Good Bacteria vs. Bad Bacteria

When we think of bacteria we think of evil germs that grow inside of us and make us sick. But that’s only half the definition. True, some bacteria is harmful for the immune system and can cause fatal diseases, but the majority of bacteria is completely harmless, or even good and beneficial for our bodies. And while we try and eliminate bad bacteria with antibiotics, we should try our hardest to befriend good bacteria, especially when it comes to colon and intestinal health. .

It should be one of your health goals to increase your intake of good bacteria. If your body (especially your intestines) gets deprived of all bacteria (good and bad) then the good won’t be able to fight off diseases. So how can you boost your good bacteria numbers?

The best way to get good bacteria into your intestines is to eat it! It’s that easy—probiotics contain live AB cultures (bacteria) that increase intestinal good bacteria. By consuming things like yogurt, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, tempeh, and other probiotic-infused foods, you’ll get a healthy shot of bacteria that will help level out good/bad bacteria levels in your body.

Probiotics are one way to introduce good bacteria to your body; prebiotics are another. Prebiotics are found in foods with significant amounts of dietary fiber and encourage the already present good bacteria in the colon to grow and become more effective.

Bad bacteria, on the other hand, is something you’ll want to stay away from. Instead of aiding healthy digestion and better absorption of nutrients in the body, like good bacteria do, bad bacteria do the exact opposite. If you’ve got an excess of bad bacteria is your intestines, your likely to face constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome. Antibiotics can help kill some of the bacteria. Buy Cipro, or another general antibiotic to help reduce bad bacteria and bring the good/bad ratio back to a healthy level.