RT Journal
T1 FOod and the control of bacteria in the intestine
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1919
FD May 10
VO 72
IS 19
SP 1370
OP 1370
DO 10.1001/jama.1919.02610190032013
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1919.02610190032013
AB The alimentary tract of man has been designated as a graveyard for bacteria. No less than from 5 to 8 grams of them, dead for the most part, are excreted every day with the feces. One need not debate whether these micro-organisms are in general beneficent or detrimental to the body. Certainly at times some of them, at least, produce more harm than good. Early in the history of modern alimentary bacteriology the attempt was frequently made to devise some procedure for sterilizing the gastro-intestinal tract by destroying those bacteria which escape the germicidal bath of the acid gastric juice. The efforts resulted in failure. Such substances as might have been effective bactericides were as a rule so detrimental to the human host that it became a choice between survival of both the latter and his invader or the simultaneous destruction of the two.Subsequently it became apparent that the