that make us sick. Biologist, Sarkis K. Mazmanian believes we focused on the harmful bugs because they are foreign enemies that invade our bodies throughout our life and indifferent to seeing them as part of us and allying to learn more about them.
Newborns may begin life as sterile creatures however the moment we passed through our mother’s birth canal, we inherited mom’s commensal cells, which then begin to multiply. Sterile life as we knew it in the womb ends with the first touch, feedings, hospital blankets, and kisses from excited family members that contributes to an expanding new population of microbes.
As we are increasingly becoming aware, this microbiome plays a crucial role in our ability to live. Scientists have been working to understand the nature of the