Just when you thought that you as a human is the most important on planet Earth, think again. Let’s put things in context.
There is a whole diversity of Life on this planet. Scientists categorize it in three broad domains.
- Bacteria – unicellular organisms without a nucleus that reproduce by binary fission. Some can survive hostile conditions, even the vacuum of space, by creating an endospore. They are vital to the nutrient cycle on the planet and in our bodies. They perform vital beneficial functions and their diversity helps predict our life or death.
- Archaea – unicellular organisms without a nucleus that reproduce by binary fission, fragmentation or budding. They may use one of a variety of energy sources, such as sunlight, organic compounds, hydrogen gas, or metal ions. They help to make up plankton in the oceans and are found in almost every environment. They make up part of our own microbiome, especially in the gut, mouth, and on the skin.
- Eukaryotes – all the other organisms which contain a nucleus with DNA. Reproduction is either through cell division call mitosis or cell fusion called meiosis. They have unique biochemical pathways not found in unicellular organisms and signature proteins.
Can you see how we are outnumbered by and surrounded by microbes? Can you find your place on this Tree of Life?
Yep, collectively with all the other animals on one tiny branch of the Eukarya.
Isn’t that humbling?
Implications for Life
Humans are NOT the dominant form of life on Earth.
The preponderance of Life is in the microscopic realm.
AND we are not even currently acquainted with the vast majority of microscopic species!
Implications for the planet
We hear about how in the last 50 years, about 50% of known species have gone extinct.
If humans manage to wipe ourselves off the Earth, a great diversity of Life will remain. It will flourish and continue to increase in diversity as seen in all the previous mass extinctions.
Implications for our bodies
The human cells in our bodies are outnumbered by microbes by a factor of 150! That’s right, there are at least 150 microbes in our body for each human cell.
There are microbes not only lining our gut and skin, but all throughout the tissues and organs of our bodies. Our health depends on the diversity of these microbes. They are also important for creating vital nutrients.
The energy-producing factory called mitochondria inside cells came from a bacteria with its own separate DNA.
Microbes have ways to talk to each other. They communicate between tissues as well as with the mitochondria. They let each other know what is going on so they can survive and proliferate so that we can thrive.
Sterilization
We are literally sterilizing ourselves by killing these microbes right and left. We are eating foods sprayed with pesticides, which are antibiotics, eating animals fed antibiotics, and taking prescription antibiotics for illnesses.
On top of that, the most ubiquitous antibiotic is glyphosate, known as the pesticide Roundup. Since it is water soluble, it is everywhere in our environment – the water, which then evaporates and becomes rain, and is even in the air. It is hard to get away from it.
We are being sterilized by this ever-present forever chemical in our environment!
Without enough diverse microbes in our body, we can’t exist.
Truly, fertility statistics show that we may have only a few generations before we cannot reproduce anymore if we keep going in this direction.
But also, tissues in the body without a great diversity of microbes lose their communication and become cancerous.
Reverse the trend
There IS something we can do. Make friends with all the microbes.
STOP sterilizing ourselves. Choose organic. Don’t ever use pesticides. Choose proactively creating health over antibiotics.
THEN, get back to Nature where all the microbes exist.
- visit different environments – mountains, forests, deserts, beaches – and breathe in the microbes
- put your feet or body in a stream, in the ocean, in a puddle
- walk barefoot on the earth
- cultivate a garden, get your hands in the Earth
- eat the dirt on the carrot, or vegetable of your choice
- foster the microbes in your gut with naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut
- foster the microbes on your skin by not washing with antibacterial soaps or any soap at all, unless necessary
- foster the microbes in your mouth by avoiding antibacterial mouthwash, including those with natural ingredients like mint, clove, cinnamon, tea tree oil
- foster the microbes with the Intelligence of Nature, ION*, which helps detoxify from the ubiquitous glyphosate
If you need help with this, be sure to contact me at 928-649-9234. I can help you design a lifestyle that returns you to Nature, to benefit from all the helpful microbes.
