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I picked this up from the Lymedisease.org web site. It's a BBC article about gut bacteria and how strong a roll it plays in keeping us well (and making us sick if it is messed up). -Bob
Sun Apr 15, 2012 6:25 pm (PDT)
It is about the microscopic bugs that live all over your body – on your skin, in your mouth, in your nose, and in particular your digestive tract. These bugs are so numerous that they outnumber your own cells by a factor of 10. You are vastly more microbe than human.
Before you get so disgusted you stop reading, consider this: many of these bugs are as essential to your life as your own cells. These microbes have been around since before humans existed, and our bodies have evolved to adapt to their presence just as they have adapted to ours.
They are also – to quote one expert – the “last frontier” of medical research, a crucial aspect of our health that scientists rarely considered until recently. It is also one of the most daunting challenges facing biologists today.
“We know next to nothing about this whole universe that we host,” according to Bruce Birren, co-director of the Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program at the Broad Institute, a research collaborative between Harvard and MIT scientists. “It’s as if we’re coming to a planet for the first time and asking: what do we find?”.....
The rest of the story is here:
Bob,want to pass this along..
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that is affordable and easy to carry out for my health improvement is making kefir from kefir grains...I found my energy level level much improved, hair and nails, too. And I know my gut is benefited, it is very high in good bacteria and B vits and more. Mine I make from ordinary milk (would love to use organic/non homogenized milk only, but cannot afford to) ..it can also be made using water, although I've never tried it. I love my "milk beer"...when I fall out of the regimen, (and it is)..and stop culturing and using for even a week I do experience energy loss. However, the grains, can be static in a pitcher for MONTHS in the back of my fridge. They revive easily, and regain their vigor, with one or two new batches. So you can "let it ride" if you need a break from the task. The homemade is very different and I think superior to anything you buy in a health food store, because it is able to be "live" and breath and effervesce; it's actually bubbly..the store bought must be capped tightly, which I think is detrimental. (I keep a loose cover on the strained kefir, and loose cover on the culturing milk) The grains are readily available, thru kefir forums, ebay and etsy, even!..only downside is finding "parents" for the new grains, as they multiply, and double. People who cannot tolerate milk often can, when it is cultured. This Mom drinks it "straight", and I make strawberry banana honey smoothies, for elder Pa and teens who embrace it that way. Blessings to you and thanks for all the great posts:-)