“. . . the reality is that the probiotics in our bodies and in cultured foods ultimately derive from the soil, where an unimaginably vast reservoir of ‘good bacteria’ reside . . .” S Ji
You’ve probably heard the buzz already about the many health benefits of probiotics, a word which literally translates to: pro- “for” + biotics “life” — FOR LIFE. But did you know that these remarkable commensal microorganisms, which outnumber our bodily cells 10 to 1, and contribute over 95% of our body’s total genetic information, also break down highly toxic manmade chemicals which your body is either incapable, or only partially capable, of defending itself from?
Learn about some of the amazing ways in which ‘good bacteria’ help to detoxify chemicals within our body:
Bisphenol A:
This ubiquitous toxicant — linked to over 40 diseases — found in anything from thermal printer receipts, paper money, canned food liners, dental composites, and of course plastics, is a powerful endocrine disrupter now found in everyone’s bodies. Remarkably, two common probiotic strains, Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus casei, have been found in animal research to help the body detoxify it by reducing the intestinal absorption of bisphenol A through facilitating increased excretion.[i] The animals receiving probiotic treatment were found to have 2.4 times higher excretion of Bisphenol A in their feces, suggesting probiotic supplementation could be of significant benefit to humans as well.
Pesticides
Probiotic strains from the traditional Korean fermented cabbage dish known as kimchi have been identified to degrade a variety of organophosphorous pesticides such as chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, diazinon, methylparathion, and parathion.[ii] These nifty organisms actually use these exceedingly hard to break down chemicals as sources of carbon and phosphorous – ‘food’! – and were found to break down the pesticide 83.3% after 3 days and degraded it completely by day 9.[iii] While this test tube study likely does not reflect exactly what happens in our gut when we ingest both chlorpyrifos and Kimchi, it is provocative, and may indicate there is some protective effects in the gut, and certainly cabbage tainted with organophosphorous pesticide which is subsequently fermented as an ingredient in Kimchi would certainly reduce the burden of this chemical in the diet.
Heavy Metals
Lactobacillus bacteria found in food have been looked at as a potential adjunct agent for reducing metal toxicity in humans. According to one study, “This is because they have resistance mechanisms which are effective in preventing damage to their cells and they can bind and sequester heavy metals to their cell surfaces, thus removing them through subsequent defecation.” [iv] The study differentiates between detoxification and detoxication, the former of which is described as “the ability to remove drugs, mutagens, and other harmful agents from the body,” and the latter of which is the mechanism through which ‘good bacteria’ prevent “of damaging compounds into the body.” Because there is a large body of research on probiotics preventing and/or healing up intestinal permeability, this may be another way in which toxic stomach contents are preventing from doing harm to the body as a whole.
Cancerous Food Preservatives
Another imchi study found it contained a strain of bacteria capable of breaking down sodium nitrate, a naturally and artificially occurring chemical (used from anything to rocket fuel and gunpowder) linked to a variety of chronic degenerative diseases, including cancer.[v] The study found a depletion of sodium nitrate by up to 90.0% after 5 days. Sodium nitrate becomes toxic when it is converted in food products, and even our intestines via microbiota, to N-nitrosodimethylamine. A recent study found that four lactobacillus strains where capable of breaking this toxic byproduct down by up to 50%.[vi]
Perchlorate
Perchlorate is an ingredient in jet fuel and fireworks that widely contaminates the environment and our food. Sadly, even organic food has been found concentrate high levels of this toxicant, making it exceedingly difficult to avoid exposure. It is now found in disturbing concentrations in breast milk and urine, and is a well-known endocrine disrupter capable of blocking the iodine receptor in the thyroid, resulting in hypothyroidism and concomitant neurological dysfunction. A recent study found that the beneficial bacterial strain known as Bifidobacterium Bifidum is capable of degrading perchlorate, and that breast fed infants appear to have lower levels than infant formula fed babies due to the breast milk bacteria’s ability to degrade perchlorate through the perchlorate reductase pathway.[vii]
Heterocylic Amines
Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCA) are compounds formed when meat is cooked at high temperatures of 150-300 degrees C, and are extremely mutagenic (damage the DNA). Lactobacillus strains have been identified that significantly reduce the genotoxicity of theses compounds.[viii]
Toxic Foods
While not normally considered a ‘toxin,’ wheat contains a series of proteins that we do not have the genomic capability to produce enzymes to degrade. When these undigested proteins – and there are over 23,000 that have been identified in the wheat proteome – enter into the blood, they can wreak havoc on our health. Recent research has found that our body has dozens of strains of bacteria that are capable of breaking down glutinous proteins and therefore reduce its antigenicity and toxicity.
