> Do you host bacteria in your small intestine, the prime site of digestion and absorption? Yes, actually. The idea that the small intestine doesn't host bac

> Do you host bacteria in your small intestine, the prime site of digestion and absorption? Yes, actually. The idea that the small intestine doesn't host bacteria, and those that it does are transient passers-by from the oral mucosa, was due to some technically limited work from the 1950s. It was actually laughably easy to find that wasn't the case - there's a transition zone of gram positives to gram negatives throughout the latter ileum, which sharply switches to high numbers of gram negatives, anaerobes, coliforms, on the distal side of the iliocecal valve. The intestinal bacteria also play a key role in furnishing vitamin K. And yes, the colon is a site of digestion. Digestion is the process of food breakdown, nutrient extraction, and waste elimination. The colon is involved in some extraction (primarily vitamin production, and water reabsorption) and elimination; admittedly, not so much with breakdown.