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Will Eating Probiotic Foods Make Any Difference?
Building Up The Good Bacteria
Your 100 Trillion Bacteria
As I write this and at times it feels like the whole world moved to the dark side of the moon as we struggle with invisible forces that have disrupted our way of life. Let me tell you what I wish I'd known when I was young and had no idea what things would befall me. You have no control over the outside world and circumstances that can happen. But what you do control is your response to them. Your mind can focus on hope or despair and then you perceive your life through that lens. As the earth spins on its axis and hurls us through space and as I watch the sunrise every morning without fail, I feel the love that holds this world together despite the unrest in our hearts that appears to disrupt our well being. I am just one who believes with all her heart that one person can make all the difference among hundreds who are struggling and can't find their way. Not that you have to have all the answers for someone but as I witnessed in my own life these past few months, just standing by someone's side will often be enough. I don't pretend to know the challenges people are facing but I know that we need time to heal and I am not afraid of what is to come.
What I do know is that we are magnificent beings and that greatness lies within all of us. Unseen forces keep our bodies moving every day. Every second of the day your blood delivers nutrients and oxygen to all of your organs. Your body creates microscopic defenders called antibodies. Your blood coats germs and invaders making it possible for white blood cells in the bloodstream to kill them. And that's just the beginning of all your body can do for you. So in my own attempt to help and encourage you, let me tell you some of the unseen forces that are working inside of you trying to keep you well each and every day.
There are microorganisms everywhere and you can't see them, but they are inhabiting you and everything else. You are 100 trillion cells of bacteria. Do you know how much that is? To get a point of reference, you could take canning jars and line them up to span 14,000 miles - that is 1 trillion glass jars. This is roughly the distance from Kansas City in the middle of America to Beijing, China – and back. Now do that 100 times and you have 100 trillion.
This is hard to comprehend, that we are essentially sacks of bacteria. Bacteria outnumber the cells in our body ten to one, and yet it seems the main thing you hear about is how to destroy bacteria. Antibiotics are plentiful and used regularly by most people with the thinking that there will be no negative consequences to killing both the good and the bad bacteria inside of them. Don't get me wrong, there are times when antibiotics are needed and should be used, but this should be infrequent and as little as possible so that we don't kill the good bacteria that protect us. The more good bacteria you have, the less sickness and disease you will experience. It's designed this way to help keep you healthy. Although antibiotics can be effective in ridding us of harmful bacteria, if we don't rebuild the good bacteria that we also kill with the antibiotics, we will find ourselves in a vicious cycle of having to take antibiotics regularly - thus causing more sickness and disease instead of less. Building up the good bacteria will protect us from getting sick, and wellness will be the norm.
We Are 100 Trillion Bacteria And 99% Are Harmless
If we are 100 trillion bacteria and 99% are harmless, or good bacteria, don't you think we should be paying attention to the things they do? And why not eat foods that make them grow and multiply and become stronger? Probiotic foods just make sense. Build up the bacteria and make it strong and mighty, then you and your 100 trillion bacteria will be a force to be reckoned with. A study called the Belly Button Biodiversity Project at North Carolina State University found about 1,400 different strains of bacteria living in the navels of 95 participants. Of these, 662 strains were previously unrecognized. That's a lot of different strains of bacteria living in and on you, and this is why I recommend eating different types of cultured foods that supply different strains of bacteria.
Bacteria Can Commit Suicide When Infected By A Virus
Bacteria are intelligent and have a complex system of chemical “signals” that go both within and among bacteria, helping them decide what to do and how to act. In the April issue of the journal Trends in Microbiology, Klaas J. Hellingwerf found that the bacterial system contains all the important features that make neural networks function, leading to the idea that the bacteria have “a minimal form of intelligence." For instance, some strains of bacteria commit suicide when infected by a virus, thereby protecting their bacterial neighbors from infection. Bacteria cooperate: they can group together to take on tasks that would be difficult, or impossible, for one to handle alone. A single bacteria can contain dozens of such systems operating at the same time for different purposes.
So, why should we eat more probiotic foods, and will it make any difference?
You and your bacteria are co-creators in this life and should be best friends. We need good bacteria to digest food, to synthesize certain vitamins, and to form a barricade against disease-causing bacteria. But this is just the beginning of understanding what they can do. They are now saying bacteria control our weight and brain chemistry, and the list keeps growing.
When I started to consume these foods, I got better. Not just better . . . I went from really sick with diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic inflammation to feeling like I was aging backwards. Everything started working better. My brain was clearer, my emotions were enhanced, my joint pain was gone, allergies got better, serotonin produced feelings of well-being - and sadness and despair . . . gone. Oh, how I love these foods because they brought me here.
