YourHealth: "A Not-So-Useless Appendage"
Posted On Sunday, February 3, 2008 at at 2:33 AM by Aishah Abd Latiff
Scientists have finally figured out how your seemingly useless appendix works. It is a "safe warehouse" for those good germs working in your gut.
Indeed, your appendix could be a vital part of your secondary immune system as it could contain immune system tissue.
That is what surgeons and immunologists from the world famous Duke Medical School published online in the scientific journal, The Journal of Theoretical Biology early last month.
For generations, the appendix was dismissed as a useless part of the body. We thought it had no function.
Worse still, it could get infected and inflamed. This could cause lots of problems, including death if not removed in time. Indeed, surgeons removed it routinely.
According to the Centre for Diseases Control, 321,000 Americans were hospitalised with appendicitis in 2005. About 300 to 400 Americans die of appendicitis every year.
There are a large number of germs in your gut, about two to three kilogrammes in dry weight. There are 400 different types present there. Indeed, there are more bacteria in your gut than there is in the entire human body.
We do not quite know what these germs do. Indeed, not all have been characterised. They are a mix of the good, bad and neutral germs.
The good bacteria help you digest your food, break down toxic substances that arise from digestion and produce lactic acids as well as other anti-bacterial substances that keep the bad bugs at bay.
The function of the appendix seems to be related to this massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system.
There are times when the bacteria in the intestine are killed off or purged. Diseases like diarrhoea, cholera or amoebic dysentery would get rid of much of these good bacteria.
Similarly, taking water with chorine, antibiotics- tainted meat or going on a course of antibiotics would kill of many of these beneficial bacteria.
The appendix's job is to re-boot the digestive system if this does happen. The appendix would act as a "good safe house for bacteria" wrote Bill Parker, Duke's Professor of Surgery, a co-author of the study.
The location of the appendix -- just below the one way flow of food and germs in the large intestine in a sort of cul-de-sac -- helps support the theory. It also has a worm like shape. This acts like a "bacterial underground bunker" cultivating the good germs for the rest of the gut.
In modern times this is less important, as you can replace the dying good germs with food and supplements. However, in the past, it was not so easy to repopulate the gut with good bacteria. Thus, the appendix came in really handy.
Indeed, in less developed countries, where the appendix is more useful, the rates of appendicitis are much lower as other studies have shown.
Bill Parker says that the appendix may be another case of an overly hygienic society triggering an over reaction of the body's immune system.
Even, if the appendix does appear to have a function, it must be removed when it is inflamed or infected as it can be deadly, writes Parker.
The Duke proposal for the function of the appendix makes sense and raises some very interesting questions. The idea seems by far the most likely explanation for the function of the appendix. It makes evolutionary sense.
We have evolved for millions of years with this seemingly useless and ugly appendix that can be also be very deadly. Surely, evolution would have eliminated this tissue completely if it was useless and posed a danger.
It should also make us wonder about another part of our body that is conveniently cut off -- the tonsils. I bet we will find some use for this part as well.
The moral of the story is: Keep all parts of yourself intact unless it is absolutely necessary to remove them. Trust the wisdom of Nature.
We know that if there were no germs in the gut, you would be dead in just three days.
What do you do if you have had the appendix taken out? Consume more probiotic (friendly bacteria) as food. Take lots of yoghurt and other traditional cultured foods like tapai and tempeh.
If you are supplementing with probiotics, make sure that these are derived locally. That means it comes from local sources.
After all you got your first probiotics from your mother's vaginal passage and from her nipples. Your gut was sterile while you were in the womb.
After that, you got it in your food. You also picked up useful soil organisms from salads, fruits and simply playing with dirt as all children usually do.
That is how it has been right from the beginning of time. Only in the last 30 or 40 years have we started consuming bacteria that come from different climates and soils.
Imported bacteria are not bad and do not present any real danger to you. However, these germs are best for the guts of people in the countries that they have been imported from be it Japan or North America .
Probiotics are truly a case where "local is better". Nothing is more local than your gut that has to cope with the unique foods that you get in this part of the world.
