• The Microbiome is the number #1 medical game changer for 2017. • The Microbiome refers to all the microbes – bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. – that live in & on the human body. The non-you microbes in your body outnumber human cells about 10:1.Discussion: Our first “inoculation” of good gut bacteria occurs as our eyes, nose, lips, and mouth slide through our mother’s birth canal. The second inoculation comes from colostrum, the “first milk” expressed for the first few days following birth. Breast milk is rich in gut-feeding compounds such as oligosaccharides or prebiotics (food for the beneficial bacteria) to feed the community of cells

that make up the infant’s microbiome. • A Disrupted Microbiome, driven by the overuse of antibiotics combined with an overprocessed food supply, contribute to the obesity epidemic. Up to 90% of all human known illness can be traced back to an unhealthy gut! 2017 could be a crucial tipping point for Antibiotic Resistance, scientists say.Discussion: Turns out farm kids have some of the strongest immune systems and kids with parents who used antibacterial soaps were not so lucky. In other words, living in a HAZMAT-suit lifestyle severely limits our exposure to a wide diversity of microbes, whose presence in our guts (and on our skin) have a protective, immunity-boosting effect.• Your Microbiome Can Be Rapidly Altered, for better or worse, based on factors such as diet and lifestyle. Every time you eat you can begin to change the population of your gut microbiome.Discussion: Restoring our microbiome diversity is as easy as walking barefoot, exposing ourselves to more non-sterile environments, getting our hands in the dirt gardening, interacting with animals, and taking probiotic/prebiotic supplements as well as eating fermented foods. These are just simple ways to be exposed to new microorganisms.• Bioavailability Is Crucial, because eating well doesn't assure nutrients will be properly assimilated. Nutrients have to make it through a variety of obstacles, starting from the moment they enter your mouth to the moment they are used or stored.Discussion: Eating for Two: You and Your Microbiome. Nutrient-rich foods increase bioavailability and absorption of nutrients in the body. They have been used by Culinary Traditions of the world for centuries to provide nutrients not only for the host but also for the gut bacteria. Our Wild Essentials packets contain different nutrients paired together that are more readily absorbed by the body than just one.

PART-1 Summary: Rewilding YourGut Microbiome

No other organ is so easily disturbed or affected by stress than the stomach!

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Gut Feeling: Ever know things before they happen, even if you can’t explain how? You hesitate at a green light and miss getting hit by a speeding truck. That little voice in your head is your gut feelings talking. Discussion: Why do some people trust their gut while others have to painstakingly work out every angle of any decision? If you’ve ever wondered how you can sharpen your own intuition (even if you don’t believe you have it to begin with!), this information is for you. Here's a quiz question. What part of the body has the greatest exposure to the outside world? You might think it's the skin, but actually that only has about 2 square meters of exposure. The correct answer is our digestive system. It's 200 times larger –almost the size of a couple of tennis courts. The

inside looks like a shag carpet and folds many times to fit your abdominal cavity.The inside of your gut is really the outside of your body. Defining what is outside and what is inside the body is not always easy, because the body has many surfaces. The skin is obviously outside the body. It forms a barrier that prevents many harmful substances from entering the body. No so obvious, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract is also outside the body and our largest external surface. The digestive system is a long tube that begins at the mouth, winds through the body, and exits at the anus. Is food as it passes through this tube inside or outside of the body? Nutrients and fluid are not really inside the body until they are absorbed into the bloodstream. The stuff you just swallowed was originally part of your environment. Now it’s on metabolic probation, attempting to pass the digestive exams to become a part of you as it winds its way through this system. But until it’s absorbed, whatever is inside your gut is still really outside of your body. The gut is a very unique semi-permeable barrier. Its job is to let important nutrients inside the body, while keeping everything else out. Nutrients enter through a variety of tightly controlled mechanisms – all of this takes place outside your body, which has evolved to include all of the curves, folds, juices and extraction capabilities that allow it to take full advantage of this food as it travels through the tunnel that runs through all of us.Your first line of defense. If this lining becomes inflamed or damaged, the barrier becomes “leaky”, and some of this material will escape into your body cavity. That’s why it’s essential that what we bring in from the outside world, does not pass through the gut lining until it’s been properly sorted. The gut must take in an extensive array of external matter, break it down to its component parts, shuttle it off to various internal organs, and turn it into us. The gut lining is your body’s “Gate Keeper” – a defense barrier against critter/toxin invasion. But if too many noxious things start ‘gate-crashing’, the whole system may go ‘off line’ while the body works overtime to detox and deal with all the uninvited guests.

