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60-DAY
Group Wellness Program
THE LIFE
that lives inside you
No man is an island
• We have ten times more bacteria in us and on us than body cells.
• Around 60 percent of the dry mass of feces is bacteria.
• Having the right bacteria in our guts rather than the wrong
bacteria therefore can make a profound difference to our health.
• Most North Americans suffer from dysbiosis. This means that there is
too little ‘friendly’ bacteria in the gut and too much pathogenic
bacteria, which leads to ill health.
• Allergies, poor immunity, autism, hormonal imbalances,
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),
colon cancer and many other health problems are all thought to be
linked with dysbiosis.
• Good gut health is the foundation of good health.
No man is an island
No man is an island
• Think of your body as being a lake. Your gut is the stream that
feeds the lake, starting at the mouth and ending at the anus.
• If the stream has the wrong things in it, the lake will become
polluted.
No man is an island
No man is an island
• It is the same with our bodies. There are many aspects to good gut
health, including eating the right fibrous foods and so on, but
having the right bacteria in our gut is crucial.
• Foul-smelling stool is a sign of dysbiosis, since it indicates excessive
amounts of putrefactive bacteria – the type that makes food rot.
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
• Our stool should be mainly fermented by fermentative bacteria –
the type you get in yogurt. The bacteria you get in yogurt and
various other strains are the ‘friendly’ bacteria which are good for
our health.
• Eating fermented foods or taking supplements provides us with
these types of bacteria.
• The people who live in the Hot Spots eat fermented foods
regularly.
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
No man is an island
• When researchers analyzed the stool of people aged 80-109
years old in Bama they found that it contained from 53 to 87
percent of the probiotic bifidobacterium, significantly more than
elderly Chinese from other districts. This was attributed to their
intake of fermented foods and their diets rich in plant fiber which
provides fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) which friendly bacteria like
to live off.
• Avocados, Jerusalem artichokes and bananas are all high in FOS.
The benefits of fermented foods
• Adding friendly bacteria to foods in order to ferment them
originated as a way of preventing them from spoiling, but it has
the added benefits of giving them a stronger flavor and enriching
their nutrient content.
• In addition proteins, carbohydrates and fats are partially broken
down which makes fermented foods easier to digest.
• When milk is turned into yogurt or cheese, much of the lactose is
broken down, making these products more digestible than milk,
especially for the lactose-intolerant among us.
The benefits of fermented foods
Common fermented foods
Pickled vegetables
• Pickled vegetables are marinated in vinegar or salt water which
preserves them and causes them to ferment in the presence of
probiotics. Capers, olives, artichokes, mushrooms, umeboshi plums
and cabbage are all good for pickling. Capers are revered for
their health properties in Symi, while pickled cabbage, also known
as sauerkraut, was fed by Captain Cook to his sailors to prevent
scurvy, and used by Genghis Khan to keep up the energy levels of
his plundering hordes.
• Mass-produced versions of pickles are not traditionally fermented,
but some specialist delicatessens and health food shops supply
them made this way. Try to avoid products which are very salty
and limit your intake of any salty pickled foods.
Common fermented foods
Soy products
• Traditionally fermented soy products include miso, tempeh,
fermented tofu and traditionally-brewed soy sauce. Fermenting
soy products makes them much more digestible than modern
processed soy products, which are an invention of the West and
are not eaten by long-lived Japanese or Chinese populations such
as the Okinawans or people of Bama.
Common fermented foods
Sprouted foods
• Sprouted beans, grains or seeds such as sprouted alfalfa or mung
beans have been broken down by probiotics by soaking them in
water, which opens them up and gets them sprouting. Sprouted
bread, also known as essene bread, is also available in some
health food shops and is popular in Hunza.
• The sprouting process greatly increases the content of the vitamins,
minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and enzymes present.
For example, vitamin B2 increases by 2000 percent, folic acid by
600 percent and vitamin C by 600 percent in some sprouted
foods.
Common fermented foods
Sprouted foods
• Sprouting also increases the bioavailability of nutrients, makes
grains and beans more digestible (and thus less gas-forming), and
reduces the content of anti-nutrients such as phytic acid which
inhibit our absorption of minerals such as iron and zinc in these
grains. Another remarkable property of sprouts is that they contain
the nucleic acids RNA and DNA which are necessary for healthy
cell division and thus may protect against cancer.
