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Dr. Mercola
October 23 2007
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Is Your Appendix Really a Useless Organ?

Your appendix, long touted by doctors to have no apparent purpose, turns out to be good for something after all. Surgeons and immunologists from Duke University Medical School believe your appendix produces and protects the good bacteria in your gut.

There are more bacteria in your body than cells, and much of it is used to help you digest food. However, if your good bacteria dies, as the result of cholera or dysentery for instance, your appendix appears to restore good bacteria to your gut.

Your appendix acts like a “bacteria factory” that “cultivates good germs,” according to the study’s authors.

They pointed out that this function is not needed in industrialized society, because if your gut flora dies you can easily repopulate it with germs from other people. In the past, however, the appendix came in handy when disease epidemics affected entire regions, and the good bacteria was not easy to repopulate.

In modern times, appendixes may still be useful in less developed countries.

If your appendix becomes infected, it can lead to death, which is why surgeons have removed them routinely for generations. Even with the new theory for your appendix’s purpose, the researchers said you should have yours removed if it becomes inflamed.

About 300 to 400 Americans die, and about 321,000 are hospitalized, due to appendicitis each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Journal of Theoretical Biology September 7, 2007

MSNBC.com October 5, 2007



Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:
It is shocking to me that anyone ever believed your appendix has no purpose. Rest assured, there is a purpose for every organ in your body, even the ones that modern medicine can’t figure out.

So please don’t ever fall for the advice to have an organ removed “because it has no purpose.”

There are times when it is necessary to do so, because if you fail to remove it you will die from massive infection. This can be true for appendicitis or an infected gallbladder. But there just isn’t ever ANY reason to remove an appendix just because an abdominal surgery is being performed.

It makes perfect sense that your appendix may help regulate your intestinal good bacteria. For every cell in your body you have about ten bacteria in your intestine, or about 60 trillion bacteria. This bacteria has a very profound influence on your digestive health, your weight, and your overall health.

Hopefully, now that a function for the appendix has been formally recognized, surgeons will stop removing healthy appendixes for no reason. The notion that your appendix is useless has been so widely held for so long that many surgeons actually will remove your appendix when performing abdominal surgeries for other reasons!

However, I do not agree with the researchers conclusions that your appendix is unnecessary in the modern world because, as they say, you can easily repopulate the good bacteria in your gut.

Why?

Because your good bacteria is constantly being assaulted by antibiotics, chlorinated water, birth control pills, stress, sugar, and a host of other environmental factors.

Ideally, your gut should contain a ratio of 85 percent good bacteria to 15 percent non-beneficial bacteria, but the factors I listed above have actually caused this ratio to reverse in many people.

So there is clearly a shortage of good bacteria in many people, which is why I often recommend that you use a high-quality probiotic as an “insurance policy” that your body is balanced with good strains of bacteria, particularly if you don’t lead a perfectly healthy lifestyle.

So there is just no way to know what far-reaching and subtle effects your appendix has on the way your body functions. At least one negative side effect has already been uncovered from having your appendix removed (called an appendectomy) -- an increased risk of Crohn’s disease.

Appendectomy has long been a controversial surgery when done electively. It’s possible, in fact, that 30 percent of controversial surgeries such as appendectomy are unnecessary. Other often-unnecessary surgeries include:
Don’t Make the Same Mistake I Made

I was at an event in LA earlier this month for a full week, and I picked up a serious case of the runs (I was having 10-20 bowel movements a day). I had picked up a food infection and I neglected to follow my own advice to always take probiotics with you when you travel. Surprisingly, the natural grocery store, which was the only one convenient to me, had absolutely no probiotics other than yogurt.

So as soon as I got home I took a full bottle of my Complete Probiotics, and the four days of misery on the toilet stopped in a few hours.

So don’t make the same mistake I made.

Both you and I should never leave home without a bottle of Complete Probiotics; they don’t have to be refrigerated because they are in the bacterial spore form. They could save you lots of misery in the future and help you avoid the pure hassle of seeking to find a high-quality probiotic while you're on the road. Until it happened to me I had no idea how hard they were to find in a big city.

So learn your lesson and ...

Always Take Good Bacteria When You Are Traveling!!

When Might Your Appendix Need to be Removed?

