We carry bacteria on and in us all the time.

Our bodies are an “all you can eat” buffet — a rich environment full of nutrients, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates that microbes need to feed on to grow. Because of this, we actually have more bacteria cells in and on our body than we do human cells. We are more bacterial than human!

And this is really a good thing.

Most bacteria have an important job in keeping us healthy.

They:

• Help us improve our immune system, and help it fight infection

• Generate energy and nutrients that our human cells can use

• Get rid of toxic chemicals from our body

• Help in food digestion

• Help us maintain a healthy skin and healthy intestine

Take a look at the human body.

Click on the different parts of a perfectly healthy human being, and find out what kind of bacteria grow there even when we are not sick!

They form part of our natural flora, and are what we call commensal bacteria.

Our friends and family, really!