Are all bacteria bad for you?

Humans expend a lot of effort to kill bacteria, but not all bacteria are bad. In fact, certain types of bacteria are keeping you alive at this very moment.

Of course, “bad” germs are responsible for pneumonia, food poisoning, strep throat and many other illnesses and infections. But these are only a few of the millions of different bacteria species, the great majority of which are harmless to people. In 1998, a scientist estimated there are a total of 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bacteria living on Earth. In fact, you are carrying around ten times more bacteria than actual body cells!

Your skin is covered with bacteria, despite how often you bathe. These frontline sentries actually prevent harmful germ varieties from invading your body. Food digestion would not be possible without the bacteria that live in your gut. These microbes assist in the breakdown of food and the absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Even harmful bacteria can have a beneficial impact: We need exposure to bad germs in order to build up resistance and fight disease. Many doctors believe our ever-growing obsession with cleanliness and sterilization is directly related to the increasing prevalence of allergies and asthma.