Balance

In physiology, everything is about balance. Maintaining homeostasis is very important; despite the changes in the environment outside your body, the inside needs to be tightly regulated for you to survive. For example, you have more bacterial cells in your large intestine than there are human cells in your body. We can characterize them by type, but a lot is unknown about what is happening in there. You need some of those bacteria to help you absorb certain vitamins. Others actually communicate with your colon cells (some for good, some for ill), and we're just starting to be able to listen in on the conversation- mostly in rats and mice. We know some of the meanest bacteria out there (e. coli, c. difficile, etc.) live in almost everyone's colon without making them sick, as long as things stay in balance. Throw it off with an antibiotic for a sinus infection, and the good guys are actually more susceptible to the antibiotic than the bad guys, leaving room for the bad ones to multiply and make you ill. Viva yogurt! The kind with live and active cultures, especially the kind with multiple species listed, can help, as can other fermented food (like kefir) with live (good) bacteria. The moldy stuff at the back of the fridge will NOT help.

It's true for plants, too. Too much nitrogen, and you'll get a lot of leaves, but not much flowering and fruiting. Too much water and they rot, too little and they wilt. Oy! Learning curves are steep sometimes.