Jack Gilbert

Dirt for the immune is beneficial, especially for children. When people are introduced to bacteria from a young age, they develop a more robust immune system than those living in sterile households.

Healthy Children Become Healthy Adults

Did you ever think about the health of your parents and grandparents? Most of them were and are firm and do not have so many allergies to cats, dust, or pollen. Why does it happen? A few decades ago, people were not so crazy about sanitary conditions. They ate apples from trees or picked from the ground. Nobody washed strawberries or vegetables. The visible dirt was removed from food, and it is all. They ate it without consequences.

In cities, people got more problems compared to in the countryside. However, children who had contact with dogs and played with dirt anywhere developed a more robust immune system compared with their well-being than it is now.

Dirt For Immune System Is Good

Having contact with the soil keeps the immune system more vital. The immune system can adapt. When exposed to various microorganisms, the immune system becomes more robust. Significantly children benefit from it. Exposure to farm animals and multiple plants reduces the risk to become allergic.

The authors of Dirt Is Good to recommend parents let children play in the dirt. I can imagine how it can be scary for moms who carry unique napkins to protect children from germs.

The sterile environment is suitable for labs, not for the real world. To prepare for various encounters with germs immune system must be ready for it.

The immune system develops a protective mechanism during its lifetime. Primarily, it is essential for children. Here is an excerpt from the book Dirt Is Good written by Jack Gilbert, Ph.D., and Rob Knight, Ph.D.:

One way to ensure that your baby or toddler will be able to control inflammation is to expose them to a diverse bacterial world. This exposure trains their immune system to identify self versus nonself, and it also increases the chance that they’ll have bacteria that help keep inflammation in check.

Conclusion

Living in a world that exposes you to various bacteria is helpful for the immune system. Children benefit the most. The immune system expects microbes to come in. Having them around, children get more robust because the immune system develops continuously. The clean air, contact with farm animals, and soil can help build a strong immune system. It works for adults too.

Disclaimer

When you hear the words beneficial bacteria human body, what first comes to mind? The gut? Yes, you are right. The stomach is famous nowadays. Little friends and occupants of bowels share some fame too.

You would think about what is disgusting? Not for me because I saw plenty of animal guts. Besides it, I experienced the benefits of the well-behaving microbiome, and I was punished when I spoiled them.

What do I mean? Trader Joe’s Belgian chocolate, croissants, and plenty of bread from the bakery do not feel cozy in my gut. Why? Till now, I learned that it is better to enjoy these goodies in moderation, with very little restraint.

You would think, who cares about this bacteria? You would watch if you dug into this fascinating world.

I think about bacteria in the gut of individuals with character and the need to be told how to behave. If we did not control what we eat and take care of our bodies, we would experience rebelling and turmoil from the microbiome.

Food’s Influence

I knew that we are what we eat. It is right in every area of interaction with food. Researchers found out that gut bacteria can ferment fiber. From fiber, metabolites called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced.

Interestingly, insulin-producing cells can sense SCFAs in the gut. It seems that these cells like it. Insulin secretion increases when SCFAs are abundant in the body.

What has it shared with the food? Oral probiotics such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and fiber intake nourish SCFAs-producing bacteria. The fermentation increases, and it leads to SCFA production.

According to scientists Jack Gilbert, Ph.D. and Rob Knight, Ph.D., the adaptation of diet and the usage of probiotics can make a difference in insulin secretion. It means less diabetes and more happy individuals.

The Impact of Beneficial Bacterias For Human Body

Microbes in the gut are responsible for our well-being. It means that beneficial bacteria can

affect mental health
help lose weight
boost and shape the immune system
affect growth and development in children
improve digestion and absorption of food
reverse allergies
reduce ear infections
help with diarrhea
control the child’s weight after changing the microbiome
lower levels of chemical bisphenol A called BPA
help deal with depression

These benefits are just a part of the bigger picture. Why? Because scientists continuously find something exciting about gut bacteria. They see connections between the gut and brain. They see microbiome involvement in celiac disease and diabetes.

Conclusion

It is okay to be exposed to the dirt. It is especially essential for babies and children. Microbes allow the body to strengthen the immune system and grow inside the gut healthy and beneficial bacteria. The sterile environment is harmful because we do not learn how to protect ourselves from invaders. Thanks to the contact with dirt, the body becomes resistant to the foes and invaders. Children who have contact with dogs, play outside, and roll in the meadow or dig the soil, do not become sick.

According to Jack Gilbert and Rob Knight, both are Ph.D., the dirt is good.

Do you have any thoughts? Please leave a comment below. I would be glad to answer.

Update from the source of McGill University

There is some excellent news about the benefits of bacteria in the gut. Scientists made the study with fruit flies. Do you know these disappointing creatures which pop from nowhere and quadruple every minute? These flies were fed with a combination of probiotics and the herbal supplement called Triphala. They found out that flies longevity increased at sixty percent, and protection from chronic diseases associated with aging was remarkable.

Satya Prakash, the professor of biomedical engineering insMcgill’s Faculty of Medicine and senior author of the study, emphasizes the importance of microbiome health to the whole human body. Foods are metabolized better and more efficiently in the gut, thanks to the influence of probiotics.

You know that there is a connection between the gut and brain. It is called the gut-brain axis. Brain activity depends on the quality of the microbiome. If we have healthy bacteria in the stomach, we do not experience irritable bowel syndrome, neurodegeneration, or depression.

Fruit flies have similarities with mammals at seventy percent regarding their biochemical pathways. There is a suggestion that a diet with antibiotics can benefit from a healthy and long life. Sounds nice.