Answer: Microscopic creatures—including bacteria, fungi and viruses—can make you ill. But what you may not realize is that trillions of microbes are living in and on your body right now. Most don't harm you at all. In fact, they help you digest food, protect against infection and even maintain your reproductive health.
Microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungus, and viruses, can cause illness. There are trillions of microbes living inside you and on your body right now. Most won't do you any harm. They help you digest food, protect against infection, and even maintain reproductive health. An individual human body contains on average 10 microbes per human cell, and these microbes contribute to digestion, support the immune system, detoxify harmful chemicals, and produce vitamin K. Many of our favorite foods are made from microbes, including bread, cheese, and wine. Microbiologists calculate that the world's largest nutrient reservoir is the microbiome, while microbes and plants are tied as the next largest reservoirs of carbon. In addition, microbes play an important role in the cycling of other nutrients, such as sulfur and iron.