PART-2 Digestive Intelligence: The Brain in Your Gut

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The Sixth Sense: The 5 senses – taste, sight, touch, smell, and hearing – decipher (or interpret) environmental stimuli for the brain. But there’s considerable environmental deciphering that occurs somewhat removed from our 5 senses: inside of our gut. The gut is unique among internal organs, because it permits the exterior world to run right through us in the form of food, water, bacteria, and whatever else you swallow. What science is calling a ‘second brain’ or sixth sense, consists of vast networks of neurotransmitters spread throughout two layers of gut tissue called the enteric nervous system (ENS). The ENS gathers vital information from the environment, then sends it sends north to the brain. Like the brain in our head, it’s engaged in prolonged contact and interaction with the outside world—in this case, via whatever you swallow. The ENS ‘mini-brain’ deciphers environmental cues, which helps you respond intuitively and dynamically to whatever’s going on in the environment.

The Intuition Portal. So what does all this have to do with our ability to sense danger or opportunity? How can the gut decode (figure out) what’s going on in our environment? Simply put, the gut is our largest interface with the outside world (planet earth). You sense the world with your gut and you register alerts and opportunities as ‘gut feelings’, an "inner voice" or a "sixth sense.EVERYWHERE YOU GO, in everything you do the ‘Microbiome’ is a boundless ecology of resident microorganisms that live in symbiotic relationship within us and the environment. The ancients believed microbiomes occur within a circle of nature, with all things in this matrix interconnected; and the microbes or microorganism that inhabit an environment—whether it's your gut or the forest floor—are patterns of

interaction where communication is interdependent. The trees, the plants have formed electrochemical connections between the roots, which act as neurons to form a sentient planet-wide ‘brain’. Similarly, humans as a microcosm of nature, freely interact with nature through taking in the environment via a ‘portable root’ (in the form of our intestines). This gut root connects us to the earth and absorbs nutrients, earth elements, and minerals needed for survival. But even more, our vast web of neurotransmitters and highway of chemicals and hormones, plug us into the ‘Web of Life’ for energy, healing, power, guidance, and wisdom. The Hopi say we are linked by spider-like strands to each animate and inanimate object in nature. We are similar to the spider that sense vibrations when one strand of the web is disturbed. Putting it all together. Think of the environment as a microbiome playground and foundation for your energetic flow. Your own microbiome constantly interacts and communicates with this limitless energy field, and strong healthy ‘roots’ keep us grounded and flush out what no longer serves us. As a participant, you are a part of what’s happening all around you. You can choose to consciously tap this energy field and create whatever you want. Call it being ‘in the zone’, that space where you break through into synchronicity and everything clicks. Doors open. Shift happens. Obstacles melt away. Opportunities materialize. This energy field is always there. Your choices in diet and lifestyle directly effects what will happen to you next.https://ibstreatmentcenter.com/digestion-basics/digestive-system-overviewhttp://www.sciencemag.org/site/feature/misc/webfeat/gutposter/pdf/1914a.pdfhttp://www.drnorthrup.com/your-gut-a-delicate-garden/

