1.    What are gut bacteria Our bodies are crawling with bacteria!  In the gastro-intestinal tract alone (starting with the mouth and ending at the anus) there are trillions of microorganisms, about 2kg worth of bacteria,  lining this 8m long tube.  And rightly so, as they are doing an excellent job in keeping us healthy. 2.    The role of gut bacteria So how do these bacteria contribute to our health?  The beneficial bacteria, also known as a healthy microbiome, play a vital role in our survival, as they provide a natural physical barrier along the gut wall, to keep it impermeable, and thus to protect us from harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, toxins and other contaminants in the our food and drink.

The use of a plastic tongue scraper following the morning and evening ritual of brushing teeth and flossing, is of great benefit to both children and adults.  While asleep at night,  bacteria accumulates on one’s tongue from nose- and sinus drips.  These bacteria then divide rapidly and re-infect the nose and sinuses.  By regular scraping of your tongue, both mornings and evenings, one can reduce this load of bacteria on the tongue, and thus with time, sinus- and post nasal drip is greatly benefited. Tongue scraping is more effective than brushing ones tongue with a toothbrush, as this largely only moves bacteria around in one’s mouth, and before long it accumulates on the tongue again. Tongue scraping is ideal to

Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections.  Antibiotics have no effect on viruses.  So often however, antibiotics are prescribed for viral infections, such as the common cold or flu, or when patients are just fed up with all the symptoms of viral infections, such as, coughing, sinusitis, sore throats and some ear and eye infections.  Often GP’s feel pressurized by patients to prescribe these “wonder, cure all antibiotics”, even though they know they will not actually help the patient. The frequent inappropriate use of antibiotics, has lead to the development of more and more antibiotic resistant bugs, with many of the common antibiotic drugs becoming increasingly ineffective.  Bacteria can adapt and develop defence mechanisms against an antibiotic, and in this way become

Research over the last decade and more has shown that the human body is not nearly as self-sufficient as we always thought – instead it is a complex ecosystem, containing trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit our skin, genital areas, mouth and especially our gut.  Bacterial cells (friendly bacteria) in the human body outnumber human cells 10 to one!  This microbiome – this mixed community of bacteria and microorganisms and the genes they contain – is of no threat to us, but rather offers vital help with basic physiological processes, like digestion, growth and self-defense. Source : Scientific American May 2012