Podcast
GAPS with Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride – A Quirky Journey Podcast #100
Welcome to episode #100 of the A Quirky Journey podcast!
Click on the image above to listen
Noteworthy Quotes From Dr Natasha:
"Recent research has discovered that 90% of all cells in the human body, is in our gut flora. So our bodies are just a shell. 10%. A shell, a habitat for lots of microbes that live inside us. And I'm afraid that they're in charge, not us. They're very much in charge. They're reach is not just in the digestive system. They reach to every organ, every cell, every tissue in the body. No matter how far away that organ might be from the digestive system. The brain is far enough."
"What happens when a child or adult has abnormal gut flora? First of all, they can't digest their food well. So they don't nourish their bodies very well, and as a result they have multiple nutritional deficiencies. At the same time, these pathogenic microbes that take over the digestive system of the person damage the integrity of the gut wall, making it porous and leaky, and it becomes like a seive. So foods don't get a chance to be digested properly before they absorb. They absorb in a partially broken down form - maldigestion. And then the immune system finds them in the bloodstream and says, 'you're not food. I don't recognise you as food', and attacks them. It attaches various cells and various complexes to them... the undigested bit of food. Wherever they get you in the body they cause symptoms. And these are the symptoms of food allergy and intolerance."
"The gut is populated not just by bacteria. The biggest and most fundamental population in there are fungi. At least 70 species of different fungi, moulds and microbes that were discovered that live in a health digestive system in a human being... The gut flora in our digestive system is akin to soil. And the soil is the microbial community. The fungi in the soil are absolutely vital. What they do, they grow low, 7 metres long protrusions, about 100 times bigger inside than the bacteria. So this system of fungi in the soil, is the roadwork in the soil. Like the roadworks in our countries. We have our own mycorrhizal (fungi) in our gut. This mycorrhizal grows long protrusions. It goes right through the biofilm, because every microbe in the gut produces little excretions made out of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, making their own little home. Nobody can live out there in the open. When you move somewhere you want a home. So bacteria and viruses and protozoa and other creatures in the body, do the same. They produce these little substances in the body, and they create a little home for themselves. Little walls and windows and doors. furniture and the rest of it. And that home is all mixed up. Because every bacteria, every little microbe sitting there. They all have their own little homes and these substances mixed together. And what they form is this layer of mixed proteins and carbohydrates and fats, called biofilm. So they live in this biofilm. This biofilm coats the whole length of your digestive system, starting from your lips, all the way to the other end. This whole layer of biofilm is cut right through the mycorrhizol, by these fungal protrusions, fungal groups. And this is the roadwork in that biofilm for the soil inside us. Information is passed through this network. So fungi is absolutely fundamental to our gut flora. They are very important."
