By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the connection between the diversity of your gut microbiome and how it supports immunity and boosts overall health and vitality.[1]
This is something everyone is striving for… but no matter how many probiotic supplements modern humans ingest, we still fall short on gut diversity and improving our health.
No worries! I’m going to share with you three easy ways to feed your microbiome right now.
Eat Locally and Seasonally 
It seems that modern science has finally caught up with what sages, shamans, and healers have known for thousands of years. We are intimately connected to the earth and we need to rotate our diets throughout the year.
According to Science magazine, a study done on the healthy Hadza tribe of Tanzania reveals that their diverse microbiome fluctuates with the changing seasons and their shift in diet.[2]
This is a BIG problem for urbanized humans.
Many modern humans eat the SAME food day after day, year after year, regardless of seasonality or where it is grown. This type of eating will feed only a small population of bacteria in the gut and can lead to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and other digestive woes.
I understand that nutritional science says broccoli is good for you and you should probably eat it to improve your health. But for goshsakes, it does NOT grow in every season!
That means do NOT eat broccoli (or any other food for that matter) every day throughout the year, without altering your diet accordingly.
Don’t over-sanitize your food!
The Hadza tribe also has direct access to the soil. Guess where the most diverse population of bacteria live? In the soil!
This is probably one of the reasons why those soil-based probiotics are so popular. We need nutrients and bacteria from the soil to create a healthy body and a diverse microbiome.
If you go to the trouble to either grow your own food or get your food from a CSA or a local farm, do NOT over-sanitize it.
Modern humans are notorious for overly sanitizing food using harsh chemicals like bleach and chlorine to wash their fruits and veggies. Not smart!
The microbes from the soil are still on that food when it comes out of the earth. If you want to populate your body with more diverse strains of bacteria, don’t kill them all!
Eat probiotic-rich foods
Make probiotic-rich foods a staple in your diet, rather than relying on probiotic supplements.
One of the things that bacteria in the gut thrive on is fiber from fruits and veggies.
That means fermented food like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled veggies and fruits, not only supply your body with millions of beneficial bacteria they also simultaneously provide that bacteria with the fiber they need to thrive.
It’s a win-win for you and your bacteria.
Do you want to learn more about how seasonal eating supports your health?
Meet me in the kitchen for my Seasonal Eating Cooking Class
You’ll learn how to:
- Diversify your diet within each season
- Build a healthier microbiome to support immunity
- Get access to delicious healing recipes
Sign up now to support your health! I’ll see you in the kitchen.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5408367/
[2] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6353/802
Andrea Beaman is an internationally renowned Holistic Health Coach, Natural Foods Chef, Speaker, Herbalist and best-selling author. Named one of the top 100 Most Influential Health and Fitness Experts, she is also a recipient of the Natural Gourmet Institute’s Award for Excellence in Health-Supportive Education and a Health Leadership award from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Since 1999, Andrea has been teaching people how to harness the body’s own preventative and healing powers using food, herbal remedies and alternative medicine.
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