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A Toxic World: Our ‘gut intelligence’ has been dumbed-down from decades of poor quality food, drugs and an ever more toxic world. Research now shows that gut health has a tremendous impact on how you perceive the day and access your intuition.Discussion: Knowing your plumbing can help you fight bad breath, disarm heartburn, and ensure that everything you eat keeps moving along. Most important, it gives you valuable insight into toxic waste that threaten your gut microbiome and affect your perception.Fluorinated Drugs. Many prescription drugs contain a hidden dose of fluoride. Many psychiatric drugs contain fluoride. Siliconfluoride is linked to antisocial behavior in youth. Fluorinated drugs used for anxiety and depression cross the blood-brain barrier and can cause permanent nerve damage. It also easily seeps into the pineal gland of the brain, calcifying it slowly over time. Fluorinated antibiotics are often completely synthetic and kill the good bacteria in the human gut that is responsible for the majority of immunity. Antibiotic use. As opposed to probiotics (which means "for life"), antibiotics (which means "against life") indiscriminately destroy bacteria in the body as a way of eliminating disease. Antibiotics can be lifesavers, when used prudently and properly—when nothing else will work—they can be very effective. But most people who take antibiotics never make any effort to restore their good bacteria when the course of medication ends.Over-the-counter products and medications. NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are used to reduce pain-related inflammation. Unfortunately, NSAIDs have side effects that directly contribute to inflammation in the gut. NSAIDs can promote stomach and intestinal bleeding as well as increase the permeability of the entire GI tract. Also, NSAIDs for rheumatoid arthritis can disrupt the intestinal mucus lining and flora and may even contribute to the continuance of the disease.http://bodyecology.com/articles/is-this-common-pain-reliever-attacking-your-gutChlorinated drinking water. Drinking chlorinated water can make it almost impossible to maintain ideal bacterial flora in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Chlorine kills bacteria, regardless of whether they are good or bad. At least chlorine will evaporate from a glass of water if you let it sit for an hour or so. No such luck with fluoride. Even cooking, food processing, most filtration, or digestion doesn't remove fluoride. Goes right up the food chain and accumulates in fat cells.Agrichemicals. It’s no mistake that Monsanto and companies like them have invested so heavily in keeping you ‘unrealized.’ Not only are pesticides a threat to gut health, they inhibit the functioning of the pineal gland. http://grist.org/food/gut-punch-monsanto-could-be-destroying-your-microbiome/Exposure to heavy metals. While all toxins are harmful, heavy metals pose a unique threat. They are a form of neurotoxin (a poison that disrupts nerve function and confuses your immune system). Heavy metal neurotoxins can inflame and irritate our central nervous system (especially our brain), causing multiple symptoms such as memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, and depression. Toxic heavy metals can also promote inflammation in the digestive tract, releasing poisons into our gut as well. They also serve as a source of food for viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens in our body.Artificial food coloring. Many food colorings exhibit both

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antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. When we begin to concentrate and purify or create these compounds synthetically, we run the risk of disrupting the natural order of microflora in our bodies.Antidepressants and sleeping pills. Antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and sleeping pills are all fat soluble. This allows them to more easily penetrate the intestinal wall. There’s a direct and extensive connection between our intestines and our brain.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This family of antidepressants is thought to relieve depression by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. But 95 % of the body’s serotonin is in the digestive system. With these medications, serotonin is diverted from the intestinal tract, causing a chemical imbalance in the area. This explains side effects like fluctuations in appetite, nausea, and stomach upset. These chemicals attach to gut receptors that tend to sedate and depress gastrointestinal movement, resulting in constipation. This partially explains why the gut produces serotonin. It helps maintain a state of calm in the area so proper digestion and absorption can take place.The use and variety of vaccinations. We’re delving into uncharted territory when we start injecting strange, fractionated viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens into our bloodstream. What might be even worse is the effect this has long term on our microbial flora and that of future generations.Altered fats. Fats are necessary in producing and maintaining cell walls. Fats provide the barrier that keep many toxins, pathogens, and water-soluble compounds from freely crossing into the bloodstream. Artificial or poor-quality fats leads to permeable cell walls, resulting in allergies, toxicity, and a chronic load on the immune system. The cell wall is not our only barrier to the outside world, it also is the “soil” or “field” where the protective bacterial microflora live and flourish. Non-foods. Complex carbohydrates with significants amounts of fiber (root vegetables, whole grains, fruits) feed our beneficial gut flora. But refined carbohydrates favor the proliferation of pathogenic species of microbes in the intestines, while starving the beneficial microbes. If this situation is not addressed with ample probiotic and prebiotic fiber supplementation, gut dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeast, and/or parasites), carbohydrate malabsorption, and leaky gut syndrome can occur.

