You are healthier if you eat dirt!

Hello, the book I will interpret for you today is "Eat Soil", and its subtitle is "The overall health revolution that strengthens the intestines and improves immunity." The author believes that maintaining the diversity and balance of intestinal microorganisms can improve human immunity and improve health. If you want to be less sick and feel more energetic, you need to welcome beneficial microbes back into your gut.

01

When you hear the title "Eating Dirt", you may feel a little strange. In our impression, soil is dirty, unhygienic, and full of bacteria. It cannot be used as food to satisfy hunger, and it tastes bad. Why should we eat it? In fact, the title of the book "Eat Dirt" does not really mean that we grab a handful of dirt and eat it, but that it allows us to be exposed to more bacteria and make ourselves dirtier. Because the author of this book believes that more exposure to bacteria is good for our health.

We have always believed that bacteria can make people sick. In order not to get sick, we are always eliminating and staying away from bacteria. In fact, in our time, while there are more and more ways to eliminate bacteria, people's health is declining. Compared with the past, modern medical standards are higher and the environment is cleaner, but more people are suffering from various chronic diseases, such as allergies, obesity, indigestion, autoimmune diseases, etc. Why is this happening? This is what we are going to talk about today, the issue discussed in the book "Eating Soil". Josh Akers, the author of this book, looks at our health from a new perspective and tells us that the reason for the prevalence of many modern diseases is the excessive pursuit of a clean lifestyle and poor eating habits, which destroy our intestines. healthy.

Josh Akers is a well-known American natural medicine expert and a clinical nutritionist. He runs a world-renowned functional medicine clinic, and he also has a natural health website that gets over 10 million visitors a month. Akers has served as a health care physician for many professional athletes, including swimming star Michael Phelps, a legend who has won 18 Olympic gold medals.

Speaking of which, the reason why Ax became a doctor was because of his mother. When Akers was seven years old, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. In order to help his mother get rid of the pain, Akers decided to become a doctor. Later, Ax really became an excellent doctor and helped his mother cure her illness. However, Ax's approach to treating disease is very different from traditional drug treatment. He believes that traditional drug treatments have many side effects, so he advocates using food and other methods to treat diseases.

Okay, after introducing the basic information of this book, next, I will tell you the core content of the book: The first key point is, why is leaky gut syndrome the root cause of many diseases? The second important point is, what are the factors that undermine intestinal health? The third focus is, how to repair our intestines and regain health?

02

Let’s first talk about why leaky gut syndrome is the root cause of many diseases?

Leaky gut syndrome means that the intestines are damaged and unable to prevent harmful substances from entering the bloodstream, causing various diseases. Akers points out that it is leaky gut that causes us to suffer from various chronic diseases and autoimmune diseases. There are many conditions associated with leaky gut syndrome, including chronic fatigue, diabetes, thyroid disease, and arthritis.

However, most people have the misunderstanding that the root causes of our illnesses are microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. In fact, for the human body, most microorganisms are neutral or beneficial, and harmful microorganisms account for a very small proportion. Microorganisms are almost everywhere, and we are exposed to them in large numbers every day. It is impossible to completely isolate them. Even though we live in a complex microbial environment, we can still stay healthy under normal circumstances. That's because our human body has a complete immune system that can resist attacks by various harmful microorganisms.

Therefore, the incidence of many modern diseases has increased not because we are exposed to too many bacteria, but because there is a problem with the immune system, especially the damage to the intestines, which is the body's first line of defense.

Why do you say that? We all know that the role of the intestines for us is to digest and absorb food and provide nutrients to the human body. However, the intestines also play another important role, which is to act as a barrier to prevent harmful substances from the outside from entering the body. The human body is not directly exposed to the external environment. When we eat, food enters the intestines through the mouth, but this does not actually enter the human body. The intestine separates the external environment from the vital organs inside the body, preventing harmful toxins, allergens, and microorganisms from entering the bloodstream, thus forming a protective layer that prevents us from getting sick.

However, if there is a problem in the intestines, viruses and some harmful substances will enter the blood circulation, causing the body to secrete antigens to attack these foreign substances. This is the reason for our allergies. A healthy gut is only slightly permeable, allowing only a small amount of water and nutrients to pass through the gut and into the bloodstream. You can think of the intestines as a fishing net. The net is complete and has very small pores. In an unhealthy intestine, that is, after suffering from leaky gut syndrome, due to the excessively large pores in the intestinal wall, larger molecules and other foreign microorganisms can pass through and move throughout the body with the blood. The body will treat these substances as foreign bodies and respond, causing an inflammatory response throughout the body.

So why do we get leaky gut syndrome? In fact, the key to whether our intestines are healthy lies in the type and quantity of microorganisms in the intestines. In a healthy intestine, microorganisms are abundant and balanced. Neutral and beneficial microorganisms are maintained at about 85%. They can fill the intestinal wall space and prevent harmful microorganisms from multiplying. In addition, 15 harmful microorganisms can train the intestines, improve immunity, and interact with other microorganisms to maintain a dynamic balance.

Different microorganisms in the intestine play different roles. Some microorganisms can digest food and produce vitamins, some can regulate hormone levels and produce natural chemicals needed by the intestines, and some can prevent toxins from being absorbed and help the intestines excrete harmful substances from the body. If these microorganisms are destroyed, the intestines will be unable to digest and absorb food normally, and will lose their ability to resist foreign substances.

