We pay lip service to the importance of a healthy life-style and a balanced diet but it is clear that the general population and the medical communities in most developed countries are focused on “cures” for our ailments rather than their root causes. While statistics show that afflictions such as obesity, asthma, autism, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, auto-immune diseases and even cancer occur in affluent western societies at a much higher rate than they do in the developing world, only a tiny fraction of our medical spending is devoted to finding and eliminating the root causes. Of the root cause research that is being done, much of the focus is on cellular malfunctions rather than the unhealthy lifestyle choices that appear to be the major culprits.
As we gain a better understanding of the microbiome and how it interacts with our bodies and, in particular, with our immune systems it is clear that our failure to cultivate and nourish our microbiome has been a major contributor to the rise of western afflictions. Our microbiome interacts with the bacteria that we ingest every day and in the process it learns which are benign and which need to be suppressed. Research has shown that this learning is then passed along to the immune system to assure that hostile microbes are effectively confronted wherever they appear.
Unfortunately, our widespread use of antibiotics and increasing preference for Caesarian Section births have dramatically reduced both the diversity and health of our microbiomes. We have further aggravated the situation by substantially reducing our consumption of the dietary fiber that provides the nourishment that our microbiome needs to flourish. As a result, western microbiomes are in general much less diverse and much less well nourished than those commonly found in the developing world. The unfortunate result is that those of use that live the “western lifestyle” have become much more susceptible to diseases that share the common thread of an under populated, under fed microbiome and an over active immune system that is fighting the invasion of what were intended to be helpful bacteria.
While I would not suggest that we ignore the advances of modern medicine I would suggest that we can significantly reduce our need for medical interventions by cultivating a diverse and healthy microbiome. I see two major benefits: 1) we get the full benefit of all of the nutrients and compounds that are produced by a healthy microbiome that are clearly important to our physical and mental health and 2) we avoid the inflammation and breakdown of the mucous lining that causes gastric ailments and ultimately leads to “leaky gut” and a wide variety of inflammation related and auto-immune physical and mental ailments.