Many people are afraid of catching a gastro-intestinal infection in hospitals, public toilets or on the train, for example. E. coli bacteria are often the cause of such infections. It is not without reason that bacterial strains of the genus Escherichia are often referred to as faecal bacteria. This name is not wrong. Nevertheless, it does not do justice to this
intestinal bacterium. After all, there is a large number of E. coli bacteria in the human intestine which are harmless and do not cause diseases.
E. coli even proves its usefulness in the intestinal flora as a
vitamin producer. Thus E. coli bacteria make a valuable contribution to the formation of various B vitamins and vitamin K. In addition, some strains support the breakdown of nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates. Nevertheless, E. coli is rather underrepresented in the intestine compared to other
intestinal bacteria. Only about one percent of your gut flora microbiota consists of coli bacteria.