The complex ecosystem of bacteria that lives in your intestinal tract is called the intestinal microflora. You're not born with this intestinal bacterial ecosystem in place. It begins to develop after birth and becomes more sophisticated once food is introduced in the diet. Over time, the types and number of bacteria are influenced by several factors, including stress, antibiotics, illness, aging and your diet. Research suggests that when the intestinal microflora is out of balance (not enough friendly bacteria), it may affect your overall health.
You actually have about ten times the number of bacteria in your intestinal tract as you do cells in your entire body (about 100 trillion bacteria cells total). While, most of these bacteria are not harmful (some are actually beneficial and important for normal growth and development) some can cause disease. Under normal circumstances, the "good" bacteria far outnumber the bad, but any shift in the balance of "good" or "friendly" to "bad" bacteria, may affect how well your gastrointestinal tract functions.
Overview
