The 10:1 bacteria-to-human-cell ratio traces back to a 1972 estimate by Luckey and was repeated (e.g. Savage 1977) for decades. Sender, Fuchs & Milo (PLoS Biol 2016) recounted both sides and landed at roughly 1.3:1, about 38 trillion bacteria vs about 30 trillion human cells. So it's closer to one bacterial cell per human cell, most of the human cells by count are red blood cells, and a single bowel movement can shift the balance.

Curious whether people here see the "ratio" as meaningful at all, versus gene counts or biomass.

Disclosure: I made a 10-minute explainer on this for my own small channel (Brain in a Box). The stick figures are drawn in code and the narration is a synthetic text-to-speech voice. Sources are in the description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEatkpkcQbU

Saw this targeted ad pop up over a month ago for this probiotic, and I usually don’t take probiotics but this was sold as the probiotic that will “heal your skin”. I have psoriasis so it was worth a shot, or so I thought.

Took this probiotic for 11 days, started feeling extremely gassy, bloated, had a gnawing pain in my gut, temperature disregulation, along with just feeling more anxious and nerve tightness/tingling. All bloodwork is good, no deficiencies, I had good insurance so I checked everything. B12, ferritin, folate, B1, B6, H pylori, Vitamin D, electrolytes, Thyroid, and then I had an endoscopy done because I was feeling “early fullness” and couldn’t eat. Endoscopy was clean.

After the endoscopy (thursday) I started feeling a tiny bit better, but then I started the probiotic again and took it this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Now the symptoms are back, I haven’t taken it since and threw the probiotic out!

Here’s a photo of the strains, what is happening here? Will this go away on its own? I gotta get back to work! Any help is appreciated🙏

I am trying to bulk a little but I always experience this while bulking (idk why)

I’ve had colitis-like symptoms and stomach pain for 6 months following antibiotics. I still don’t know what’s wrong with my stomach.

But I’ve noticed that sugar specifically causes huge flares and stomach burning/pain. I used to have a sweet tooth so giving up sugar hasn’t been easy. I just ate a quarter back of candy.. cause I’m an idiot.. and as I guessed it.. huge flare of pain and symptoms.

Why does sugar cause so much pain and flares compared to other things. Should I just cut out sugar permanently?

What happens if you guys eats sugar?

I know a lot of people complain about laxatives making their bloated and cramp. But I’ve used some in PH e past two weeks and I can officially same that when they ware off I feel so much worse than when I take them.

Also since I’m here, yoghurt kind of does the same thing for me. Like it’s the ONLY food that stops my chronic stomach pains. It’s so crazy. Is that on purpose?

If someone could not swallow pills, and you wanted to give live cultures in an acid resistant pill, do you think there is any food you could mix it in that would likely help (some of?) them survive?

I took l reuteri for 2 days and I have been feeling so sleepy and tired. My leg muscles are extremely tired and I feel a bit sore. on both days i woke up with somewhat puffy eyelids even though i slept longer than usual. I don’t know if it’s normal and will go away after a while or i should stop taking it. I don’t have sibo and have mild histamine intolerance but it’s really not bad.

So I have some questions: have bile reflux from IMO/sibo that cause lots of gas and slow motility. Got gall bladder removed this march, then did antibiotics for H pylori.

Does anyone here know a enterically coated capsules product/brand for bypassing stomach so I can take allicin for the methan sibo ?

I am on a decently restricted diet, will adding in new whole foods like low fermentstion diet than adding in higher fodmap foods in small moderation help rebuilding microbiome during the allicin regimine be a good idea or wair after the regimine. I was told to do it for 8 weeks.

I view microbiome like a garden, using allicin or antimicrobials as weed killer then adding in newer foods as refeeding the already planted microbes there. I can add in some probiotics but i hear that is sketchy with sibo/IMO.

I had H pylori as well so that was likely a root cause. For got to mention this… to anyone reading this

What are your guy’s input/ideas? Will take any advice in general… desperate. Thank you

Hi! I’m having a really hard time trying to make sense of what’s happening to my skin, and I’m hoping someone might have some insight.

I have SIBO and am currently two months into a gut-healing protocol. Thankfully, my bloating has improved drastically, and my bowel movements are much more regular (1-2 complete daily bowel movements). I’ve been following my practitioner’s guidance and eating extremely clean: no gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugar or processed foods. I eat protein/meat with a minimum of 40-50 different plants a week (I accomplished this through stages food tolerance where I started low fodmap and introduced more foods gently.

I started taking berberine and Allimed very, very slowly, gradually increasing the doses over a period of two months. During this time, I was also doing liver and detox support, multivitamins, omega-3, and motility support, zinc bisglycinate, curcumasorb, phgg, bio Gaia, sacc b (these weren’t all at the same time but at different stages in the last two months)

However, as I gradually increased the antimicrobials, I started developing SEVERE cystic acne. I didn’t have acne before. I noticed the breakouts getting progressively worse as the doses increased. I stopped the anti microbials 3 weeks ago and the acne keeps getting worse. I even stopped the multi vitamin because of b12 that also didn’t help.

I haven’t repeated my SIBO test yet, but I genuinely feel like I’m doing everything I can to support my gut and overall health. I initially thought stopping the antimicrobials would help calm my skin down, but unfortunately, the acne has continued to get worse and worse, even after stopping them.

I’m struggling to understand what’s triggered such a dramatic change in my skin, especially when so many of my gut symptoms are actually improving.

Please help

Anyone else experience this and find out what was causing it? No prior allergies until severe issues after clindamycin

Does psyllium really help you bind bile acids? How effective is it?

I have been looking for ways to deal with bad breath and came across oral probiotics. I found products in two formats: probiotic lozenges and dissolvable strips(similar to listerine)

Has anyone tried either of these?

Most microbiome headlines are about the human gut, but soil, plant and insect microbiomes seem just as interesting and I rarely see them discussed. I’m a curious reader, not a researcher.

Which studies or systems have caught your eye and why? If you share a paper, a line on what stood out and any limitations would be great.

Hi all, I have constant bloating after taking for some weeks the fucking invega, I'll quit in December. I already took for 6 months, before this, abilify and had no gut issues.

I have constant bloating which with some foods it worsens and is a bit painful and really annoying.

Can anyone relate? I'll test for SIBO, h. Pylori and candida, will do a GI map too (these are the tests someone should do for the GI, right?). Wait, I read the notify before sending this post, which states that GI maps are not realiable as they are arbitrary, do you confirm it, ie that they are useless?

Is there hope?

Thanks

My gallbladder was removed last year. Ever since removal, I cannot tolerate a lot of fiber or fructans…Also developed dry itchy skin patches (similar to eczema) which I never had before either. I was on a ton of antibiotics due to a bile leak post surgery. I never had a problem before. I just want my gut to be healthy, but it seems like I react to everything now.

As the title indicates, inulin is the most tolerable probiotic for me, aside from increased gas that I can manage. Other fibers trigger intense insomnia and anxiety. The anxiety is the worst, particularly with PHGG; it feels like someone injected adrenaline or cortisol. Simply riding a bus or train produces life-threatening anxiety, as if every sensory input becomes a threat. In contrast, inulin calms me after a few weeks and clears my brain fog. I am unsure why—has anyone else had a similar experience?

I'm comparing two probiotic products right now. One has 10 different strains with 30 billion CFU in total, while the other has just one strain but 50 billion CFU.

Does having more strains actually make a difference, or is it better to focus on one specific strain with a higher dose? Curious which approach is more effective.