Okay, I have shared the first key point with you. Why is leaky gut syndrome the root cause of many diseases? The main reason why we get sick is that the intestines, which are the body's immune system, are damaged, which is leaky gut syndrome. Once there is a problem with the intestines, the body is easily infected by various harmful bacteria and viruses, leading to illness. Leaky gut syndrome is caused by an imbalance of the microbial environment in the intestine. To maintain a healthy and stable intestinal environment, it is necessary to maintain the diversity of microorganisms in the intestine. Knowing the importance of the intestines to our health, what causes the diversity and balance of intestinal microorganisms to be destroyed? This is the second key point we want to share. What are the factors that undermine intestinal health?

03

According to Josh Akers, there are three main factors that undermine intestinal health: diet, hygiene and stress.

The first is the harm of diet to the intestines. Many times, we choose foods based on price, taste, and appearance. Foods that are cheap, taste good, and look beautiful are more likely to attract our attention. However, we ignore one of the most important factors, which is health. As a result, for the sake of convenience and more profits, food manufacturers will adapt to our preferences and produce foods that appear to be of high quality and low price, but are actually not good for health. Most of these unhealthy foods are processed foods filled with chemicals and sugar. In the book, Akers lists many processed foods that are harmful to gut health, including chocolate milk, hot dogs, salad dressings and soda drinks. In order to make food look brightly colored, last longer, and taste sweeter, various colorings, preservatives, and sugars are added to these foods. Although additives of qualified quality will not cause harm to the human body in the short term, long-term consumption can still harm our health.

Let’s look at an example from the book. Spector, a professor of medicine, conducted a study with his son Tom.

There are many ways to be exposed to microorganisms. For example, you can go for a walk in the park or walk barefoot on the lawn. You can also get a dog or cat and play with it. If conditions permit, you can also go swimming in the sea or a freshwater lake. Also, a great way to do this is to go to farmers markets and look for fresh fruits and vegetables that still have dirt on them, so you are not only exposed to soil microbes but also eating healthy, natural foods. Of course, in order to avoid colds and flus, it is necessary to have an appropriate amount of exposure to microorganisms and maintain basic hygiene habits.

The third step is to learn to release stress. With the accelerated pace of modern life, all kinds of stress and anxiety make people physically and mentally exhausted. If the stress is not relieved in time, it is likely to cause harm to the body. So how should we relieve stress? Akers recommends that we exercise, because exercise can not only make the body better, but also relax the mind and relieve stress. It is a multi-purpose method. If you are a person who likes to communicate, find friends who can listen and encourage each other. You can also develop your own hobbies, so that when you are immersed in your favorite activities, you can forget about those worries and stress.

The key content of the third part of this book has been shared. How to repair the intestines and regain health? We can achieve this in three steps. The first step is to choose healthy food. Preferably natural foods, such as organic vegetables and fruits. Fresh products from farmers markets and fermented foods are also good choices. The second step is to get close to the natural environment. Don't stay indoors all day, go outdoors more often and get some proper exposure to the soil. The third step is to learn to release stress. The pace of modern life is tight, and we easily feel depressed and nervous, so we need to adjust our mentality in time to relieve stress.

05

At this point, we have shared the core content of the book "Eating Soil". Now, let me briefly summarize all the sharing today:

First of all, we mentioned that leaky gut syndrome is the root cause of many modern diseases. The increased incidence of many modern diseases is due to the disruption of the microbial balance within the intestine. The intestines have the function of decomposing food, providing nutrients to the human body, and resisting harmful external substances. If the internal environment of the intestines is out of balance, it will lose its function of resisting diseases and may easily cause various diseases.

Then we talked about factors that undermine gut health. The normal operation of intestinal function is maintained by the microorganisms inside the intestine. Modern diet, excessive hygiene habits, and heavy stress will destroy the balance of intestinal microorganisms. In terms of diet, the main reason is that we choose too many processed foods. Processed foods are bad for digestion and destroy the beneficial microbes in your gut. In terms of hygiene, excessive cleaning habits reduce our exposure to microorganisms, and microorganisms play an important role in the normal operation of our immune system. In addition to diet and hygiene, stress is also a major factor in damaging intestinal health. Heavy life pressure not only makes people nervous and depressed, but also causes harm to the body.

Finally, we talked about how to repair your intestines and regain your health. In addition to improving our eating habits and lifestyle, we must also learn to release stress. In your diet, you should choose more natural foods instead of processed foods for convenience. Live closer to the natural environment and avoid excessive use of detergents and disinfection equipment. We also need to learn to release stress. The mental state of anxiety and tension will affect physical health, so when the pressure is too high, you should adjust your mood appropriately and slow down the pace of life.

The book "Eat Soil" corrects many misconceptions about health for us. At the same time, it also provides many practical methods to improve our health. Although some of the suggestions in the book are difficult to implement completely in the modern environment, such as not eating processed foods, we can still consciously restrain ourselves to avoid making mistakes that may lead to health problems. We are entering an era of rapid development, and the way of life and the environment have changed a lot, but no matter how it changes, the intestines still play an important role in human health. For this reason, we should improve our diet reasonably and develop good habits. lifestyle habits.

That’s all for today. Congratulations on reading my long speech.