The local bacteria will live better and longer in your gut. That would go a long way to making your healthier.
Datuk Dr Rajen M. is a pharmacist with a doctorate in Holistic Medicine
Indeed, your appendix could be a vital part of your secondary immune system as it could contain immune system tissue.
That is what surgeons and immunologists from the world famous Duke Medical School published online in the scientific journal, The Journal of Theoretical Biology early last month.
For generations, the appendix was dismissed as a useless part of the body. We thought it had no function.
Worse still, it could get infected and inflamed. This could cause lots of problems, including death if not removed in time. Indeed, surgeons removed it routinely.
According to the Centre for Diseases Control, 321,000 Americans were hospitalised with appendicitis in 2005. About 300 to 400 Americans die of appendicitis every year.
There are a large number of germs in your gut, about two to three kilogrammes in dry weight. There are 400 different types present there. Indeed, there are more bacteria in your gut than there is in the entire human body.
We do not quite know what these germs do. Indeed, not all have been characterised. They are a mix of the good, bad and neutral germs.
The good bacteria help you digest your food, break down toxic substances that arise from digestion and produce lactic acids as well as other anti-bacterial substances that keep the bad bugs at bay.
The function of the appendix seems to be related to this massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system.
There are times when the bacteria in the intestine are killed off or purged. Diseases like diarrhoea, cholera or amoebic dysentery would get rid of much of these good bacteria.
Similarly, taking water with chorine, antibiotics- tainted meat or going on a course of antibiotics would kill of many of these beneficial bacteria.
The appendix's job is to re-boot the digestive system if this does happen. The appendix would act as a "good safe house for bacteria" wrote Bill Parker, Duke's Professor of Surgery, a co-author of the study.
The location of the appendix -- just below the one way flow of food and germs in the large intestine in a sort of cul-de-sac -- helps support the theory. It also has a worm like shape. This acts like a "bacterial underground bunker" cultivating the good germs for the rest of the gut.
In modern times this is less important, as you can replace the dying good germs with food and supplements. However, in the past, it was not so easy to repopulate the gut with good bacteria. Thus, the appendix came in really handy.
Indeed, in less developed countries, where the appendix is more useful, the rates of appendicitis are much lower as other studies have shown.
Bill Parker says that the appendix may be another case of an overly hygienic society triggering an over reaction of the body's immune system.
Even, if the appendix does appear to have a function, it must be removed when it is inflamed or infected as it can be deadly, writes Parker.
The Duke proposal for the function of the appendix makes sense and raises some very interesting questions. The idea seems by far the most likely explanation for the function of the appendix. It makes evolutionary sense.
We have evolved for millions of years with this seemingly useless and ugly appendix that can be also be very deadly. Surely, evolution would have eliminated this tissue completely if it was useless and posed a danger.
It should also make us wonder about another part of our body that is conveniently cut off -- the tonsils. I bet we will find some use for this part as well.
The moral of the story is: Keep all parts of yourself intact unless it is absolutely necessary to remove them. Trust the wisdom of Nature.
We know that if there were no germs in the gut, you would be dead in just three days.
What do you do if you have had the appendix taken out? Consume more probiotic (friendly bacteria) as food. Take lots of yoghurt and other traditional cultured foods like tapai and tempeh.
If you are supplementing with probiotics, make sure that these are derived locally. That means it comes from local sources.
After all you got your first probiotics from your mother's vaginal passage and from her nipples. Your gut was sterile while you were in the womb.
After that, you got it in your food. You also picked up useful soil organisms from salads, fruits and simply playing with dirt as all children usually do.
That is how it has been right from the beginning of time. Only in the last 30 or 40 years have we started consuming bacteria that come from different climates and soils.
Imported bacteria are not bad and do not present any real danger to you. However, these germs are best for the guts of people in the countries that they have been imported from be it Japan or North America .
Probiotics are truly a case where "local is better". Nothing is more local than your gut that has to cope with the unique foods that you get in this part of the world.
The local bacteria will live better and longer in your gut. That would go a long way to making your healthier.
Datuk Dr Rajen M. is a pharmacist with a doctorate in Holistic Medicine