It’s important to point out, as I said earlier, that there are cases when an appendectomy can save your life, because once your appendix becomes infected or inflamed, it is life threatening. Here are some major warning signs that your appendix might be a problem:
  • You have absolutely no appetite, even for your most favorite foods.
  • You have pain that started around your belly button and has moved to your lower right abdominal area.
  • You have pain when jumping up and down. Try to gently jump up and down. If there is no pain, try jumping even higher. This will move your peritoneal cavity and if it is irritated with an inflamed appendix, you will be in miserable pain.
If you have all of the above symptoms you should be evaluated at your nearest emergency room.

If you are a woman, you may benefit from receiving a CT scan or ultrasound prior to having an appendectomy. A study published in the journal Radiology found that in women who had this done prior to surgery, a healthy appendix was removed 7 percent of the time, compared with 28 percent of the time when no scan was done.

Of course, it’s always best to avoid surgery whenever possible, so while an appendectomy can be life-saving if your appendix is inflamed, it shouldn’t be considered a routine, or elective, procedure.
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Community Comments ( 35 )
 Comment on this Article
  
  
foxtroter
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on October 8, 2007 ]
29 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Is your brain a useless organ?  It would seem so in many people. Especially those that work at the FDA.  Perhaps they should try removal?  hehe.  Many appendix removed have historically been found to be perfectly healthy and removed unnecessarily.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Russ Bianchi
 		[ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on October 8, 2007]
11 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Careful Foxtroter, even a partial lobotomy on Fraud Deceit Always-ers might smart them them up...

;-)

Uncle Russ
Mercola
  
Kaelisabeth
 		[ Joined on 07/07 ]  [ Posted on October 23, 2007]
-1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Apendix- done

Now all I have left on my "To Know Purpose" list is Hymen and Foreskin.

...Is circumsision really nessicary (aside from religous beliefs)?

Mercola
  
jwest
 		[ Joined on 10/07 ]  [ Posted on October 23, 2007]
4 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

To answer Kaelisabeth's comment Circumcision is not necessary, even for religious reasons. For example in my area many Jews are not circumcising their boys and instead are using a naming ceremony similar to that used for girls. You need to put this on your list of unnecessary  surgeries Dr. Mercola!

See http://www.nocirc.org for more information on what is lost due to circumcision. There are many specialized tissues and nerves that are lost due to circumcision, not to mention a loss of sexual pleasure in many men. If you are already circumcised consider non-surgical foreskin restoration, see http://www.norm.org

The studies showing circumcision preventing AIDS is all hype too. AIDS/HIV, as well as most other STDs can be prevented almost completely by proper and regular usage of condoms. Also consider that Europe has low rates of HIV infection yet almost no men there are circumcised. I could go on, but as with many topics on Dr. Mercola's website the bottom line is to do the research yourself. The truth is out there.

  
  
mmc88121
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on October 8, 2007 ]
14 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
God put our bodies together and everything has a purpose.

Mary
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
JanD
 		[ Joined on 10/06 ]  [ Posted on October 10, 2007]
-1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
Or we evolved into what we are now, losing all features that diminished survival during our fertile years.

Anyway, it's good to be sceptic whenever someone says an organ is "not needed". Reminds me of Katie's ordeal: " We start some immunotherapy to help Katie's body fight the cancer. Katie has not been able to mount an immune response because M.D. Anderson removed her thymus gland back on June 30, 2005 without our approval. When we asked why, the doctor at M. D. Anderson said "she didn't need it." Well, the thymus makes your t-cell and b-cell lymphoctyes and makes the hormones that regulate all of the immune system." 
Source: http://prayforkatie1.blogspot.com/   
Whenever I re-read that, it makes my stomach turn.
Mercola
  
BeyondOrganic
 		[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on October 22, 2007]
6 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

I have always believed that!  Never made sense to me why so many people say you don't need your apendix nor you tonsils.  I plan on keeping mine!

Mercola
  
Seadog
 		[ Joined on 08/07 ]  [ Posted on October 24, 2007]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

God also put our food together for fueling that well designed body.  Why we think we can fool around with that and remain healthy is a mystery to me!

  
  
Russ Bianchi
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on October 8, 2007 ]
11 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
By definition, evasive and surgical procedures, on any part of the body, cause more damage, prior to alleged and sometimes correction, at high economic cost, and increased potential harm from anesthesia or infection, to name one two, potential health harming, or life threatening events.

