Bacteria... This most maligned of species deserves an entire post (and several books and more) to itself. Our race has travelled long distances, been lost in various diseases, only to discover that the answer to every problem and the cause of every other problem is ... bacteria.
Lowering the drama a bit: I have been shocked and awed at the role that microbes (change of word) play in the human intestine. We have a gastro-intestinal (GI) tract with the surface area of a football field covered entirely (in a healthy human gut) by numerous species of beneficial and some not so good micro-organisms, all of which make up our gut wall providing selective permeability for what passes through.
It is known that a child in the womb has a sterile gut which gets populated through vaginal birth, breast feeding, and then through environmental interactions. The intestine is also the seat of our immune system. In short, bacterial imbalance = poor digestion = perhaps leaky intestine = brain sees stuff it should not see AND immune dysfunction = who knows what syndrome. Bad bacteria take over, yeast takes over, metabolizes sugars into alcohols, your gut barrier allows partially digested food to be absorbed into the blood, your brain (and immune system) sees stuff it never would have normally - and the brain fog begins.
It is amazing that gastroenterologists and neuro-physicians either do not know or will not tell you about the close link between microbial health and gut health, and between gut health and immune health, and between gut health and brain health.
My son has Autism. I didn't know this for the longest time, all symptoms being swept under the all-encompassing rug of Down Syndrome. But he has had all his vaccines, several courses of anti biotics, and every other onslaught on his immune system and gut flora that I could manage. Had I known that 10% of children with DS develop Autism, and had I known the gut-brain connection, things might have been different.
{You are probably wondering about the vaccine connection. The much-maligned Dr. Wakefield's research has now been confirmed by several independent studies (look at Dr. Bob Sears' "the Vaccine Book" for details: children with Autism do have inflammation in their intestines. And there does seem to be a correlation between some vaccines and this inflammation. In a child whose gut flora has already been compromised - read: immune system has been weakened - a further onslaught of a vaccine may prove to be the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back}.
So Eat Fermented Food, made at home preferably. Stop over sanitizing yourself and your surroundings. How many under-sanitized third world countries do you know that have the overwhelming number of allergies that this country does? Educate yourself about vaccines, check your child's gut health before you vaccinate anyway. Use ear oil for ear infections, or see a chiropractor. Re-think the antibiotics. Why kill more of the good stuff yourself? Embrace the dust. Next time you are in India, remember how you lived as a child, dirty and disease-free. Symbiosis exists in our own body - love your bacteria.
Lowering the drama a bit: I have been shocked and awed at the role that microbes (change of word) play in the human intestine. We have a gastro-intestinal (GI) tract with the surface area of a football field covered entirely (in a healthy human gut) by numerous species of beneficial and some not so good micro-organisms, all of which make up our gut wall providing selective permeability for what passes through.
It is known that a child in the womb has a sterile gut which gets populated through vaginal birth, breast feeding, and then through environmental interactions. The intestine is also the seat of our immune system. In short, bacterial imbalance = poor digestion = perhaps leaky intestine = brain sees stuff it should not see AND immune dysfunction = who knows what syndrome. Bad bacteria take over, yeast takes over, metabolizes sugars into alcohols, your gut barrier allows partially digested food to be absorbed into the blood, your brain (and immune system) sees stuff it never would have normally - and the brain fog begins.
It is amazing that gastroenterologists and neuro-physicians either do not know or will not tell you about the close link between microbial health and gut health, and between gut health and immune health, and between gut health and brain health.
My son has Autism. I didn't know this for the longest time, all symptoms being swept under the all-encompassing rug of Down Syndrome. But he has had all his vaccines, several courses of anti biotics, and every other onslaught on his immune system and gut flora that I could manage. Had I known that 10% of children with DS develop Autism, and had I known the gut-brain connection, things might have been different.
{You are probably wondering about the vaccine connection. The much-maligned Dr. Wakefield's research has now been confirmed by several independent studies (look at Dr. Bob Sears' "the Vaccine Book" for details: children with Autism do have inflammation in their intestines. And there does seem to be a correlation between some vaccines and this inflammation. In a child whose gut flora has already been compromised - read: immune system has been weakened - a further onslaught of a vaccine may prove to be the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back}.
So Eat Fermented Food, made at home preferably. Stop over sanitizing yourself and your surroundings. How many under-sanitized third world countries do you know that have the overwhelming number of allergies that this country does? Educate yourself about vaccines, check your child's gut health before you vaccinate anyway. Use ear oil for ear infections, or see a chiropractor. Re-think the antibiotics. Why kill more of the good stuff yourself? Embrace the dust. Next time you are in India, remember how you lived as a child, dirty and disease-free. Symbiosis exists in our own body - love your bacteria.
2 comments:
i didnt realize the gut surface area is that large! totally agree with the connection between food+lifestyle & how you feel physically and mentally. i am not an expert but i'd 'too much' fermented food is also not good for health. link below seems to have some good info. http://healing.about.com/od/ayurvedic_diet/a/Ayurvedadiet.htm
Krishna,
I have heard that Ayurveda calls some fermented food tamasic. I think it is important to remember that this age is like no other in our onslaught on germs, high exposure to antibiotics and overly sterile conditions, resulting in a possibly skewed ration of good to bad bacteria. So I am not sure what an overdose of fermented foods would be, or what that would do, but it is important to include some in your diet everyday.
All traditional cultures have some or the other fermented food.
-V
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