We take the importance of gut bacteria for granted and don’t really understand that it can be a critical factor in health and disease. In fact, there are approximately 10 times as many bacteria in our gut as there are cells in our body, and they represent far more genetic material.

The gut is also a critical area for the immune system. It is the first line of defense, and the first place that our immune system encounters different proteins and molecules and labels them friend or foe.

More of our immune system tissue is located in our gut than in the rest of our body combined.

When the bacteria in the gut are in good balance, they signal the body in multiple ways, mostly via chemical messengers that turn different pathways on or off. These can influence everything from your mood to your weight.

One of the main influences on the health of your gut bacteria is the amount and type of fiber you eat. Certain fibers, such as those in onion, garlic, chicory, asparagus and wheat provide prebiotics, the fuel that a healthy group of gut microorganisms, called the microbiome, need to live on. Without this fuel, it’s impossible to sustain a healthy group of microorganisms.

Things that damage the microbiome, including stress, cause a shift toward unhealthy bacteria patterns and antibiotics, which kill off good as well as bad bacteria.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid antibiotics when needed, but you should work with your medical provider to limit your antibiotic use to something more than viral infections that your body will clear naturally.

In addition to prebiotics, it is good to get healthy bacteria in our diet from live culture foods like Kombucha beverages, sauerkraut, the yogurt-type beverage kefir and kimchi.

If you can’t get these in your diet regularly, you might consider taking a probiotic supplement.