Good vs Bad Bacteria
The BBC released an article entitled, ‘More than Half Your Body is Not Human‘. While that sounds creepy, it’s actually referring to the number of friendly microorganisms that help to keep our bodies running smoothly.
The problem is that, while our bodies can be hosts to billions of friendly bacteria, bad inhabitants can be a real problem.
Bad bacteria
Bad bacteria are any type of bacteria which live in us and are not helpful for our health and wellbeing. These can range from streptococcus pyogenes (linked to strep throat) to E. Coli (can cause food poisoning). A healthy body can dispose of these bacteria no problem. However, if our immune system is weakened, these bad bacteria can be given a foothold.
Supporting our immune system
There are many reasons our immune system may become compromised. To prevent this from happening, avoid the following immunity-weakening factors:
- Antibiotics. Antibiotics is one of the biggest culprits right now for destroying our immune system. When antibiotics are take to kill infections, they frequently kill ALL bacteria. The result? The good bacteria in your body can be eliminated making space for bad bacteria to take hold (kind of like how empty patches on your lawn get filled up with weeds). Solution: If you’ve ever taken antibiotics, you need to re-introduce good bacteria so that they will repopulate and support your body.
- Excess Sugar. Not only does consuming excess sugar seriously disrupt your immune system (as we learned in Phase 01) but it also feeds harmful bacteria and other parasites. As an example, candida is a fungal infection that feeds off of starch, sugar, dairy and other acidic foods. Sugar cravings are often created by the candida to force you to feed them. Solution: Keep the sugar intake low, no matter how much ‘you’ crave it.
- EMFs. We’ve already looked at how our WiFi, 5G, 4G, 3G, LTE, smart devices, cell phones, etc., disrupt our sleep by keeping the body in a state of constant stress. What you might not have expected is that it also greatly disarms our immune system. This is because when we are in a state of stress, our bodies cannot relax and restore themselves, which creates lowered immunity. Solution: Check out that wearable EMF solution which my husband found. I can actually feel the difference wearing it vs not wearing it.
Dealing with bad bacteria (or bad fungus)
If you have IBS, chronic yeast infections, obesity, brain fog, or frequent depression; these are all signs of microflora imbalance. Thankfully, the GX Assist which we have added into our Phase 02 supplements really helps with all these problems. As does eating a cleansing and high-fibre diet, which we are also doing. Let this serve as added encouragement towards finishing our cleanse successfully.
Good bacteria
While bad bacteria harm your health, good bacteria live symbiotically with your body to boost your health and digestion. A couple examples of good bacteria are Lactobacillus (lives in your intestines where it produces acid and hydrogen peroxide to help you digest food) and Bifidobacterium Bifidum (lives in the stomach and can help heal ulcers).
Getting the goodies
You can get good bacteria in a variety of ways. Let’s look at the two most powerful options:
- Fermented Foods. High-quality fermented foods contain large amounts of healthy bacterias, so it’s worth adding a bit to your main meal each day. I’m talking about sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, apple cider vinegar, kombucha, unsweetened goat or sheep yogurt and kefir, coconut ‘kefir’. I’m not talking about alcohol or any pre-made foods with unhealthy ingredients in them (read your labels!)
- Probiotics! These are supplements you can take which are absolutely full of healthy bacteria. The word probiotic literally means “promoting life”, so it’s no wonder taking these is so healing. If you take the correct probiotics, you will have healthy digestion, proper transit time, clear brain function, and stronger immunity. Right now, probiotics are actually becoming mainstream. But, contrary to what food companies tell you, you can’t get the probiotics you need by eating sugary yogurt or drinking probiotic orange juice. That’s because your stomach is an acidic environment and the stomach acids kill off most probiotics taken orally. The probiotic I use and recommend to everyone is doTERRA’s PB Assist. This PB Assist probiotic supplement is double encapsulated and contains a variety of the best bacteria strains. The reason its double encapsulated is because the first capsule dissolves in the stomach and the second makes it all the way to the intestines, which is where the probiotics need to be! You don’t need to worry about taking PB Assist yet though, you’ll be starting them soon in Phase 03.
