Why are some bacteria termed as normal flora?
Some bacteria are termed as normal flora because they naturally live on and in us. We naturally have bacteria on our skins and in our gut, and these are termed normal flora. Normal flora can be pathogenic, i.e. cause illness when the system falls out of alignment, and these are known as opportunistic, they take the opportunity to attack when it is presented. Broad spectrum antibiotics can harm the natural flora as well as the bacteria causing you illness. Probiotic drinks such as Yakult in the UK contain bacteria top up levels of naturally occuring gut bacteria, compared to prebiotic foods which ciontain nutrients beneficial to the normal gut bacteria. Both of these types of products help to maitain healthy gut bacteria, so that opportunistic microbes don’t get the chance to become pathogenic.
