# Am I eating live bacteria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348 "2003-08-24T17:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Z\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/41988e/32.png) [@Z\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Z_Al)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/1 "2003-08-24T17:18:35Z")
Years ago, I wondered how yogurt is made and I found out that certain bacteria is made to grow in milk which turns some of the lactose in milk into lactic acid, giving yogurt its density and taste. Now again, as I enjoy my strawberry flavoured yogurt, I wonder if the bacteria in my yogurt is still alive (?). Reading the ingredients tells me that “Active Bacteria Culture” is present. I checked on the net and the numerous sources tell me the same thing - “bacteria is used to make yogurt” - but they don’t say whether or not the bacteria REMAINS active after the yogurt is ready. So, fellow dopers, am I eating live bacteria? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bb73d2/32.png) [@Wolfrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfrick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/2 "2003-08-24T17:20:11Z")
Yes, you’re eating live bacteria. Even when you’re not eating yogurt. There’s live bacteria in damn near everything you eat, even in the air you breathe. If you dwell on this fact, you will wind up watching Ice Station Zebra in the nude, with three-foot-long fingernails and no friends. ~Wolfrick ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/3 "2003-08-24T17:20:52Z")
If says “Active Bacteria Culture is present”, then yes. Don’t worry though it’s actully quite good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/4 "2003-08-24T17:23:28Z")
Yumm, bacteria! Your own mouth teems with living bacteria! Your saliva has billions of living germs in them. Your entire intestinal tract, from your lips to your anus, not only is filled with them, but depends on them to function normally. Best to just get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/5 "2003-08-24T17:46:20Z")
I’m trying to get used to them, but I keep getting their little names all mixed up, and the labels I made wouldn’t stick. Slippery buggers, those bacteria! ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/6 "2003-08-24T18:30:20Z")
What a coincidence! I just read about an hour ago that: “If you are in good health and averagely diligent about hygiene,you will have a herd of about one trillion bacteria grazing on your fleshy plains- about a hundred thousand of them on every square centimetre of skin” I’m not going to tell you how many are inside your body, it might frighten you, (and I don’t know what a 100 quadrillion is ) but you can’t live without them. V ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/7 "2003-08-24T18:39:34Z")
Not to get too TMI here, but there are certain female health conditions that the active cultures in yogurt can help to clear up. Hurrah for live bacteria! ---
**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/8 "2003-08-24T18:44:51Z")
Since there’s no way to completely purge your body of bacteria, it’s best to think of them as friends. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/9 "2003-08-24T18:53:48Z")
“This has been your Heebie Jeebie inducing post of the day” Now excuse me while I go bathe frantically… ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/10 "2003-08-25T02:15:06Z")
Certain bacteria known as normal flora not only help you digest food, but they outcompete and prevent other dangerous pathogens from moving in. If you really want something to think about - did you know that there are more bacteria cells than human cells in your body? ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/11 "2003-08-25T17:43:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bob55 \* > \*\*If you really want something to think about - did you know that there are more bacteria cells than human cells in your body? \*\* I’m sure most of us are aware of the Sci-fi cliche in which a very alien entity refers to us humans as ‘carbon based lifeforms’ or ‘sack of water.’ Now we can add ‘bacterial hive’ to the list of appellations. ## Peace. We are not men, we are heevo. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/12 "2003-08-25T18:31:01Z")
Yep. Why do you think antibiotics give you diarrhea? (Well, they do that to ME anyway. Ewww.) They tend to kill off any susceptible bacteria in their path, including the friendly guys that we want to have around. I’ve been told that for women, eating yogurt when you’re on antibiotics can help keep TMI things from happening. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/13 "2003-08-25T18:36:40Z")
And lest we forget, _bacteria_ is the plural of _bacterium_, and takes a plural verb: “Certain bacteria _are_ made to grow in milk.” “The _E. coli_ bacterium _is_ very common in the digestive tract.” ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/14 "2003-08-25T18:47:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vetch \* > \*\*What a coincidence! I just read about an hour ago that: > > “If you are in good health and averagely diligent about hygiene,you will have a herd of about one trillion bacteria grazing on your fleshy plains- about a hundred thousand of them on every square centimetre of skin” > I’m not going to tell you how many are inside your body, it might frighten you, (and I don’t know what a 100 quadrillion is ) but you can’t live without them. > > V \*\* 100,000 = 10[sup]5[/sup] 1 trillion = 10[sup]12[/sup], or 10 million times 100,000. 100 quadrillion = 10[sup]17[/sup], or 100,000 times a trillion. ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/15 "2003-08-26T10:57:53Z")
Long ago in another life, I had typhoid (bad bacterial infection). It was cleared up by massive doses of antibiotics. One side effect of the cure was the demise of my personal symbiotic bacteria. The last stage of recovery was pills containing dehydrated intestial bacteria. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/16 "2003-08-26T11:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Vetch \* > > I’m not going to tell you how many are inside your body, it might frighten you, (and I don’t know what a 100 quadrillion is ) but you can’t live without them. > > > > V > > \*\*100,000 = 10[sup]5[/sup] > 1 trillion = 10[sup]12[/sup], or 10 million times 100,000. > 100 quadrillion = 10[sup]17[/sup], or 100,000 times a trillion. \*\* That number sounds too big. (Not arguing your numbers, **dwc1970** , but rather **Vetch** ’s). According to [this](http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec96/840131722.Dv.r.html), there are around 10[sup]14[/sup] bacterial cells, and only 10[sup]13[/sup] human cells in a human body. ---
**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/17 "2003-08-26T12:13:45Z")
Mmm… lactobacillus… Yogurt is a great way to get some beneficial bacteria in your system - even lactose-intolerant people can eat it, since the lactose has already been broken down by the bacteria. After you digest the yogurt, the lactobacilli will remain in your large intestine and help you, well, poop more regularly. So eat some yogurt every day! It’s a tasty way to get your daily calcium and bacteria requirements. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-eating-live-bacteria/197348/18 "2003-08-26T15:59:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tsarina \* > \*\*Mmm… lactobacillus… > > Yogurt is a great way to get some beneficial bacteria in your system - even lactose-intolerant people can eat it, since the lactose has already been broken down by the bacteria. After you digest the yogurt, the lactobacilli will remain in your large intestine and help you, well, poop more regularly. > > So eat some yogurt every day! It’s a tasty way to get your daily calcium and bacteria requirements. 🙂 \*\* I was always under the impression that most if not all of the live cultures in yogurt were killed in the stomach.