(Originally Posted on September 9, 2014)
For many years now much focus has been placed on anti-bacterial this or that. This morning, I was delighted to read this article on BBC News. Finally seeing our symbiotic relationship and dependency on bacteria in the mainstream news is very exciting.
Did you know that intestinal bacterial microbiome (collection of more than a thousand species of teeming bacteria) outnumbers cells 10:1? And from a DNA perspective, bacteria outnumber us 99:1? Because of this startling fact your intestinal microbiome has the ability to influence your thoughts, food cravings, thyroid performance, and immune system. That opens a whole new door to how we function does it not?
Skin is covered in bacteria; we are more bacteria than anything else from head to toe. The BBC article shows how scientist believe that bacteria, or lack there of, is responsible for individuals developing allergies and goes on to list the influences that have altered children’s susceptibility to allergies. The same applies to adults as well.
Why Recent Generations Are Affected
The difference between generations in the past, who did not have the allergy and other health issues on the same scale as today, is that they were exposed to more of the bacteria we need to maintain health and balance.
These days many individuals can go a whole day or more without even stepping outside. Being outside, being in nature or a garden or patio with a few flowers on it even makes all the difference in the world to keeping you healthy and your immune system functioning as it should. This is one of the differences between generations past and our current times.
Another difference is GMO, genetically modified foods. How do these create disease? By turning food into a xenobiotic (substances that are foreign to the body or to an ecological system) substance. Research reveals that glyphosate (Round Up®) suppresses the Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and amino acid biosynthesis by the gut microbiome and causes microbes to generate pesticides which then cause inflammation in the human body leading directly to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Tampering with Nature’s structure of food molecules interferes with 200,000 years of the human cells’ relationship with the plant kingdom (actually a relationship with the intestinal microbiota) and undermines the very foundation of nutritional health. What you eat really does make a difference.
Old Friends
Bacteria are on your skin, line the inside of your mouth and your gut. These organisms are your “old friends”, as Professor Graham Rook, of University College London, calls them and I refer to them as such also. If you take good care of your friends, they will in turn take care of you.
Now you have been introduced to the profound importance of the microbiome as a factor that predisposes health or disease in each human being. By incorporating the three simple tips below you will be supporting a strong, balanced, healthy you that leans more towards health than disease.
Three Tips To Support Your “Friends”
- Eat unprocessed, whole, traditional foods and pastured meats, eggs, dairy
- Eat fermented veggies at least once a day, such as lacto fermented carrots or raw sauerkraut
- Spend at least 20 minutes outside daily.
I’m thrilled to be off to an intensive training this week for some deeper study and training on our microbiomes and learning how to support this symbiotic relationship that sits at the root of health or disease. Stay tuned for more information to come.
Live Vibrantly!
ps. Curious to know more about how to get the most nutrients from your food and make the best choices? Then I invite you to check out my book, “Live Vibrantly! 10 Steps to Maintain Youthfulness, Increase Energy and Restore Your Health”. Go here for more information and how to get your free bonuses