While the role of probiotics in degrading gluten proteins sounds great, a word of caution is in order. Since modern wheat is not a biologically compatible food for our species – having been introduced only recently in biological time, and having been hybridized to contain far more protein that our ancient ancestors were ever exposed to – it would be best to remove it entirely from the diet. Also, the aforementioned research showing bacteria in the human gut are capable of breaking some of these wheat proteins revealed that some of the species that were capable of doing this for us are intrinsically pathogenic, e.g. Clostidium botulinum and Klebsiella. So, relying on the help of bacteria to do the job of digesting a ‘food’ we are not capable of utilizing on our own, is a double-edged sword. Again, the best move is to remove it entirely from the diet as a precuationary step.
What Probiotic Should I Take?
While plenty of probiotic pills and liquids exist on the market, and many of which have significant health benefits, it is important to choose one that is either shelf stable, or has been refrigerated from the place of manufacture all the way to the place you are purchasing it from. Moreover, many probiotics are centrifugally extracted or filtered, leaving the nourishing food medium within which it was cultured behind. This is a problem in two ways: 1) without sustenance, the probiotics are in ‘suspended animation’ and may either die or not properly ‘root’ into your gastrointestinal tract when you take them. 2) the ‘food matrix’ within probiotics are grown provides a protective medium of essential co-factors that help them survive the difficult journey down your gastointestinal tract.
With that said, another option is to consume a traditionally fermented, living probiotic food like sauerkraut, kimchi, or yogurt (focusing on non-cow’s milk varieties, unless you are lucky enough to find a source that has the beta-casein A2 producing cows). There is always goat’s milk which is relatively hypoallergenic.
Finally, the reality is that the probiotics in our bodies and in cultured foods ultimately derive from the soil, where an unimaginably vast reservoir of ‘good bacteria’ reside – assuming your soil is natural and not saturated with petrochemical inputs and other environmental toxicants. And really fresh, organically produced – preferably biodynamically grown – raw food is an excellent way to continually replenish your probiotic stores. Food is always going to be the best way to support your health, probiotic health included.
[vii] C Phillip Shelor, Andrea B Kirk, Purnendu K Dasgupta, Martina Kroll, Catrina A Campbell, Pankaj K Choudhary. Breastfed infants metabolize perchlorate. Environ Sci Technol. 2012 May 1 ;46(9):5151-9. Epub 2012 Apr 20. PMID: 22497505
About the author: Sayer Ji is an author, educator, Steering Committee Member of the Global GMO FreeCoalition (GGFC), advisory board member of the National Health Federation, and the founder of GreenMedInfo.com – an open access, evidence-based resource supporting natural and integrative modalities. His writings have been published and referenced widely in print and online, including Truthout, Mercola.com, The Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, New York Times and The Well Being Journal. Visit GreenMedInfo online and on Facebook, or sign up for GreenMedInfo’s Newsletter.
“. . . it is not only that fluoride consumption has adverse health effects and reputedly makes people easier to control (as the Nazi’s believed), but the very spiritual essence of who we are, our consciousness, can be hindered from manifesting in our lives.” J Resnick
Recent research has brought the controversial practice of water fluoridation back into the spotlight, revealing links between water fluoridation and brain disorders, particularly in regard to its effect on children.
Troublingly, the report found that side-effects do not only come from direct ingestion by children, but also from higher levels of chemicals such as fluoride in expectant mothers’ blood and urine, which was linked to brain disorders and lower IQs in their children. In many cases, the changes triggered can be permanent. This evidence flies right in the face of spurious claims by skeptics that ingestion of fluoride in low concentrations has no harmful effects on our health.
Is it any wonder then that only seven countries in the world actually fluoridate more than 50 percent of their water supply? Although it is often portrayed in America as if every country does it, this is very far from the truth. In fact, the United States accounts for more than 50 percent of all the fluoridated water drinkers in the world, while the vast majority of European countries for example avoid this practice altogether. Continue reading →
If you’ve felt like you’ve been losing it over the last few days (losing your temper/patience/marbles), or flip-flopping from inner crisis to outer explosion to inner calm to outer excitement you’re not alone.
The Sun has found his mojo again with a series of M-class flares since last Thurs/Fri with the most powerful of those recorded today. I’ve caught myself thinking ‘I can’t have another coffee I’m still buzzing from the one this morning” only to realise I didn’t have one in the morning! That’s how solar energy can feel – like adrenalin rushing through you.
