You may have been taught, or sold on the idea by advertising, that all bacteria are bad for you. The truth is that our bodies depend upon a vast team of bacteria and other microorganisms to survive. This is called our microbiome (fancy word for all those little microorganisms that are a part of us). You have probably heard a lot about your gut microbiome and how gut probiotics can help you live a much healthier life.
Out with the bad and in with the good!
Well, your mouth has an oral microbiome and it is actually where your gut starts, if you think about it. Restoring and maintaining a healthy oral microbiome is a very, very important part of keeping healthy and even happy. An unhealthy mouth is associated with many maladies from heart disease to diabetes and even Alzhiemers.
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria–if you break down the word to “pro” and “biotics” you get “good for life.” In fact, probiotics have been best defined as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.”
Increasingly over the past years, researchers have come to understand the critical importance of an active, healthy and balanced microbiome or microbiota–fancy words for the community of microorganisms that are a part of our body space and survival team.
Without doubt our lives and lifespans have improved dramatically with the discovery of role that “bad” bacteria play in disease and infection. And we all appreciate value of cleanliness and modern sanitation in our daily lives. But whether it is the advertising pitch of cleaning products or the over use of antibiotics in our food and lives, the idea that all bacteria is BAD and must be wiped out is a very poor and even dangerous idea.
Man needs an active and balanced ecology of bacteria both internally and externally in order to live well and to be healthy. The lack, or imbalance of bacteria, can lead to severe health problems. This has become fairly well understood and accepted when talking about the gut and digestive system but it is also true for just about every part of your body–and especially your oral cavity which has its own critically important microbiome to preserve.
