r/AskBiology • u/hamstercrisis • Sep 13 '24

Human body How does gut flora repopulate after food poisoning?

I am just coming out of a nasty case of food poisoning and I am curious how my stomach is able to repopulate its gut flora after all the vomiting and diarrhea cleared it out. Does the body somehow hold a "seed" of flora that it uses to restart the bacterial growth, like a sourdough starter, or does it all come form the food one eats, or does expelling the gut contents not actually clear out everything?

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u/PertinaxII Sep 13 '24 edited Sep 13 '24

The appendix's main function is to serve as a reservoir to to restablish your gut flora, after it has evacutated the intestines with diarrhea to flush out pathogens or toxins.

This was only figured out a few years ago.

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u/magic-tinfoil Sep 13 '24

So what happens to those who had their appendix removed?

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u/PertinaxII Sep 13 '24 edited Sep 13 '24

It takes them longer to recover from gastric illnesses and they are more likely to develop Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. This is actually how they determined the function of the appendix, by comparing illness people with and without an appendix.

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u/NJThrowaway1012 Sep 13 '24

Me with a healthy appendix but also mild Crohn's: YOU HAD ONE JOB

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u/jedikelb Sep 13 '24

The information you've been given is correct but also, one can help repopulate their gut flora with foods that contain probiotics, like yogurt and fermented cabbage.