Do your Munchkins Follow the yellow brick road? Munchkins is my term to describe your probiotics.
Or are they wicked germs or guardians of our health?
I believe promoting silver linings and golden poop optimizes immune and total body health.
A silver lining is an analogy for a fortified interface and a protective barrier functionality for the linings of the human body that communicate with the outside world. The epithelial cells at your borders are your second line of defense against pathogens besides the guardian Munchkins that are concentrated at these surfaces that “see” the outside world are part of your first line defense.
Golden poop, otherwise known as a healthy gut function, involves harboring guardians of our health or Munchkins. The ratios of the guardian microbiota (probiotics) have been associated with health and disease. There are convincing models of treating the microbiome to improve other body systems such as neurological, cardiovascular function, bone function (your bone is where your immune system’s cells are born known as hematopoiesis). There are convincing studies manipulating the microbiome with medications and formulations to shift them to a guardian state.
There is a potential for millions of factors to affect your probiotics. You are the Wizard. They are the munchkins. Garbage in Garbage out. Your gut flora is akin to 2 or so trillion passengers on the proverbial international cruise ship. The guardians can produce chemicals that lead to smooth sailing for your immune system. The probiotics metabolites circulate throughout the whole human body and can act like a medication. Your gut flora makes butyrate, which is known as a short chain fatty acid (SCFAs). These SCFAs have hormonal and pharmacologic effects. Your probiotics make chemicals that can suppress appetite, build better muscle, bone, brains, blood vessels, breathing, and bowl function. These chemical SCFAs known as “postbiotics” keep powering the ship and help repair the ship’s structure.
These probiotics need the right environment full of nutrients to develop, divide, and diversify. You want your ship of guardian Munchkins well fed and getting what they need. These munchkins are dependent on your lifestyle. They can be traumatized by several factors including medications like ibuprofen and antibiotics or chemical/pesticide residues in food. But you can build resiliency of the gut and skin microbiome by catering to it. See the Super Dooper Pooper Trooper article on habits to build healthy, diverse passengers as supposed to passengers sailing on a “ship of fools”. Its on our website “YourOpportunityForBetterImmunity.com”
It is foolish to deny humans are supra-organisms made of trillions of germs with endless genomic material that is quick to change given the right opportunity. Probiotics are like pawns in chess that are first line defensive players forming a shield and secreting antibiotics against potential pathogenic microbes. The microbes can determine how well your immune system surveys your outer banks as well as your inner core structures. Foreign DNA is very alarming to our immune system. The more varieties of the microscopic world of probiotics our immune system sees, the more functional your immune system becomes.
The facts are clear that most Americans get less than 20 grams of daily fiber due to our commercialization of food production and delivery. However, probiotics flourish with any type of fiber including supplementation with natural and synthetic fibers. You need to pave your Yellow Brick Road slowly with grams of fiber, so your wizardry can communicate with your munchkins because of the wonderful things they are! Probiotics can give your immune system a brain, a heart, and courage to fight invaders.