If someone wants to 'cut' get several opinions first, at a minimum, if elective in scope.

Uncle Russ
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Arizona
 [ Joined on 06/07 ] [ Posted on October 8, 2007 ]
8 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Knowing what I know today, it boggles my mind that at a tender age of 3, I nearly died because of infection and an inflamed appendix. What could have possibly caused a problem at this early age??  Vaccines??? I really don't know, but it makes me wonder.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Health Man
 		[ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on October 9, 2007]
3 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
One theory I read is that we are actually "too clean", so the appendix never gets utilized and that appendicitis is a sort of auto-immune response.  Evidently appendicitis is almost non-existent in less developed countries due to periodic bacterial exposure.
Mercola
  
Aaltrude
 		[ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on October 9, 2007]
       
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
It would be interesting to know what the rates of appendicitis are in rural and urban dwellers. I suspect it may be lower in country folk.
  
  
samurai
 [ Joined on 04/07 ] [ Posted on October 8, 2007 ]
8 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Oh, so this means that Mother Nature is smarter than our physicians ??  What?!  Are you kidding me?  Wow.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
GSmith
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on October 23, 2007 ]
7 Points        
   
 
Novice User

Many moons ago in '89 before I knew about nutrition I had an abcess that perforated the intestinal wall.  At that time I was overweight.  Immediately the doctor felt I had appendicitis.  At that time they did not know about the abcess.  When I woke up from the surgery my husband told me what happened.  They took part of my colon out and re-piped it back.  However, since my appendix was right there the doctor took it out even though it was fine.  His reason? You'll probably have problems sometime with it.  You don't need it so I took it out.  Of course, since then I've been diagnosed with a slew of issues including a rare auto-immune disorder called Neurosarcoidosis which I no longer have any symptoms plus colon issues.  I've really had to take care of myself doing all that I know to do including pro-biotics, digestive enzymes and more.  I've been in nutrition now since '97.  Now they tell me I have gallstones.  Surprised me.  They are not touching me again! They do not bother me and I'm doing what I can to shrink them.  I exercise, eat right, stay away from mold and fungus, including those in food.  I've often wondered if all this was because they took out my appendix.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
sparkleg
 		[ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on October 23, 2007]
4 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I wouldn't be a bit surprised as evidenced by what Dr. Mercola has said and by my own experience. Having had a hysterectomy at which time they removed a perfectly good appendix. Needless to say I was furious and still am to this day. I have had bowel issues etc. I too take probiotics and enzymes. I avoid doctors as much as possible. I believe in herbal and natural remedies.

  
  
spazchicken
 [ Joined on 04/07 ] [ Posted on October 23, 2007 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Novice User

I don't know what to believe on what it does, I hear about lubercating the waste as well, but virtually every mammal has one so it has be be worth something.

About a year ago out of nowere I got a dull pain on my side and thought it might be a kidney stone...so I jumped around hearing about certain things you can do to help push them threw.  Next day I thought it moved so I was pretty sure it was a stone....but that night It was feeling more localized.  The next day it was feeling pretty bad it was really hard for me to go to sleep that night... the next day I decided to look for other options since this "stone" wasn't moving at all now.

were the pain was at was right between my belly button and hip bone I could feel a small buldge were the pain was.  I couldn't get around the fact that it either was crones disease or my appendix.  It had been 3 days and I was in so much pain.  I read the about the dangers if it was my appendix, but the conventional medicine hate inside me(from past problems) decided to try something out.  There was also a very good chance that they would take it out "anyways" even if it wasn't my appendix.

One web page(and only one I could find) talked about a way to cure appendicitis by water fasting.  so I decided to try it along with enemas.I've done water fasting before so I wasn't new to it (to cure my IBS af few years back)  Within 24 hours I could feel a slight decreas in pain and by the 3rd day it was gone!

fasted for 5 days total and of course at very watery vegatables and fruits for 2-3 days afterwards. I was also pushing upwards on the "buldge" like popping a pimple (toward my intestin) while upside down durning this time.

IF it was my appendix, I guess it makes sense to fast since waste is not constantly blocking the appendix so it can drain(?). I have no idea and I'll never know if it was my appendix or crones disease, but I know that it was sudden, painful and fasting cured whatever it was :)