How Microbiota Affects Our Immunity and Health
Our body is home to trillions of tiny organisms, known as microbiota. These include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and more. Most of them live in our gut, and they are super important for our health. They help our immune system, our metabolism, and keep our body’s barriers strong.
Growth of Immune Cells: The microbiota helps our immune cells grow and work well. These immune cells include dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells. Studies show that if we don’t have enough microbiota, the number of important T cells that fight off viruses can drop by as much as 50%.
Making Cytokines: Microbiota also encourages our body to produce cytokines, which are molecules that help control the immune response. Certain friendly gut bacteria help create a molecule called interleukin (IL)-10. This molecule helps keep our immune response from going overboard during infections.
The bacteria in our gut help keep our gut barrier healthy. A good microbiota makes short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate. These help strengthen the cells in our gut. A strong gut barrier prevents bad germs from entering our bloodstream. If this barrier gets weak, it can lead to infections. Research shows that when our gut is too permeable, it can cause serious infections, with death rates reaching 30-50% in severe cases like sepsis.
Competing for Space: The microbiota competes with harmful germs for space and nutrients in our gut. A study found that having good bacteria can lower the chances of getting C. difficile infections by up to 80%. The good bacteria push out the bad ones.
Creating Antimicrobials: Some gut bacteria produce special substances that fight off harmful germs. For example, Lactobacillus species create lactic acid, which makes the gut environment less friendly for many bad germs.
When the microbiota is not balanced, a condition called dysbiosis occurs. This imbalance can make us more vulnerable to infections. For example, antibiotics can kill off good bacteria, reducing microbiota diversity by up to 90%. This can lead to a higher risk of infections after antibiotic use—up to 2-5 times more in people with dysbiosis than in those with healthy microbiomes.
There is growing evidence that our gut microbiota may affect how well vaccines work. People with a more varied microbiome tend to have better antibody responses after getting vaccinated. A study showed that a diverse gut microbiota can lead to a 50% increase in successful responses to vaccines.
In short, the microbiota plays a big role in how we deal with infectious diseases. It helps modulate our immune system, keeps our gut barrier strong, competes with harmful germs, and maintains a healthy balance. Learning more about this can help us find new ways to support our microbiome and fight off infections better.
How Microbiota Affects Our Immunity and Health
Our body is home to trillions of tiny organisms, known as microbiota. These include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and more. Most of them live in our gut, and they are super important for our health. They help our immune system, our metabolism, and keep our body’s barriers strong.
Growth of Immune Cells: The microbiota helps our immune cells grow and work well. These immune cells include dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells. Studies show that if we don’t have enough microbiota, the number of important T cells that fight off viruses can drop by as much as 50%.
Making Cytokines: Microbiota also encourages our body to produce cytokines, which are molecules that help control the immune response. Certain friendly gut bacteria help create a molecule called interleukin (IL)-10. This molecule helps keep our immune response from going overboard during infections.
The bacteria in our gut help keep our gut barrier healthy. A good microbiota makes short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate. These help strengthen the cells in our gut. A strong gut barrier prevents bad germs from entering our bloodstream. If this barrier gets weak, it can lead to infections. Research shows that when our gut is too permeable, it can cause serious infections, with death rates reaching 30-50% in severe cases like sepsis.
Competing for Space: The microbiota competes with harmful germs for space and nutrients in our gut. A study found that having good bacteria can lower the chances of getting C. difficile infections by up to 80%. The good bacteria push out the bad ones.
Creating Antimicrobials: Some gut bacteria produce special substances that fight off harmful germs. For example, Lactobacillus species create lactic acid, which makes the gut environment less friendly for many bad germs.
When the microbiota is not balanced, a condition called dysbiosis occurs. This imbalance can make us more vulnerable to infections. For example, antibiotics can kill off good bacteria, reducing microbiota diversity by up to 90%. This can lead to a higher risk of infections after antibiotic use—up to 2-5 times more in people with dysbiosis than in those with healthy microbiomes.
There is growing evidence that our gut microbiota may affect how well vaccines work. People with a more varied microbiome tend to have better antibody responses after getting vaccinated. A study showed that a diverse gut microbiota can lead to a 50% increase in successful responses to vaccines.
In short, the microbiota plays a big role in how we deal with infectious diseases. It helps modulate our immune system, keeps our gut barrier strong, competes with harmful germs, and maintains a healthy balance. Learning more about this can help us find new ways to support our microbiome and fight off infections better.