The Shaman's Kitchen

“You are not what you eat. You are what your food ate.”

Nature speaks to us through the veggies and leafy greens we eat. She gives us information
about the weather, the amount of rainfall and sunshine, and the state of the earth where they
grew.

But even more important, our greens talk to our DNA through microRNAs, molecules that can
switch on the genes that create health and silence the genes for breast cancer, heart disease, and
Alzheimer’s.

MicroRNAs instruct our bodies to repair to tissues and regenerate organs . . . rid ourselves of
toxins . . . clear misfolded proteins from the brain that cause dementia. The fresher your greens,
the clearer the message. This means organic, locally grown vegetables should be at the top of
your food shopping list!

Lifeless fruit grown with pesticides and in poor soil sends a mixed message. The fuzzier the
signal , the sicker we become.

So what did your food eat?

Did the spinach in your salad find enough magnesium and selenium in the soil in which it was
grown? Or was the soil depleted from monoculture, chemical fertilizers, and rain loaded with
environmental toxins?

Were the herbs in your omelet organically grown where they received bountiful nutrients from
Mother Earth? Or did pesticides and antibiotics make their way into the plants on your plate?

Did the beef you had for dinner last night come from an animal that ate a variety of grasses that
grew in a farmer’s field? Or from an animal that consumed highly processed chemical feed
from a factory?

Maybe the “food” you had at your last meal is more accurately described as a food-like
substance made of highly processed ingredients and chemicals added for taste, texture,
appearance, and a long shelf-life.

Pay attention not only to what you eat but also to what your food ate.

Plants offer us vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. However, you want to be sure your
digestive system is effectively absorbing them and that they are not simply passing through
your GI track . If you’re eating animal proteins, you want to be sure you know what those
animals were fed and that they had an opportunity to graze or roam freely.
Remember, chickens are not magical factories that turn GMO corn or garbage into healthful
eggs…

Greens that have traces of soil on them provide helpful microbes to your GI tract. Whether
from a farmer’s market or you grow them in your yard, organic vegetables and herbs are gifts
for your gut. Do not wash them too much as you want to benefit from their soil-based
probiotics.

We begin life with a rich microbiome courtesy of our mothers, but as we eat processed foods
that are removed from nature and her soil, we begin to lose the variety of microbes living inside
us. Amazonian peoples have upwards of 2,000 species of gut bacteria in their gut, in contrast to
10 or 12 in the average obese American. These friendly bacteria not only digest food but
manufacture vitamins and neurotransmitters. Antibiotics, alcohol, and our sugar-heavy diet
massacre microbes and feed candida, an invasive yeast that can colonize your gut, displacing
beneficial bacteria, and cause all sorts of health problems.

Sadly, the SAD (standard American diet) makes people sick even before they develop
symptoms. Why have so many obese and diabetic people died from Covid-19 infections or
developed long-term side effects? It’s probable that the problem of a gut sparsely populated by
beneficial microbes played a role in their health outcomes.

Your microbiome is the first line of defense in your immune system. It also is where you
manufacture serotonin, the key “feel-good” hormone that stabilizes your mood and creates
feelings of wellbeing and happiness. Another is BDNF, short for brain-derived neurotrophic
factor. BDNF cues stem cells in the hippocampus, a structure in the brain associated with
memory and learning, to repair and grow new neurons.

Serotonin produced by your gut flora will repair the hippocampus and increase your odds of
avoiding Alzheimer’s disease. Statistics indicate you have a 50% risk of diagnosable
Alzheimer’s by the age of 85. We can minimize this risk with a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty
acids, such as those found in fatty fish, which help to repair the hippocampus, and
supplementing the precursors for serotonin (like 5-HTP and L-Triptophan).

Eat organically and get out into nature, play with the soil so that you end up with some of the
earth-based probiotics in your mouth and skin. Or let your dog lick you. You’ll be doing your
gut a favor!

Cut back on the sugary treats that feed the candida that has overpopulated your gut . One
effective way to eliminate candida is with the probiotic S. Boulardii, which you can prepare at
home.

What I do: I use Omnibiotic, my favorite probiotic. It’s lovingly crafted in Austria by my friend
Dr. Anita Frauwallner and available at Amazon.com