Parasites
Before we end the lesson, I want to take a moment to talk about parasites. Parasites are tiny organisms that live in other creatures (like humans) and feed within them at their host’s expense. They often use up the body’s valuable resources like proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients.
In Western culture, we tend to look at parasites as a rare and scary possibility that can infect us when we travel to developing countries. And it’s no wonder we think this since Western doctors almost never check for parasites and therefore rarely ever catch them in their diagnosis. In fact, a friend of mine could see parasites in her stool and asked the doctors to run a test only for the doctors to tell her she was healthy and had no parasites…
The uncomfortable truth is that everyone has parasites. The question is only if our immunity is strong enough to reduce them to a manageable number. While it may be possible for exceptionally healthy humans to fight off parasites without any extra effort, the solution for 99.9% of people is to do regular parasite cleanse once or twice a year (which is common place in the non-Western world). Thankfully, you are doing a cleanse right now and many of the parasites within you may already be dying off. To kill off parasites properly, however, you need to avoid any sugar (even natural sources) for an extended period of time and / or use parasite-killing solutions (like internal epsom salts or turpentine – aka. pine resin).
Most people don’t connect the dots from their symptoms to parasite over-growth, so read through this list and – if you see a lot of relevant symptoms – consider the possibility of parasites. Here is a symptom list from an excellent parasite identification resource:
- constipation or diarrhea
- gas and bloating (even when eating healthy food)
- painful menstruation
- irritable bowel syndrome
- joint and muscle aches
- anemia
- cravings, especially sugar or bread
- allergies
- skin conditions – mostly irritation/itching at nose, ears, eyes, anus – but also potentially rashes, hives, eczema
- tumors
- nervousness
- sleep disorders
- hyperactivity, anxiety
- teeth grinding
- chronic fatigue
- fuzzy thinking
- headaches
- runny nose
- blisters on lower lip inside mouth
- loss of appetite
- bad taste in the mouth
- acne
- fever
- vomiting (may return several times a year)
- weight gain OR may have trouble gaining weight, children especially
- long-term presence may contribute to the development of food allergies
- dark areas under eyes
- yeast/candida infection, especially if it returns
If you are finding you have a lot of parasite symptoms and you want to make the effort to remove them from your system, be strict on avoiding sugar (even natural ones) and keep taking your GX assist during Phase 02. If, by the end of this cleanse, you don’t see a dramatic reduction in these symptoms, then seriously consider doing a focused parasite cleanse.
Next Steps
Choose the Customization Path which feels right for you.
- In this lesson, I shared three factors which commonly stress the immune system. Pick one of the three which stands out to you and make a decision today to no longer allow that factor to negatively impact you. Come up with one action you can take to better protect your body from that factor.
- How many parasite symptoms do you have? Consider the possibility of being more strict in this cleanse if you have many symptoms.
- If you don’t already have a fermented food in your diet, add one in.
- Get excited for Phase 03, where we will be taking the probiotic!
- In this lesson, I shared three factors which commonly stress the immune system. Go through all three factors and make a decision today to no longer allow it to negatively impact you. Assess how much these factors currently impact your health, and, if you feel you need to improve in any of them, come up with one action you can take to better protect your body from that negative influence.
- How many parasite symptoms do you have? Consider the possibility of being more strict in this cleanse if you have many symptoms.
- Add a fermented food to your diet daily.
- Get excited for Phase 03, where we will be taking the probiotic!
How strong is your immune system?
A. Strong. I never get sick and I’m always in good health.
B. Somewhat strong. I don’t get sick more than once a year, and I’m generally in good health.
C. Mediocre. I generally get sick seasonally and there’s often a few things I’m recovering from.
D. Not strong. I could really use some immunity boosting.
If A or B: I recommend the Steady Path.
If C or D: I recommend the Impact Path.
Inspiration Corner
Affirmation: I am so happy and grateful that I can live in harmony with God’s little helpers. I love to support the microcosm within me by boosting my immunity and adding in new bacteria helpers. Thank you for this internal world I am responsible.
Resource: Pro Home Cooks is a great online video channel which shows you how to make a large array of fermented foods at home. It is a fun activity if you are into DIY and cooking!
Super Support
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