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Page 28 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms found everywhere on Earth — in water, soil, plants, and in most parts of your body. In fact, bacteria outnumber the actual cells in your body by about 10 to 1. Your skin and digestive system alone host about 2,000 different kinds of bacteria. ere are fewer bacteria in the stomach than in other parts of the digestive system because the acidic environment kills most bacteria. at makes delivering probiotics particularly challenging — you have to ensure that those good bacteria can survive in the stomach's unfriendly environment. ese organisms acquired their bad reputation in the 1800s, when Louis Pasteur, the father of microbiology, showed that bacterial growth caused spoilage of foods, including milk and beer. He invented the process of heating milk to kill bacteria and mold, now called pasteurization. Pasteur proposed that bacteria also cause disease in people, which launched a field that today does much to keep you healthy. Distinguishing between good and bad bacteria Not all bacteria are bad. In fact, scientists now know that even the "bad" bacteria in your body don't cause problems as long as your system has enough good bacteria to keep them in check. When you're healthy and have the proper bacterial balance in your body, the ratio of good to bad is about 9 to 1. Bacteria: e Good and the Bad Good Bacteria Bad Bacteria Lactobacillus Salmonella Bifidobacteria Shigella E. coli Clostridium difficile Looking at Bacteria's Role by Shekhar K. Challa, MD Prominent Gastroenterologist