Opening the Doors of Perception: A balanced microbiome equals good health, but the opposite is true as well. Toxins contribute to unhealthy microbial balance and the way we experience the world. The way our two “brains” talk is highly dependent on the types of bacteria that are prevalent. Research has shown that certain bacteria triggers depression, by overstimulating the immune system. INTUITION BRINGS MAGIC to traditional wellness approaches, and opens you to the intriguing realm of energy fields—vibes that radiate from people, places, plants, the night sky. Avoiding pollutants (as best as is possible) is an important step toward connecting with energy fields, the energy of food and accessing your intuition. Studies show that stressed-out people have less friendly gut bacteria, so take steps to increase the peace and tranquility within your life. To cultivate a healthy relationship with your ‘instinctive brain’, feed it foods that benefit cognition, foods that protect it from oxidative stress and neurodegenerative disorders. Pre- and probiotic supplements go far beyond reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. They help restore a primordial happiness – a sense of calm that allows you to come back to yourself.

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The amount of time it takes for a mammal to complete a yawn strongly predicts the size of its brain and number of neurons in its cortex, or gray matter. Mice have the shortest yawns—lasting less than a second—and humans the longest, clocking in at more than 6 seconds. Brains are like computers. They operate most efficiently when cool, and yawning has evolved to allow maximum cooling of the brain.When a yawn arises on its own, can you notice where it’s taking you? Can you get one started when alone, to help transition to a different activity? Can you get one started in a group, to bring you all together? Contagious yawning evolved in many animal species as a way to protect family and friends, by keeping everyone in the group vigilant.Yawning triggers a rush of spinal fluid release from within the brain, down the back of the neck (the occipital region), clearing toxic build-up throughout our entire CNS (central nervous system). Yawning increases blood flow and instantly, every cell in your body is filled with light. It's why we tend to feel 'lighter' physically after a good yawn too.Yawing stretches your respiratory tract, diaphragm, inflates the lungs and activates our SOLAR PLEXUS. (The solar plexus brings back sensations from the energetic imprint of a person or environment to let us know if it’s safe or not.) When our solar plexus energy centre is depleted, fear and resistance can eat away at us. When we yawn we send a jolting signal to the solar plexus to fill up with light.

“Yawn as many times a day as possible especially before a stressful activity or event”, says neuroscientist and yawn researcher Andrew Newburg. “Frequent yawning is one of the best-kept secrets in neuroscience. It’s hard to find another activity that positively impacts so many of your brain’s functions. Yawning optimizes brain activity and metabolism, boosts alpha waves, triggers a heightened state of cognitive awareness, and fine-tunes your sense of time. Newburg says, “If you don’t want to meditate but want similar results, yawning will bring you into a state of alertness faster than any other meditation technique I know of.” Like the zen master who strikes a nodding student, yawning says “Wake up, gut – Give me your attention !”Yawn-induced tearing detoxes the eyes and releases chemicals that the body produces in response to stress. Numerous neurochemicals like dopamine and oxytocin, are released during yawning. If you want to enhance your intimate connection with another person, try yawning together. Oxytocin regulates such crucial functions as pleasure, sensuality, and bonding in relationships. Breathing through the mouth, drinking alcohol and certain medications can contribute to a saliva deficiency. Yawning energizes the salivary glands, which increase the production and secretion of saliva. Saliva helps remove bacteria and debris from the mouth. Saliva contains unique digestive enzymes that optimize digestion – important because as we age we begin to produce fewer digestive enzymes.

Frequent Yawning – The Ultimate Life Hack

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