The resentment of bacteria causes stomach diseases

Helicobacter pylori is "famous" for its ability to cause inflammation, ulcers and cancer in the digestive system. However, people will make mistakes if they try to push this bacterium to the brink of destruction.

In fact, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is facing extinction in many parts of the world. It disappeared quickly in rich countries, where sanitation conditions improved and new antibiotics continued to appear. The disappearance of a species, whether animal or plant, results in unexpected consequences.

Helicobacter pylori.
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Dr. Martin Blaser, a microbiologist at New York University of Medicine, has demonstrated that the loss of H. pylori makes the incidence of obesity and esophageal cancer increase. In July, he and his colleagues published a report whereby children without H. pylori were more likely to develop asthma.

According to Martin, it would be wrong to think that H. pylori is a pathogen. It's better to think of this bacterium as a symbiotic creature, meaning both harmful and beneficial. Evidence suggests that H. pylori relatives have lived in mammalian stomachs for about 150 million years ago. H. pylori has "made friends" with humans for at least 60 thousand years, but it was not until about 50 years ago that it attacked 70-80% of the world's population. Now, the birth of countless antibiotics makes the number of H. pylori drop rapidly. Martin affirmed that the situation will cause serious consequences.

H. pylori helps regulate the amount of acid so that it benefits both it and the host. If the stomach contracts too hard, the acid will exceed the necessary level and then the bacteria make a substance called "cag" to neutralize the acid. However, cag also has a side effect: it "corrodes" the mucous membrane to protect the stomach, enabling the acid to directly attack stomach cells and causing inflammation, ulcers, cancer.

Antibiotics are considered the most effective weapon to kill H. pylori. This is true for cases of esophageal cancer, but when H. pylori disappears, "cag" also follows, causing stomach acid levels to increase continuously. Acid tends to flow back into the esophagus, causing many unpredictable effects. In fact, the decline of H. pylori causes an increase in the number of people with esophageal gastroesophageal reflux disease. Over time, the damage that acid causes to the stomach wall can lead to cancer.

The link between H. pylori and asthma follows another mechanism. Martin said children with H. pylori at the age of 3-13 reduced their risk of asthma by 60% compared with those who did not. He said that H. pylori makes the body's immune system become stronger.

The relationship between H. pylori and ulcers and stomach cancer is quite complicated. Owning this bacterium doesn't mean you will have stomach ulcers. In the past, most people on Earth were infected with H. pylori from childhood to death (due to poor sanitation).

H. pylori also affects the appetite hormones that control appetite: ghrelin (hunger sensing) and leptin (causing a feeling of fullness). People without H. pylori always produce more ghrelin, making them feel hungry all the time. Dr. Martin said that the loss of H. pylori is one of the causes of widespread obesity in rich countries.

Therefore, instead of destroying H. pylori, perhaps we should find ways to control this helminth in a more reasonable way. Genetically, some people are more likely to get stomach cancer than others. For those people, killing may be the best option. However, if someone is prone to asthma or obesity, it is a mistake.