TIME MAGAZINE TACKLES THE MICROBIOME AS RELATED TO OVERALL HEALTH
After mentioning some of the numerous diseases associated with a screwed up microbiome, Markham Heid, the author of a new story in Time (It’s Not Yet Clear How to Boost the Microbiome. But Diet Is the Best Bet) said this.
“It’s fairly clear that the foods a person eats—or doesn’t eat—can affect the composition of his or her microbiome. Research on mice has shown that switching from a fiber-and-antioxidant rich Mediterranean diet to a Western diet…. can alter the microbiome’s population within a day. Also, diets high in sugar are able to decrease microbiome diversity within a week—a shift that has been associated with irritable bowel syndrome and diabetes. Researchers have also found that antibiotics or antibacterials [wipes, soaps, lotions, sanitizers, etc] are able to knock down or disrupt the human body’s microflora in ways that could promote disease or illness.” If you follow my site, none of this is news.
Your MICROBIOME is the sum total of the bugs (virus, bacteria, YEASTS, fungus, and even some PARASITES) that live both on and in you; largely in your intestinal tract or “Gut”. It’s why GUT HEALTH is such a big deal, and why I continue to warn my readers and patients alike that one of the single worst things they can do to destroy their overall health is to take ANTIBIOTICS, which destroy both the microbiome and immune system (HERE), leading to a problem widely known as DYSBIOSIS.
Because dysbiosis is associated with almost every disease you can name (even those you’ve been told are “GENETIC“), not surprisingly, the article contained abundant discussion about FMT (FECAL MICROBIOTA TRANSPLANTS).
And while the interviewed experts talked about the people “trying” FMT’s for any number of chronic illnesses, including AUTISM, DEPRESSION, and AUTOIMMUNITY, the director of the American Gut Project at Cal State SD, Dr. Daniel McDonald, said that, “Often lost amid the fecal transplant hype is the considerable risk involved. The potential to be harmed by this procedure is very high.” This is news to me.
While it’s true that McDonald is the expert, virtually every study I have looked at (and I’ve looked at hundreds) shows just the opposite — that the procedure is not only safe, but extremely safe, especially when you compare it to our CULTURE OF MEDICATION FOR EVERYTHING (see earlier link on FMT).
Were there other parts of the article that were problematic? Of course. Because our medical community cannot seem to break free from the FOOD PYRAMID MENTALITY of the 1980’s, we shouldn’t be surprised that in this article they praised GRAINS, while while extolling the dangers of fats, without discussing the difference between good fats and bad fats (HERE).
On the other hand, the experts did suggest cutting back on both SUGAR and SODA, not because we know that sugar feeds infections, including dysbiosis (HERE), but mostly because of “broader nutrition research.” And while PROBIOTICS were mentioned, they received almost no play in this article, probably because the research on them, while certainly showing promise, is not as cut and dried as you might expect (HERE, HERE, and HERE).
My suggestion to you is that if you want to get serious about restoring the health of your Gut and solving the problems associated with a dysbiotic microbiome, you must first have at at least a basic understanding of the HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS — a rationale that will help you understand why so much of what we refer to as “science” or “evidence-based medicine” is a complete fraud that’s geared at one thing and one thing only — making money (HERE).
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