Caring For Your Inner Ecosystem
March 24, 2014
Many of us care about the global ecosystem of the planet on which we live. We worry about climate change and the effect that has on the ecosystem of the entire planet. We measure temperature changes relative to “pre-industrialization levels”, because that’s where it all started to change for the worse for the environment: industrialization disrupted the natural balance of the environment faster than nature could recover itself, and the ecosystem was forever changed.
But have you every stopped to realize that there is a strong parallel between this global ecosystem, and the inner ecosystem within your body? The human body is a natural wonder – it has many systems built in to compensate and complement the different functional organs. For centuries, it has adapted to a natural environment and has been fueled by natural foods. However, as humans have industrialized the food chain, we have also disrupted the natural balance of our inner ecosystem by introducing unnatural elements into our bodies.
As food has become more processed, the introduction of unnatural elements such as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), pesticides, animal antibiotics, artificial sweeteners, flavor enhancers, chemical colors, and more, has proliferated to the extent that we are no longer eating “food” – we are instead eating a “food-like chemical substitute”.
Furthermore, when we combine the decline in good, nutritional, whole foods with the addition of non-food factors such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, antibiotics, pollutants, tobacco and alcohol, we find that we are disrupting the natural balance of our bodies faster than we can naturally defend and adapt. Just as the global ecosystem declines when it is out of balance, so does the inner ecosystem of our bodies.
The good news is we can do something about this. Firstly, let’s face the fact that due to the proliferation of modern food & medicine, it is highly unlikely that we will ever fully reverse this trend. The next best thing we can do is to give our bodies a fighting chance of using its own defenses and mechanisms to maintain a healthy balance and a healthy inner ecosystem. Here are a few ways you can help your body:
- Eat organic fruit & vegetables. This is the first obvious step, as it assures that not only are the farming methods used to grow the crops are natural and free from pesticides and antibiotics, but also that the plants themselves are free from GMOs – a requirement of USDA organic labeling.
- Similarly, organic meat is a logical selection. USDA regulations state that to be labeled as organic, the animal must be raised on certified organic pastures, be fed certified organic feed, free from antibiotics and growth hormones, and must have year-round outdoor access.
- Eat in moderation. As food has become more processed, it is nutritionally less dense, and often loaded with simple sugars that quickly turn to fat. Additionally, the use of flavor enhancers makes it more difficult to moderate what you eat, because it tastes so good! Try not to eat until you are full – remember that it takes 20 minutes for the feeling of fullness to temper your appetite, so slow down a little.
- Make sure you have probiotic-rich foods in your diet, such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut or kimchi, live culture soy milk, miso, etc. People around the world have depended for centuries on fermented food products for digestive health, and that’s more important now than ever.
- Supplement your diet with a good quality probiotic such as Natren Healthy Trinity. This will help restore the balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut caused by day-to-day modern foods.
Finally – don’t panic – food today is not necessarily unsafe, but it pays to be smart about what you eat. Understand what you are putting into your body, try to make smart choices, and do your best to give your body what it needs to keep you strong and healthy.
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