Have you ever noticed that your friends and family smell familiar? That is in part due to the culture of your microbiome; the bugs that make up your body. They remind you of who you are. Our microbiome is a fundamental aspect of our immune systems; deciphering cells in our body as familiar and self vs non-self. 

The change of season is a challenge for our immune systems. And our immune systems rely on a healthy microbiome. So now is a good time to support your microbiome, with fermented foods, or probiotics. Our bodies are not sterile, the average human body has 30 trillion human cells, and about 28 trillion bacteria (PubMed). Clearly we are not sterile. We’re not supposed to be completely “clean”.

Obsession with cleanliness leads to disruptions in our very important microbiomes. Cleanliness, in a sense, removes our bodies’ culture. “Anti-bacterial” soaps, detergents, hand sanitizers aren’t always needed. Dirt, including bacteria is very important to maintaining our health. 

One of the most potent probiotics I’ve prescribed over the years is a “spore-based” probiotic – from healthy soil. Hence soil or dirt. I used to joke – if we didn’t wash all the dirt and soil off our food, we wouldn’t need to take dirt pills. 

But that’s not always accessible. Another option is fermented foods. Whether it’s sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, natto, miso… including some fermented foods in your diet is essential to health. Ferments from your current environment are especially potent to supporting your unique health needs. Your body needs different bugs to support it, and those bugs vary country to country, city to city and household to household. So making your own is best. But if you really can’t make your own, recipes here, or find any made locally, consider taking a spore based probiotic designed for your specific needs. Unfortunately not all probiotics are the same – there is a huge variation out there depending on your unique cultural needs. They are as intricate and individual as your mother. 

One probiotic I’ve found useful in practice comes from a blend of organisms sourced from healthy fertile women’s vaginal flora. That is, after all, what initially colonizes our bodies, all the “bugs” from our mom’s birth canal cover us as we’re being birthed. 

Another simple way to nourish your microbiome is to go out into Mother nature. The air is full of healthy microbes from the decomposing leaves at this time of year. Take in a big breath of that crisp fall air. Or even better, roll around in a pile of leaves, grab handfuls and crunch them up and take in a whiff of the smell of all those healthy bugs. And remind yourself of who you are.