Perhaps you’ve already heard about the bacteria living in our bodies. No, it’s not the nasty disease-causing kind; actually it helps keep us alive and healthy!

This kind of “good” bacteria mainly lives in our digestive system, more specifically in the small intestine. Our gut bacteria has many functions, but the most important are defense and nutrition/metabolism.

Starting out with defense, gut bacteria is a major helper in the development of the human immune system. The bacteria teaches our immune systems how to differentiate between foreign invaders (like bad bacteria, viruses, and other germs) and the microorganisms that are actually supposed to be there. Also, gut bacteria is a key player in getting rid of toxins that could potentially harm us.

The most important function of gut bacteria has to do with the food we eat; it does live in the digestive system after all! First of all, it helps break down certain things that humans couldn’t digest otherwise. For example, have you ever looked at a food label and seen something about ‘dietary fiber?’ You also may have heard that this fiber is extremely important in a healthy diet. This is true! But surprisingly, humans aren’t able to digest fiber on their own. It’s mainly made of cellulose, which comprises the cell walls of plant cells. Luckily, we have bacteria that can break that down for us and keep our bodies operating smoothly! Also, without gut bacteria, we wouldn’t be able to absorb/produce a lot of important vitamins and minerals. It aids in the absorption of things like calcium, magnesium, and iron, and it also is responsible for making vitamin K and B9 (folate).

That’s not all though, recently scientists have discovered that there are correlations between our gut bacteria and mental health. There are differences between the populations of bacteria in patients suffering from certain mental illnesses and those who do not. The microbiome living in our digestive systems is vast, and it has hundreds of other specialized functions than those talked about in this article. Even now, it’s continuing to grow and evolve alongside you. Make sure to keep a healthy diet because you aren’t just feeding yourself, but also the millions of friends keeping you going!