Fermentation: the Key to Health and Fighting Antibiotic Resistance - Part Three

Pass or Pass On the burger and fries?

When we run through the drive-thru "just this once" are our children consuming any healthy enzymes?  Is this meal doing anything to promote health via healthy bacteria.  I think we all know the answer to this.  In fact, the fries contain a neurotoxin and the hamburger contains antibiotics (a poisonous mold) which are going to kill the normal flora inside your child's gut.  Just protect him by giving him a diet Coke, right?  JOKING!  Seriously though, the diet Coke breaks down into aspartame which is a neurotoxin which also serves to destroy the normal bacteria in his gut.  In essence, his only protection has been wiped out, his brain is not going to work correctly, his immune system won't be able to break down nutrients - so his body is going to store it, which may lead to an obesity problem.  Sadly, this is the fate of 14% of our kids who end up in special needs schools.

70% of all antibiotics use is in agriculture.  Say what?

• bacterial adaptation and resistance were reported soon after antibiotics were first used. 
• Correcting the overuse of antibiotics in human medicine has gradually become a priority, with slow but heartening progress being gained in this race.
• The rise of multidrug resistance and the ready transfer of resistant traits among pathogens require heightened action if we are to prevent increasing outbreaks of infections that become more difficult, or even impossible, to treat. - Western Journal of Medicine.  January 2002

Does this mean that every time I ingest commercially produced meat I am ingesting antibiotics? Yes.
Does this mean that every time I ingest commercially produced animal products it is poisonous to my gut flora? Yes.  Remember 80% of your immune system is your gut flora!!
Poll time again, what do I do for a bacterial infection?  Kill the bad. No. NO. NOOO!  You add the good.

Living Life for Him,
The Cultured Mom

Fermentation: the Key to Health and Fighting Antibiotic Resistance - Part Two

The real cause of disease is a weakened immune system

E. Coli is responsible for most hospital infections, but it is also responsible for keeping you alive.  When it's in your colon it breaks down nutrients and vitamins and actually helps protect you.  So why is it responsible for most infections in hospitals?  Let's consider what happens when you are in the hospital.  Do they do a lot to help promote your immune system?  No, they weaken the immune system (your resistance to disease, cancer, etc).

Risk vs. Benefit

Tetanus is a disease of sick farm animals that is naturally killed almost instantly upon exposure the the air.  Consider how weak it is since it can be killed by simply pouring a little hydrogen peroxide on the wound.  It is a very fragile bug that is also destroyed by washing with warm, soapy water.  Why then would one get a tetanus shot when studies have shown the vaccine to be associated with Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, autoimmune disorders, as well as the fact that it contains neurotoxins.
We need to develop a relationship with bacteria in our bodies to establish wellness.

EIGHTY Percent (80%) of your immune system is in your gut! 

• Being able to maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria in your intestines is vital to your health as well as the health of those entrusted to your care.
• Your good bacteria are constantly being assaulted by antibiotics, chlorinated water, birth control pills, stress, sugar, and a host of other factors. 
• This has made digestive issues extremely common as well as diseases.
• Your healthy gut ratio should be 85% beneficial bacteria to 15% non-beneficial.
• Some deadly factors  have caused this ratio to be reversed in many people leaving them clearly deficient in beneficial bacteria and thus predisposed to illness!

It also bears repeating for you moms struggling with depression: 90% of the body's serotonin is manufactured in the gut.  I hope by now you are beginning to see the picture and shift your thinking.  Let's take a quick poll:  Do you want to kill the bad or feed the good?  Right, feed the good.  This is similar to other aspects of parenting where we endeavor to reward and praise good behaviors in our children in order to propagate more.  What have you done to promote health in your home today?

Living Life for Him,

The Cultured Mom

Fermentation: the Key to Health and Fighting Antibiotic Resistance - Part One

Fermentation?

Doesn't that mean something is rotten?  Well, let's back up a little first to get a clearer picture.  Has your child had an illness, perhaps an ear infection for which the first antibiotic prescription was not effective at curing?  Maybe you have even hear of Multibiotic Resistant Staph.  What do we do when MRSA is found?  The usual protocol is to dump on disinfectant.  We are fighting a losing battle with these tools.  Here is why.
God created both good bacteria (beneficial) and bad bacteria (pathogenic).  In a perfect world disease and illness would not exist but the reality is that they due since the Fall.  It would be helpful for us to keep this in mind as we shift our thinking into a mode of seeing things as fighting sick infections by adding good bacteria, don't fight disease, instead promote health, don't fight the bad, rather aid the good.  Haven't you heard that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?  Here is the science (literally) behind that common saying.

How we use bacteria today:

• for preservation by pickling, for fermentation - as in the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages, and certain cheeses.
• for decomposition of organic wastes in septic tanks, some sewage disposal plants, and in agriculture for soil enrichment and toxic wastes.
• for curing tobacco

With that in mind, be on the lookout for ways to use the products God gave us in nature in order to prevent creating a competitive environment for the good and the bad bacteria.  Avoid antibacterial soaps, antibiotic creams on the skin for cuts, etc. which kill both the beneficial bacteria as well as the pathogenic bacteria.  It's a little like trying to change "flat earth" thinking as we come to a realization that we can understand the balance in our world.  Some alternatives are aloe vera and coconut oil - a marvelous antimicrobial!  Normal bacteria exist on the skin, in the eye, in the stomach, et cetera.  Why are these normal in some people while not in others?  The answer is the immune system.  Our goal as mothers should be to promote the health of the immune system rather than to kill the bacteria.  For too long (almost 70 years) we have been fighting the bacteria and they have adapted to "outsmart" our medications almost to the point of complete ineffectiveness.  Let's do our best to try an alternative approach in order to ensure good health for our families.

Living Life for Him,

The Cultured Mom