Alimentary Tract Microflora

If you recall, I stated that your alimentary tract started with your facial lips. The first cavity encountered thereafter is your mouth or buccal cavity. There are special bacteria which colonize the back surface of your tongue and are important for the eventual making of the neurotransmitter nitric oxide or NO. These bacteria make nitrates which are then swallowed and absorbed from the stomach into the bloodstream. Nerve cells in the brain take these nitrates and change them into the neurotransmitter NO. Otherwise, the normal flora of the mouth is Citrobacter freundii which merely contributes to the formation of plaque on the teeth.

There are other bacteria and protozoa which utilize the sugars and starches which remain in your mouth after eating and are the cause of periodontal disease and cavities. They produce acids which dissolve the enamel from your teeth and expose the dentine of the tooth which is much softer than the enamel. The acids then erode away the dentine, which is alkaline, to deepen and cause a cavity. These bacteria and protozoa are not beneficial from this standpoint and require that you brush away residual food and sugary solutions. The best material to brush your teeth with is good old baking soda, either by itself or mixed 4 parts to 1 part with salt. Avoid fluoride as it does nothing to harden the dentine and denatures essential enzymes in the body.

The next part of your alimentary tract is your throat which has the opening to your lungs and the opening to your esophagus. The opening to your lungs is protected from solid and liquid material entry by the epiglottis which closes the opening when you swallow. The esophagus is lined with smooth muscle which alternately contracts and relaxes to push the solid or liquid bolus(ball) to your stomach. Any microorganisms living here are coincidental unless you contract Strep Throat (bacterium) or the Mumps (virus).

Microorganisms in the next real cavity called the stomach need to be able to survive a very low pH or high acidity. The cells of the stomach lining produce a complex mucopolysaccharide (CMPS) which protects the cells lining the surface of the stomach from the hydrochloric acid (HCL or muriatic acid) produced by the Chief cells in the stomach lining. This CMPS resists acid degradation and thereby protects the surface lining. The Chief cells are at the bottom of minute pits and secrete HCl up into the stomach cavity which helps to digest your food. Ulcers are the result of erosion of the stomach lining due to the breakdown of the CMPS and subsequent colonization by Helicobacter species. This colonization resists being covered over by the CMPS and thereby allows the acid to erode the stomach surface cells and collagen matrix within which the cells are embedded. Collagen is a protein which is secreted by tissue fibroblasts and is really what the body is composed of in terms of solid substance, apart from bone. Proteins are easily coagulated and digested by HCl. Coagulation means the changing of the natural globular shape of proteins into an un-natural linear shape which will destroy its function. This is why the egg white, which is albumin and a type of protein, turns from clear gel-like to solid white upon heating or the addition of acid.

The causes of the symptoms of ulcers are numerous and the biggest ones are stress and strong alcohol. Stress is linked to excess acid production and alcohol to washing away the complex CMPS which covers the stomach lining. Helicobacter pyloris is the bacterium that is known to be involved in the formation of peptic and duodenal ulcers. This bacterium is destroyed by Lactobacillus salivarius.

The Lactobacillus species which all receive in the breast milk of our mothers, is a well known bacterial genera are very beneficial to the health of our alimentary tract and thus to ourselves. These are: Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus breve, Lactobacillus infantis, Lactobacillus longum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus lactis. The reason for the beneficial effects of the various microorganisms which inhabit our alimentary tracts is the dynamic interactions which bacteria make among themselves and with the results of the digestion of the food within our stomachs and intestines. Many microorganisms, by a process called fermentation(the use of organic compounds to produce energy and other substances which the cell needs), make vitamins, effectors and cofactors which humans are not able to do but which we require for health. We then absorb these compounds along with our digested foods to our great benefit.

Microorgamisms of all types; bacteria, fungi and yeasts, algae, protozoa; produce compounds which may either stimulate, inhibit or have no effect upon the growth of other microorganisms associated with them in their particular habitats. Compounds which stimulate growth are called vitamins, effectors and cofactors. Compounds which inhibit growth are called antibiotics. The use of probiotic species in antibiotic resistance is termed "microbial interference therapy". Thus, the summation of all the fermentation processes by the microorganisms within our intestines greatly influences the overall health of our intestines and bowels; and consequently our bodies as well. The microorganisms which cause diarrhea do so by changing the balance of beneficial fermentation by-products to those which interfere with our own digestive processes and sometimes even our cellular processes as toxins. Examples of microorganisms which produce "harmful" fermentation by-products are Salmonella sp. and Vibrio cholera which cause diarrhea, fever and possibly death. Thus, it helps to have a flourishing colony of commensal and symbiotic microorganisms which help in keeping the harmful ones from becoming too great in number and thus causing a potential problem.

An example from the effects of harmful radiation on the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors stands out. One of the tasks assigned to post-war U.S. Army personnel was to interview the survivors and ask a lot of questions about many things of the survivors lives and habits. An interesting finding was that most long term survivors were those whom ate traditional Japanese foods. Most of the short term survivors ate predominantly Western foods in preponderance to traditional Japanese foods. The immediate question which comes to mind is just what are the differences in the foods which confers longevity? Subsequent analysis showed that traditional Japanese foods have large amounts of naturally pickled and fermented food products as an essential component. The Western diet on the other hand had almost none of such foods. When the foods of the traditional Japanese diet were examined, there were our friends in the pickled and fermented products: Lactobacillus acidophilus and salvarius (bacteria), Bifidobacterium bifidum, infantis and longum (bacteria), Propionbacter sp. (bacteria), Pseudomonas sp. (bacteria), Acetobacter sp. (bacteria), Pediococcus pentosaceus and halophilus (bacteria), Aspergillus orzae and soyae (fungi), Saccharomyces sp. (yeasts) and Candida versatilis (a yeast). These microorganisms conferred survivability due to the fact that they kept harmful bacteria from growing in the damaged alimentary tract. Bacteria which would have invaded the eroded mucosa of the intestines and becoming a real problem within the blood stream of irradiated and thus Immune System damaged victims. Since radiation damages the DNA of all cells, the most rapidly dividing cells(those of the alimentary tract) are not able to reproduce fast enough to replace the ones which are eroded away or die naturally and sloughs off during the normal course of digestion. The beneficial microorganisms kept the harmful bacteria from gaining a foothold within the body until the mucosal cells could again reproduce fast enough to maintain the mucosal lining of the gut.

The small intestine is the next cavity to be encountered. Here, the process of digestion really begins with enzymes secreted by the pancreas into the duodenal portion. The process of assimilation of the digested food substances begins in the jejunum and ileum. In these areas, the microflora play only a small role.

In the Large intestine, the next to last cavity, water is removed by your system and the leftovers prepared for excretion from the body. Here also the vitamins, effectors and cofactors are absorbed with the water. Thus, in this portion of your alimentary tract, the microflora play a crucial role in your health. Here we find Streptococcus faecalis and faecium (bacteria) as well as many beneficial treansient species of Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus. As your intestines(both small and large) are essentially without oxygen, many fermentation processes are accomplished by the microflora which inhabit them. These commensal and symbiotic organisms produce the vitamins, effector and cofactors which you require for health! The reason people have to take vitamin supplements is that they do not get the beneficial bacteria they need to produce them and subsequently have to take a supplement.

As you might gather, it is of prime importance for you to feed your microorganisms as well as yourself and to constantly eat foods which have the microorganisms which your alimentary tract needs for your optimum health. Eat and be aware of the life in your food!