Trust Your Gut Instincts
Food As Medicine. Food As The Way To My Heart. Five Ways To Honor Our Resident Lovebugs.
Dear Ones,
Hi sentients. This place is kind of like a digital garden. A collective consciousness of you all, dear readers. The way to my heart is through food. Period. Hard stop. Healing experiences of food motivate my world travel.
Thank you for being here, you fountainheads of insight. Deep in the cells of my heart, I am grateful.
The word apricity means the warmth of sunshine in the winter. Despite 93 million miles of separation, the sun’s warmth still lights up our faces. Brilliant.
Humans are forces of nature. We have agency and intelligence to alter flora and fauna on all scales. Our choices change ecosystems. Our habits change societies.
As above so below.
Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. What a sacred resilient celestial body. The first lifeforms were single-celled organisms and likely bacteria. Archaic living beings. Such wise ones. I learn so much from them.
Land plants made their debut ~500 million years ago. Hallelujah for that. Animals appeared much later than plants ~400 million years ago. Homo Sapiens finally joined ~300,000 years ago (moderns just ~200,000 yrs ago).
C’mon, mortals. Look at the history. Bacteria have seniority. Plants and animals have street cred over humans. Over everything. By all measures.
What gives humans the right to act superior and human-centric?
When and why were humans severed from the natural world?
Are these 2 questions somehow linked?
BOW DOWN TO BUGS
Did you know that we humans contain 10x more bacterial cells than human cells (edit: conflicing data. It may be more 1:1 human bacterial cells-thanks to a reader for correcting. Counting microscopically seems hard)?
I bow down to microorganisms. I catch myself talking to my resident microorganisms. I know that sounds crazy. I just want us all to get along. Harmony.
Disturb the equilibrium and I promise you that problems will arise.
Sepsis from bacterial infection is the leading cause of hospitalization in the United States. What unfortunate job security for me.
66 million years ago, it is thought that an asteroid 6 miles wide hit planet Earth in the Yucatan peninsula. Changes in conditions led to a non-avian dinosaur die-off. Environmental pressures created new niches. Over time, ancestral mammals came into existence.
Have you wondered why fossil fuels are called fossil fuels? Coal is dead bodies of living creatures from the past. Skeletons of corals and crustaceans sink to sea floor to form limestone. The organic matter gets buried and over time converts to hydrocarbons: coal, oil, natural gas. Humans harvest it. Why does this disturb me so much?
DINOSAUR MINIATURIZATION
Birds descended from avian dinosaurs called theropods (think T rex). Sometimes when I see a bird, my thoughts return to that knowing. You old dinosaur souls, I gingerly say to them.
HUMAN MICROBIOME
There are trillions of microorganisms living in us and on us. This is formally called the microbiome. I call them my lovebugs.
Gut flora composition dictates our mood, weight, and immune system among other things. Our microbiota is a dynamic and ever-changing community of microorganisms. It is influenced by factors such as nutrition, stress, lifestyle, medication, and environment.
What can I say? I am very protective of my flora. I watch what I put into my body. What I consume impacts my flora. You are what you eat. Get friendly with your lovebugs.
*Nessa Tip*: Your stool is like your lovebug fingerprint. People in the same household have the same stool flora. Take note of what you put in your body as it can disturb your natural state. For ex., bacteria love sugar. If you eat a lot of it, especially diabetes sufferers, the bugs will have a party.
I know something crappy that needs to die off: The toxic U.S. fast food industry.
“The single greatest predictor of a healthy gut microbiome is the diversity of plants in one’s diet.” - Will Busiewicz
IS IT RAINING ANTIBIOTICS?
Humans cannot survive without bacteria on and in our bodies. Antibiotics can harm. Antibiotics can save human lives. Critical thinking is endangered.
Doctors (not ID docs) dole out antibiotics like it is water. To be fair, patients demand them feverishly. It is all-around foolish behavior. So much so that laws had to be enacted. California was the first state to enact antimicrobial stewardship legislation.
Antibiotics disturb the sweet alchemy of human microbiomes. The more antibiotics are given, the more pressure for bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. Human actions pressure bacteria and vice versa.
Imagine a widescale superbug crisis fueled by prescription pads and pens. Gut dysbiosis brought to you by heavy-handed doctors. Does this remind you of something? Opioid crisis.
Both scenarios have serious consequences for public health. Stop the madness.
GUT INSTINCTS
Microbial imbalance, or dysbiosis, is connected to a range of health problems from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
An interesting function of gut microbiota is the gut-brain axis, which refers to the remarkable connection between gut bacteria and the nervous system.
Our brain sends messages to our gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbes send signals back to the brain. This pathway is legit and cool af. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter produced by the gut and brain. It contributes to feelings of happiness and well-being.
Like I said: Food is medicine.
5 WAYS TO HONOR OUR LOVEBUGS aka the bacteria that compose us.
Eat wholesome fresh food - Cut the sh*t. Stop ingesting garbage. I get it. Not everyone can grow their own food. Check out a local farmers market. Make sustainable and healthy choices. Grow herbs. Fermented foods increase diversity of gut microbiota.
Decline the use of unnecessary antibiotics - Viral illnesses do not need antibiotics. Your gut flora is life-sustaining. Do not disturb it with antibiotics unless needed. If you are wondering when to use antibiotics, please feel free to ask me.
Listen to your gut (2nd brain) - If you have gut disturbances, it is time to take notes. Regular bowel movements are imperative. Stress disturbs this. Food affects my mood. I feel like sh*t when I eat outside food. It is just a plain truth.
Hydrate with anti-inflammatory homemade teas- My go-to is fresh organic ginger/turmeric root, garden herbs, and fruit (citrus/berries/kiwi with skins) in hot water.
Regulate your nervous system - When you are stressed and not listening to your body, your bacteria get agitated. Don’t piss off your lovebugs. Don’t trust me. Trust your gut.
Week in Photos
DID YOU KNOW?
You know by now that I grow some of my food year round. Locals- you are welcome to harvest. I eat most leaves/flowers/skins/rinds (ex. dandelion, kiwi/citrus skins, pomegranate rind). Recipes here.
Broccoli leaves are often discarded. Why!? They are packed with nutrients, including vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron, and fiber. Use broccoli leaves by:
Adding to salads
Sautéing as a side dish
Blending into smoothies or juices
Use in garden stews
Healthy people create healthy societies.
Healthy societies create healthy people.
May All Beings Find Peace.
Nessa
Book influence of the week: Our Fragile Moment by Michael Mann
This is great information. I had no idea about the antibiotics (until you educated me many years ago). I know SO many people that are quick to call their DR for a RX and rarely are they denied.
While we don't grow our own food at our house, we are careful to make healthy choices at the grocery store, shopping primarily the perimeter of the store. I feel SO much better when we're eating fresh foods at home.
I love the idea that we talk about acting on our “gut feelings,” it’s literally true. I need more leafy greens up in this house. Lettuce pray for better choices.