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A Balanced Microbiome

As you know, balance in your life is so important--and so rare. It's now been several months since the turn of the new year, and many are still struggling to get that balance that they so earnestly desire. When it comes to your health there are 2 main areas that could be springboards to greater life balance: 1. Removing/avoiding toxins

2. Balancing the microbiome

Today I'd like to focus briefly on balance in the gut.

When considering this there are two main facts that you need to know:

We have trillions of bacteria that live in and on our bodies called our MICROBIOME. Around 70% of our immune system is located in our gut which is otherwise known as our gastrointestinal tract which starts at our mouths and goes all the way through…

Loads of research have been published over the past several years describing the communication that goes on between our gut microbiome and our immune system. Therefore the composition of of our gut microbiome can either influence a healthy immune response or predispose to a chronic disease. You can see then how important it is to have balance in your gut.

The Garden in Your Gut

Since I’m an organic farmer, I like to think of promotion of a healthy microbiome in these terms. Weed, Seed, and Feed:

First of all you must WEED out those things that damage the balance—things like highly refined foods, stress, unnecessary medications (such as Ibuprofen and the like), and toxins.

Secondly, you need to SEED your gut with good bacteria which, in many cases, we can get from a variety of probiotic rich foods such as plain yogurt, kefir, fermented vegetables—and really fermented anything!

Thirdly, to promote balance in our gut we need to FEED our microbiome with stuff that promotes its health. These are called PREBIOTIC foods and include onions, garlic, asparagus, fruit, honey, and green tea just to name a few.

Weed, Seed, and Feed!

So strive for balance in every area of your life and start today with your gut!

WEED—get rid of the bad stuff

SEED—take in the good stuff

FEED—give that good stuff what it needs to prosper.

Taking these three simple steps will go a long way to advance you on your journey to good health!


Here's to your better health!


Brian L. Jerby MD

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