We’re Off Balance
If you are reading anything in alternative medicine today, you are going to hear about the microbiome. Donna Gates started studying gut microbes long before others got into microbiome research and 20 years ago, she coined the term “inner ecosystem” to describe the diversity of microbial life in our bodies. Alterations in our diet and the use of antibiotics over the past 100 years have changed the microbiome and disrupted the balance so that we are not as healthy.
Like many others in the health field, Donna started her journey of learning about gut microbes as a way to improve her own health. She went on to develop ways to help others and describes how to feed babies for the growth of good bacteria. It is especially amazing that she has been able to help autistic children, a condition that is becoming alarmingly more frequent and is difficult to treat. And her method is very simple. She starts healing their guts with the use of fermented coconut water.
All about Fermenting
The use of fermented foods is one of her passions. She states that the sour taste helps eliminate the desire for sugar so that the taste of carrots and onions are sweet and the overly sweet desserts we are used to, are no longer appealing. Once the microbiome is healthy, fruit can provide the sweetness we desire. She advocates for the use of stevia rather than any sugar. She states that fermented foods are very important for anti-aging and may help us to live longer. She cautions against the use of kombucha, wine or beer because these contain wild yeasts that are not good for us. Fermented vegetables, however, have anaerobic bacteria which are healthy. The pasteurized sauerkraut in the grocery store does not have these but you can learn to make your own.
