It is impossible to deny it, the development of modern medicine has saved millions of people. Today we live in an era of development and prosperity never before seen. For two centuries, man has waged a merciless war against bacteria. From the discovery of antibiotics to today, medicine was far from realizing the consequences of excessive disinfection. Because we must not forget, it is estimated that each individual has about 100,000 billion bacteria, a discovery that medicine is just beginning to really understand. In this sense, the New York Post has highlighted the importance of the diversity of bacteria present in an individual.
European history has been greatly influenced by one bacterium in particular: Yersinia pestis, responsible for what is known today as the Black Death. This small bacterium would have destroyed up to 50% of European populations in just 5 years from 1347 to 1352. It is therefore natural that in the general unconscious, bacteria remain a species to destroy.
Bacteria, a silent partner
Bacteria are organisms invisible to the naked eye. It took a long time for the man to discover their existence. However, microbes existed well before humans as we know them today. Moreover, without them life on Earth would have been much more complicated if not impossible, because the Earth's atmosphere was totally devoid of oxygen. It is the microbes that, by absorbing the sun and using carbon dioxide, release oxygen. It's photosynthesis.
Microbes have therefore played an absolutely key role and allowed life on Earth. A role that can be described as external, but does not stop there. The human being is host to an unimaginable number of bacteria, 1014 microorganisms present in each individual, and essential to the health of our body.
A balance put in danger
The bacteria present in our body are generally harmless, if the very complex balance of these bacteria is not disturbed. In 2008, an Amazon village so far completely isolated was discovered. When the scientists then compared their microbiome to ours, the judgment was without appeal: The diversity and the health of their microbiome is much better than that of the civilized Man. Unfortunately after centuries of antibiotic use, the microbiome of Western Man is in a very bad state.
Reintroducing bacteria into our lives
Without context, the idea is not very intuitive. So we should expose ourselves to bacteria to be healthy? Dr. Jack Gilbert, Associate Director of the Genomic and Systems Biology Institute, explained that he had a click by studying dolphins in captivity. The doctor notices that the more water in their aquarium was dirty the more the dolphins were healthy.
The idea is therefore to reproduce the same concept in the human being, and especially among the little ones. The industrialized era in which we live is not inevitable. We must reintroduce our children to a more natural world that we must remember is our companion for thousands of years. Whether hiking or visiting a natural park, we must reconnect with our origins and let our children have fun, discover the world around them, and the bacteria that go with it. The presence of pets can also help to fill this gap, we must not forget that for centuries, before the industrialization, the animals were integral part of the life of the men.
Finally and as always, it's about measurement and balance. The industrialized world and nature are two opposing worlds, each of which brings its solutions and problems. We are fortunate to be able to take advantage of both worlds, and to use the solutions of one to solve the problems of the other. It's up to us to act.