Defend. Protect. Assist.
I came up with this as a way to explain to my littles how whole and living foods help our bodies to be strong. The good bacteria fight off bad bacteria and help our bodies heal, grow, and maintain balance.
Bacteria in and on our bodies outnumber our cells. More bacteria than cells. Having the right balance of bacteria is vital to health and wellness of just about every form. New research and updated science is emerging regularly showing the connection between our guts and our bodies and minds. Research connecting mental health and neurological disorders and processes to the bacteria and conditions of our guts. Lights. My. Fire.
Good bacteria: prevent growth of harmful bacteria, fortify the gut wall, aid in digestive processes, assist in absorption of nutrients, develop, train, and strengthen the immune system, neutralize toxic byproducts of digestion, communicate to brain, produce hormones, and more.
Bad bacteria: produce infection, fight good bacteria, limit the immune system, cause disease, increase cancer risk, inhibit absorption of necessary nutrients and enzymes, develop chronic health issues, and more.
To help fortify and strengthen our bodies best soldiers we can:
🦠 Keep good bacteria alive by limiting use of antibiotics unless actually necessary. Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. They don’t discriminate. They are beneficial and lifesaving at times but many times overused. This includes limiting eating foods treated with antibiotics. Meat is a major offender. Pasture raised and organic is best.
🦠 Limit hand sanitizer and consider what kinds of soap and cleansers you’re using. Killing 99.9% of bacteria is not a good thing. Good bacteria need to exist on our skin too. The 0.1% that survive are the strongest and this contributes to the development of superbugs that can’t easily or sometimes at all be killed.
🦠 Feed good bacteria with whole foods and living foods
🦠 Limit processed foods
🦠 Avoid preservatives
🦠 Avoid refined sugars
🦠 Include probiotic rich foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt
🦠 Buy organic when possible
🦠 Keep skins on organic root vegetables
🦠 High quality probiotics