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10 February 2010
Posted in
6) Winter Health, Naturally
We all know there is a connection between our health and the food we eat. It stands to reason then that we can positively impact our health by choosing healthier foods. Let Registered Holistic Nutritionist and owner of Conscious Catering, Roberto Gueli, teach you about 'friendly bacteria' and how to enhance your body's ability to keep you healthy by choosing healthy, body-'friendly' foods.
Body Ecology & Immunity by Conscious Catering's Roberto Gueli
Have you ever wondered if there is a relationship between sugar and getting sick? As children we were warned about tummy aches. How else does eating too many sweets impact our health? Have you experienced random throat infections or a cold with more mucus than a tissue box could handle? What if being sick was not always caused by something contagious and it had to do with body ecology? Body ecology includes important populations of bacteria working with the human body. These bacteria help in many ways, including defending our body as “already occupied territory” against threatening invaders. Consider them the front lines of your own immune defenses.
- Friendly Bacteria?
- Anti-biotics
- Getting Sick: Yeast & Bacteria
- What Can We Do?
- Kefir, Raw Cultured Vegetables, Sauercraut & Kimchi
Friendly Bacteria?
Most people know they should eat yogurt because it has “friendly bacteria”. To be friends with bacteria actually seems quite paradoxical. We are so equipped with arsenal to destroy them, how could it be that some of them are friendly and vital for human health?
Bacteria live within and around us at all times. Obviously not all of them are friendly. Human harmful bacteria do exist, they will continue to exist and like all creatures they too will continue to evolve.
Anti-biotics
Many bacteria have evolved to survive our attempts of bactericide. This has been creating “superbugs”. These superbugs are notorious for being immune to what were once powerful and effective antibiotics. Even at higher doses.
Antibiotics have been successful at fighting specific infections. The flip side is that in the long run, they can weaken over all immunity. Aside from forcing bacteria to mutate into superbugs, the “antibiotic bomb” leaves no survivors. This includes our friendly neighborhood bacteria.
Getting Sick: Yeast & Bacteria
When friendly bacteria populations are low, we are greatly susceptible to further invasion. This includes harmful illness causing bacteria as well as yeast populations like Candida Albicans. Yeast infections can be as common as the common cold. Sometimes what seems like a common cold or the once in awhile sore throat, can actually be an over growth of yeast.
Yeast and bacteria feed on sugar. As far as I can tell, the bad guys like the white stuff. It seems that the more refined the sugar is, the quicker the unfriendly bacteria multiply and over throw the “good guys”. This is especially true if our defenses have already been weakened from a poor diet, lack of exercise, antibiotics, stress, and not recruiting reinforcements (eating foods with friendly bacteria).
Eating sweets is especially common over the winter months. Abundant from the holidays and it may seem like there are less interesting things to eat. Emotionally we can also feel stressed by the cold, so there may be an even greater impulse to indulge. This seasonal pattern is ironic. We are feeding harmful bacteria what they need to thrive during a season when it is more likely for them to invade!
What Can We Do?
As usual, there is something we can do about it. In general, maintaining good health is essential. A diet consisting of whole foods, getting plenty of exercise, rest, fluids and sunshine, are equal in value to any specific remedy (if not greater). Then, there are ferments.
After an unusual week of eating sweeter foods, I felt a sore throat coming on. It started in the evening and remained first thing in the morning. Naturally I downed my morning glass of home-made kefir and instantly any soreness in my throat was gone. I was completely amazed. I continued to supply my body with friendly bacteria throughout the day, while actively avoiding anything sweet. I have not had any signs of a sore throat since and I am convinced that my actions resulted in prevention.
Kefir is like yogurt. It is milk cultured with friendly bacteria. Kefir can be made with any milk and it is very simple to make. For anyone who is sensitive to lactose, kefir can be easier to digest than yogurt. It also has a wider range of friendly bacteria. Throughout Halifax many people are raising kefir culture. It multiplies and therefore lends itself to being shared. With a little starter, you can be raising your own kefir colony in no time. In the meantime, “Ran-cher acres” at the Halifax Farmers Market supplies an amazing goat milk kefir.
Aside from kefir, raw cultured vegetables, sauerkraut or kimchi can also be an amazing source of friendly bacteria. All bacteria have been killed if it has been pasteurized. Unpasteurized sauerkraut or kimchi can also be found at the farmers market. Recipes to make it yourself are on the web and can also be found at www.bodyecology.com or in the “Body ecology diet” book by Donna Gates.
Finally, if it is not obvious - avoid sugar! This means the white stuff both refined white sugar and white flour. Both are the ideal meal for unfriendly and unwanted bacteria. This especially goes if you are sick, or feel like you are getting sick. This goes for ear, nose, throat and yeast infections. You can even go so far as to avoid all sweeteners including honey, agave nectar and maple syrup. It might even help to temporarily avoid fruit. If you need to sweeten something, I dare say it – try stevia. Less is more with stevia and it does not feed yeast or bacteria.
If you feel like there is nothing left to eat, you may just find yourself enjoying kefir and sauerkraut a whole lot more than you might have thought possible! Restrictions can be limiting or an opportunity to expand habits and explore new foods or a new cookbook. As Spring approaches, simplifying the diet can be a great way to prepare for a cleanse. For questions or support feel free to contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Roberto Gueli is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Yoga Instructor. With his partner Anke Kungl, they operate a catering company with services that focus on feeding people healthy foods sustainably. They can be found selling healthy snacks at the Halifax Farmers Market or on the web at: www.consciouscatering.ca
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