Dysbiosis E-mail
Dysbiosis will be the word of the year, I predict, and it will be used in political and social contexts well outside the bounds of its usual environs in the depths of one’s bowels. After all, it is merely a reflection of discontent - a sour mixture of too many forces fighting for the same space and the resulting imbalance between the checks and balances that naturally keep all the many different bacteria in your gut in balance. This is usually brought on by a mixture of razing the playing field with antibiotics-killing the good bacteria along with the pathogens, only to leave the most virulent pathogenic bugs with room to expand- and a hit to the immune system in general, that leaves one susceptible to the fate of dybiosis. But, don’t worry the story’s not over, there’s not only hope there’s a way out of it. I wish I could say it’s quick and easy. Though it can be straightforward, it is sometimes long and involved. However, it is one of the most worthwhile ways to retrieve your health - after all, digestive fire is a sign of your overall health, and key to cultivating your greatest wealth.

One of the easiest things to do, and the first place to start, is to stack the deck in favor of the good bacteria. After all, there’s a limited amount of space in your digestive tract why not plant the good stuff there in abundance? Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria, like l. rhamnosus, l.casei, lactobacillus, acidophilus and bifidobacterium are what you want here. The other important part of the equation is supplying the probiotics with their preferred food: prebiotics. Prebiotics contain chains of sugars known as oligosaccharides, and are known as FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides). They can be obtained by supplementation, and from foods like beets, garlic, beans, carrots, onions, honey, beer, rye, asparagus, banana, maple sugar, oats, and Jerusalem artichoke. I suggest starting with a supplement of FOS, which tastes like sugar but with a powdery texture. It’s a great substitution for sugar in non-baked foods. Just like when you germinate seeds you start with good soil, it’s the same thing when you start to regerminate your gut with an abundance of good bacteria.

Next time, we’ll talk about the many cool things that the beneficial bacteria do for your body from the control center deep in your bowels. Until then, may you enjoy good food, laughter and light.