Microbial ecosystems in the mouth and gut are linked to many ills
A long time ago, our ancestors were single-celled.<p>Then, some cells decided to live together, form a slime, division of labor, organs, etc. And today, voila, we have humans.<p>However, the single-celled never went away. We have been living together, co-evolving together, all this time.<p>No human has ever lived without a microbiome. We have been in symbiosis all this time. The immune system picks off the baddies, while the goodies get to stick around, serving all sorts of useful functions. Not only that, but the goodies actually edge out the baddies, because they consume most of the resources available to microbes. Combined with help from immune system police, a balance is reached.<p>That&#x27;s the way it works until you introduce various ways to harm the microbiome. Preservatives in the food. Substances which indiscriminately kill bacteria on the skin and elsewhere. Antibiotics. Then the balance is thrown off, the baddies get to proliferate unchecked, the immune system can no longer cope with their scale.<p>I&#x27;ve stopped using any products which harm my microbiome. It&#x27;s not easy, and it&#x27;s not a one-day or one-month or one-year transition, but it&#x27;s paid off in ways I didn&#x27;t even imagine possible when I started out.<p>Edit: When I post about this stuff, I often get asked about specifics. For reasons of privacy, and several others, I would rather not get into them. Do your own research, find your own way. Don&#x27;t wait for everything to be handed to you on a plate. I&#x27;ve provided more than enough information in this comment.