Are all germs bad for us?

Remember the last time you washed your hands, with slippery soap bubbles between your fingers? You scrubbed and rinsed to send the germs down the drain. Grown-ups say germs can make us sick. So are all germs bad for us?

Germs are tiny things, far too small for your eyes to see. Each kind of germ can make more of itself, and there are many, many different kinds.

Many of the germs around us are bacteria, which means one kind of germ so small that thousands could fit on one pencil dot. Scientists find bacteria in soil, in water and on every table and toy.

Bacteria live on you and inside you too, on your skin and in your mouth. Right now, many more bacteria live in your body than there are people in the whole world. Every healthy body is like this, so there is nothing to worry about.

Most of them live in your gut, which means the long, twisty tube your food travels through after it leaves your tummy. The gut is a warm, cozy home for bacteria, and it is full of the food you ate. What do you think all those little guests are doing with that food?

They are eating it, and that helps you! Bacteria in your gut break down the stringy parts of foods like apples and beans, which your body cannot break down by itself. That way your body gets more goodness from every meal.

The bacteria in your gut do one more job. They fill up every spot and eat up the food, so harmful germs that sneak in find no room and nothing to eat. That makes it hard for those harmful germs to stay and make you sick.

Only a few kinds of germs are harmful. When one of those gets into your body, it can give you a runny nose, a cough or a sore tummy.

Two words to remember: bacteria and gut. Not all germs are bad for us, because the bacteria in your gut break down your food and leave no room for harmful germs, and only a few kinds of germs make you sick.

Goodnight, and sleep tight, with a whole crowd of gut helpers looking after you.