Here are two fascinating articles on the Gut. Researchers are only at the edge of discovering what our internal environment is really about. The balance of these organisms influence our health and disease as well. There are trillions of organisms inside us and the balance of those organisms in our small intestine help to comprise 70% of our immune system. People do not realize how important that balance is.

These articles say similar things, but, I thought I would include both, especially because the second one speaks about using bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics, which, in essence, many alternative doctors, including myself, are doing. But, if the work these researchers are doing could unfluence Western medicine in this way, it could positively effect our entire medical system, as it is though by many, including myself, that antibiotics are widely overused and this overuse contributes to chronic illness in many individuals.

So, take a moment and read these, they are pretty fascinating. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/gut-bacteria-types/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/science/21gut.html?_r=1&WT.mc_id=NYT-E-I-NYT-E-AT-0427-L15