We’ve come to a time where push has turned to shove when it comes to being/doing that which is truly in alignment with our truth, our heart, and our most authentic feelings. This isn’t necessarily about having grand epiphanies about why you’re here – rather it is the day to day way you go about living life that is being pulled into sharp focus. When the day to day is clear, it tends to naturally lead you to whatever your ‘big picture’ path is. Continue reading →
“. . . skeptics proclaim that a spinal “adjustment” is safer when an osteopath does the procedure than the chiropractor; especially when referring to the neck. In other words, chiropractic = quackery; whereas, osteopath = safe.” M Kmiec
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.” Albert Einstein 1879 –1955
The medical establishment, lost in the false belief that they “know best”, have become blind to the obvious statistics of harm that drugs and needless surgeries cause. Ironically, they are quick to label anything outside their dogma quackery and pseudoscience; such as Holistic Medicine. And sadly, when those in the holistic medicine arena challenge this ignorant concept, the challenger is often dismissed as a “brainwashed sham artist” or an “uneducated idiot” without really being heard.
When did such arrogance become so deeply entrenched in our professed superior modern society? When reading the history of medicine we laugh at what was once widely thought to be effective medicine. Surely we have not regressed back to the close-mindedness of the Dark Ages Inquisition, dismissing any contrary opinion as heresy.
Outcry for a Change
In today’s world, there seems to be an outcry for a change in healthcare, and I’m not speaking about the healthcare we hear about in politics. No, I’m speaking of health care as opposed to disease care.
If modern evidence based medicine, which is based on testing and observing, thus, “proving” the effectiveness of treatments, is so successful in its fundamental premise, why are people sicker than ever? Shouldn’t the opposite be occurring? Especially here in the USA, the self-proclaimed most advanced country in the world of medicine!
Thousands of people a day die from our conventional medical care and, yet there are basically zero outcries from the ‘skeptics’ of natural health care medicine. As though in some sort of trance, they simply repeat the same mantras against alternative care…“it’s quackery care”… which is, mind you, the very thing they accuse alternative advocates of doing: chanting mantras against Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)!
Furthermore, despite the mounting presence of evidence that is in favor of natural health care, they nonetheless bury their collective head into the ground in denial, but not without first crying “but it’s still quackery!”
Scrutiny of Modern Medicine
An intelligent person should be asking why modern medicine is not subjected to the same scrutiny that “alternative” medicine constantly is, especially when the failures of modern medicine are resulting in more and more needless deaths, not to mention the very diseases they are supposedly fighting against are statistically getting worse.
So if the health and well-being of the community isn’t benefiting, then what else can it be?
Money? What is a person’s life worth anyway?
We all have heard of horror stories of injuries caused by a medical doctor, but we excuse it for some reason. Well, a major reason is because we aren’t even able to sue a medical doctor for negligence, as such legal actions (aka. “Frivolous Lawsuits”) were blamed for higher insurance premiums. Of course, in the relatively rare event (as compared to medical doctor’s accidents) when an injury occurs with a chiropractor or holistic practitioner, it becomes a front page stoning by the so-called skeptics. Of course they are chanting, “Quack, sham artist, lack of evidence based medicine, etc”.
The hypocrisy is truly mind blowing!
A good example is comparing a chiropractic “adjustment” to an osteopathic “adjustment”. Although, oddly enough, despite the years of training and expertise of a chiropractor, for some reason (beyond logical belief) skeptics proclaim that a spinal “adjustment” is safer when an osteopath does the procedure than the chiropractor; especially when referring to the neck. In other words, chiropractic = quackery; whereas, osteopath = safe.
Let me ask the obvious question here. If it is quackery and unsafe, wouldn’t that exact procedure still be quackery no matter who delivers the adjustment? Moreover; don’t osteopaths receive substantially less training in adjusting or manipulation techniques than chiropractors?
Who would you trust?
Aren’t you glad people are finally waking up and realizing the truth?
About the author: Dr. Michelle Kmiec is a licensed chiropractor who also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. She is life-long athlete who after curing herself 100% naturally from autoimmune neurological symptoms and anxiety, became an avid nutrition health researcher/promoter, Founder of the natural health website Online Holistic Health and author of Healthcare Freedom Revolution: Exposing the Lies, Deceit and Greed of the Medical Profession.
You’ve probably heard the buzz already about the many health benefits of probiotics, a word which literally translates to: pro- “for” + biotics “life” — FOR LIFE. But did you know that these remarkable commensal microorganisms, which outnumber our bodily cells 10 to 1, and contribute over 95% of our body’s total genetic information, also break down highly toxic manmade chemicals which your body is either incapable, or only partially capable, of defending itself from?
Recent research has brought the controversial practice of water fluoridation back into the spotlight, revealing 
If you’ve felt like you’ve been losing it over the last few days (losing your temper/patience/marbles), or flip-flopping from inner crisis to outer explosion to inner calm to outer excitement you’re not alone.
Dr. Michelle Kmiec is a licensed chiropractor who also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. She is life-long athlete who after curing herself 100% naturally from autoimmune neurological symptoms and anxiety, became an avid nutrition health researcher/promoter, Founder of the natural health website Online Holistic Health and author of Healthcare Freedom Revolution: Exposing the Lies, Deceit and Greed of the Medical Profession.