Zeitschrift für Ernährung und Lebensmittelwissenschaften
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Bank on Microbiome to keep the Body Healthy

Arvind Diwan*, Sanjay Harke

Generally our human body contains large number of bacteria, viruses and fungi and they are collectively known as the microbiome community. While some bacteria are associated with disease, others are actually very important for strengthening of our immune system, proper functioning of the body organs including heart, maintenance of body weight and many other aspects of health. Trillions of these microbes exist in our body system particularly in the intestines and skin. Most of the microbes are associated in the large intestine in the form of a pocket called the cecum, and they are referred to as the gut microbiome. Although many different types of microbes are present in our body, however most of the studies have been carried on bacterial composition of the digestive gut system. In fact, there are several reports that the human body contains more number of bacterial cells than the actual human cell counts. It has been estimated that roughly 40 trillion bacterial cells are present in our body whereas human cells counts are around 30 trillion. Scientists all over the world have reported about 1,000 species of bacteria in the human gut microbiome, and each of them plays a different role in the body. Most of them are extremely important for maintaining our body health, while few species may be harmful in creating some serious diseases. Altogether, these microbes may weigh as much as 2-5 pounds (1-2 kg), which is roughly the weight of our brain.