You don't have to believe me, just open your mind to the fact that there are things living inside of you by the trillions that are trying to help you. Don't kill them! Feed them probiotic foods and watch them grow and thrive. Get to know the bacteria inside of you and they will change not only your digestive and stomach problems, but you will see improvement in so many other health issues as well. They will convince you of their power and then you will know for yourself. You're so much more than flesh and bones. You're mostly bacteria - the good kind. Get to know your bacteria and become friends. They have always been there, helping you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They don't get weekends or vacations, they slave away night and day assisting the numerous processes in your body. They can make you well. It's their job, but they need your help. They'll be your very best friends.
The Trilogy
I eat The Trilogy every day which provides many strains of good bacteria. These different bacteria work together and when I eat them on a regular basis I thrive.
Fermentation is an art form and each individual cultured food is, in and of itself, unique. The three foods of The Trilogy each provide different good bacteria and yeasts that enhance the trillions of bacteria in the body and allow them to thrive, grow, and multiply. This allows you, the host, the opportunity to heal disease, remove pathogens, enhance digestion, make serotonin, and experience a multitude of other opportunities for healing that otherwise would not have been possible. This is what I call ~ The Trilogy
The Trilogy is my secret weapon. It has changed my life and so many other lives. What is The Trilogy? Three magic and powerful foods that I consume every day without fail. They are kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables; and they bring me more joy than I can express in words. This is the thing I noticed the most when I taught others about cultured foods - when they consumed one of these foods they would get better, but when they consumed all three, they seemed to thrive! These three foods (kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables) are unique unto themselves and each food contains a different set of bacteria and yeasts that we need to thrive and feel alive.
These foods are powerful and they will train you to eat them because of what they can do. I have noticed that the homemade versions are much stronger and the benefits more, as compared to store-bought versions. I highly recommend that you try to make your own. The Trilogy is something I eat every day, and I want to share it with others because it will change you, too. 
Kefir
Homemade kefir has over 50 good bacteria and yeasts. It is so powerful that I recommend people consume only small amounts when they first start kefir so as not to overwhelm their body with good bacteria. These bacteria are strong and will go to work killing pathogens and bad bacteria, making some individuals uncomfortable. You can read more about that on this blog post: The Healing Crisis.
Kefir and its special bacteria will make you its home and keep things in balance for you. It will add probiotics to any kind of milk, whether it be cow, goat, coconut, or almond milk. It will transform the milk, increasing vitamins and nutrient absorption, and it will do this sitting on your counter in a glass jar while you go about your day. Then when you consume it, you will find it will digest your food, reduce inflammation, make elimination a breeze, and, well, the list is so long it would take this entire page to explain it all. It transformed me and I don't go a day without it. It was the first cultured food I started with and the one that changed me the most.
If you would like to see more reasons to consume kefir, check out this article:
Kombucha
My, my, my, how I love this fermented tea. Talk about powerful! It is a wonder drink and there is nothing else like it on the market. It helps remove toxins through the kidney, liver, and the bowels. You might notice, as I did, that kombucha can help you lose a lot of excess water weight. It helps you eliminate the excess swelling and fluid that accumulates in your tissues from chemically laden foods and alcohol.
I was talking with a friend this weekend and he noticed the same thing. On the weekends, he tends to drink a lot of alcohol, and if he doesn't have his kombucha, he will retain a lot of fluids. The body tends to do this when it has a lot of toxins. On weekdays when he goes back to drinking his kombucha, he will release the water weight and easily lose five pounds. This does not surprise me because kombucha will assist your liver in removing toxins that have accumulated. Kombucha will also help relieve the water retention that often happens when the body protects the organs by holding on to water when under stress or a heavy toxic load.
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Cultured Vegetables
Everybody knows that vegetables are so, so good for you - but when you ferment vegetables, they become even more powerful. Let me tell you my little story about these veggies. I went on a trip and didn't have my cultured veggies for two weeks. I ate everything imaginable under the sun and enjoyed it all. Delicacies and desserts and, well, I was having a good time but having very little, if any, cultured foods. My body has become accustomed to these foods and without them, I am fine for a while; but after a week or two, it revolts. I think it actually gets mad at me and will create symptoms to get my attention. I will get red rashes on my fingers and body odor occurs which I don't have often since this is caused by bad bacteria. My stomach will start to feel bloated and, well . . . let's just say that elimination is not as pleasant as it can be. But the worst thing of all is that I get grouchy and cranky. Yeah, my family makes sure that I eat my cultured foods. But as soon as I have as little as a large spoonful of cultured vegetables, my insides do a happy dance and the cultured vegetables start working inside of me. Believe you me, in a day or two I can feel it, see it, smell it, and know it. They will clean me out, and then some. Talk about housecleaning! They go at it, removing all the inappropriate food debris and making me feel great again.
Check out this article:
Listen To My Podcast
Most of you don't know what processes are actually happening inside of you every day. There are microorganisms everywhere and you can't see them, but they are inhabiting you and everything else. Understanding how this works is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. Tune in and listen to learn more about how to help your body stay healthy and strong.
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