“Dirty” Is The Secret To Living A Long, Healthy Life
Dr. Zach Bush, a medical professional with three board certifications, wants to urge you to get dirty. You have 14 quadrillion mitochondria and 1.4 quadrillion bacteria and fungi living inside of you, according to a recent Bulletproof Radio episode by Bush. These nice guys live on plain ol’ dirt. By the way, those excellent men take care of everything, from controlling your emotions to maintaining clear skin to treating autoimmune conditions. Gut bacteria help you function at your best when they are in harmony; when they are out of balance, you feel lethargic, swollen, and out of sorts.
In this approach, Bush urges a return to nature as a method to enhance your body’s innate capacity for self-care. You offer your immune system the ability to self-regulate by exposing yourself to a healthy biodynamic environment that isn’t filled with pollutants. Bush advises, “Re-engaging in that atmosphere is what will cure you most.”
Not just Bush encourages getting filthy for the benefit of your health. A book titled ”Dirt Is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System” was just released last year by Jack Gilbert, a PhD microbiologist. In it, he makes the case that keeping germs and other particles out of children’s mouths causes an overreactive immune system that is inflammatory.
How, therefore, can you use the natural environment to create a happier and more healthy system? Here are his top five suggestions:
1. Take a good, “dirty” breath. According to Bush’s research, breathing in healthy “dirty” air, such as that found in national parks, can help your gut health. He encourages you to visit as many national parks as you can in the upcoming years since part of the microbiota is still present. Along those lines, explore as many different habitats as you can, such as the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, which have some of the world’s most varied flora and fauna. Go for it; expand the boundaries of your nose and re-engage with as many varied places as possible that still provide healthy microbial ecosystems.
2. Destination: the desert. Due to the low humidity, the desert has some of the finest air. Any location with fossil layers, like Arizona, brings up a distinct microbiome since the petrified condition also has pure soil. Another plus for these locations is the lack of construction and agricultural spraying that you would see in areas that receive a lot of rain.
3. Enjoy some dirt time. “Take off your shoes, go outdoors and run about in the grass for five or ten minutes, then come inside, just like your dog.” This gives you a close-up encounter with the beneficial bacteria that will maintain the balance of your internal microbiome.
4. At-home plant growth. We have distanced ourselves from the simplest, cheapest, and, quite honestly, free process of microbial exchange, which is to touch Mother Earth, according to Bush. So, cultivate some plants at home and take care of them by giving them water and attention. For all of the urban inhabitants out there, this is very crucial.
5. Eat your veggies off the vine. While Bush has a penchant for tomatoes, any freshly picked vegetable from your garden will suffice. Eat a tomato off the vine. It is a completely different experience than picking the tomato and eating it half an hour later on your salad. There’s going to be a layer of dust and this hairy quality to the tomato before it’s picked. It’s got this little fur on it that is capturing microbiome and other things on it. If you pluck it, there’ll be often a little spider web on it. There’s biology on the surface of that tomato that you’re missing otherwise.”