• Sprouted seeds are available in health food shops and farmer’s
markets or can be easily made at home in a sprouting jar. Add to
salads and stir-fries to make them more filling and nutrient-rich.
Sprouts are also in Akea Essentials.
Common fermented foods
Sourdough bread
• Sourdough rye and wheat breads are made with dough which is
slowly fermented, usually with a combination of yeast and the
probiotic lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. These types of bread are
much more digestible than modern fast-rising loaves which use
industrial yeast and chemical enhancers and additives. In addition,
some of the gluten is broken down so it is less likely to cause
indigestion in gluten-intolerant people.
Common fermented foods
Yogurt/kefir
• Yogurt and kefir are fermented milk. Variations of these are homemade and eaten in the Mediterranean Hot Spots, Nicoya and
Hunza. Yogurt contains lower lactose levels than milk as well as
probiotics, so is a healthful alternative and may be digestible for
those who cannot digest milk.
• Crème fraiche and soured cream also contain beneficial probiotics
when traditionally fermented.
Common fermented foods
Cheese
• Traditionally-fermented cheeses such as feta, parmesan and
pecorino contain probiotics.
• If you want to eat cheese, choose high-quality matured cheeses
which have been made in a traditional way rather than processed
cheese, and enjoy it in small quantities only.
Cautions
• If you have candida you may want to use caution as fermented
foods contain yeasts and molds and, while these are unlikely to
cause candida, the body may be sensitive to them.
• Fermented foods such as capers, olives and umeboshi plums can be
very high in salt. If you are on a low-salt diet, keep these to a
minimum.
• Cheese and wine are high in histamines and should be avoided or
limited by those who are intolerant to them.
The power of probiotics
• Probiotics repel and kill pathogenic bacteria such as e. coli – over
73,000 people are infected with e. coli every year in the United
States, leading often to hospitalization and sometimes death.
• Probiotics can also kill shigella, clostridia and salmonella by
releasing substances such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide and
selective antibiotics.
• They keep candida away by occupying the space on the gut wall.
• They help break down nutrients so we can absorb them more
easily.
• They protect the intestinal lining so that food allergies are less
likely and nutrients are better-absorbed.
The power of probiotics
• They keep our immune systems strong – about half of our immune
cells are in our intestines.
• They make B vitamins – important for energy and brain/nervous
system health.
• They manufacture essential fatty acids.
• They aid absorption of vitamins and minerals .
• They produce enzymes such as protease, lipase and lactase to
break down foods.
• They produce butyric acid, required for building colon cells.
The power of probiotics
• They produce anti-tumor, anti-viral and anti-fungal substances .
• They neutralize toxins produced in the body.
• They neutralize nitrites (which can cause cancer) in the digestive
tract.
• They aid peristalsis (the movement of the gut muscles for stool
elimination).
• They get rid of excess cholesterol by breaking down bile.
• They regulate cytokines so as to reduce inflammation.
Do you have enough friendly bacteria?
• If you are a North American, probably not.
• Other reasons why you may not have enough probiotics:
– If you have eaten a diet low in plant foods
– If you have had courses of antibiotics (these kill the good bacteria as well as
the bad bacteria)
– If you have eaten a lot of sugar and meat regularly
– If you drink chlorinated waterIf you have taken oral contraceptive pills
– If you have suffered from chronic stress
– If you drink a lot of alcohol
– If you take many long-haul flights
• In order to play host to probiotics, you need to create the
conditions they like and ingest more of them in the first place.
Make your gut a welcoming home
• Eat more fermented foods.
• Take probiotic supplements from time to time. Look for quality
products with a high number of organisms per dose and check with
the manufacturer if in doubt.
• Akea Essentials contains probiotics at 3 million organisms per
scoop.
• Eat plant foods rich in plant fibers which provide fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which beneficial bacteria feed off.
Avocados, bananas and Jerusalem artichokes are especially high
in FOS.
• Avoid foods and activities which repel friendly bacteria.
ACTIVITY:
Do 3 things this week to
raise your level of gut health
NEXT WEEK:
it’s how you eat