Bacteria requires kindness

Introducing bacteria into the body is part of a bold new way of thinking about health, says biologist Rob Dunn, author of the best-selling “The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today”. Like an increasing number of experts, Dunn, a biology professor at North Carolina State University, believes our bodies are ecosystems that require a good balance of healthy bacteria to help digest food and fend off certain diseases. He sees a correlation between our war against bacteria in the form of an overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial wipes, and the rise in a host of chronic conditions from Crohn's to inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia and autism. “I don't mean to discredit antibiotics”, he says. “The use of antibiotics to control pathogens has saved billions of lives. But we're starting to learn that in addition to warding off bad bacteria, we need to start gardening good ones. There are thousands of species in our bodies and we don't know which ones are important yet, but we do know that having a good community is important”.