This all began of necessity. I didn't choose to care about our microbiome, specifically my 12 year old daughter's microbiome. Rather these little warriors called out to me and they had to get really loud to get my attention. But once they got it, I vowed to help them, to protect them, to support the symbiotic work they do for all of us. I am not a microbiologist, a doctor, or a nutritionist; I don't have a degree in immunology. To be sure, I wish I did. But I am a mom, whose child was very sick. There is no better motivation to learn, learn quick, and get it right, than when your child is not well and no modality provides rock solid answers. You see, theories suck when your kiddo is not thriving. Chronic disease is only chronic because we have more to learn. If we fully understood the systemic mechanisms at play and the complex interrelationships that beg a holistic approach, we would know how to help our babies. But thanks to the doctors and researchers dedicating their lives to this work and all of those in the trenches, we are a learning organism, us moms (and dads). And in my case, aunt, grandma, cousin, friends, lots of prayer, and most importantly, my daughter.
Getting back to homeostasis in my daughter's health, led me on a deep dive into the microbiome that resides in our guts, how they interact with (and sometimes direct) our immune system, their potential involvement in the gut-brain axis and thereby their relationship to emotional health, and how their ecosystem is impacted by our environment, our stress responses and, most significantly the food we eat. Turns out that what we eat, they "eat" and different bacteria benefit from different foods. Many of the bacteria that take up residence in the gut are beneficial and indeed necessary to our health. Some bacteria are pathogenic. In our house, our mantra became, "Feed the good guys and starve the bad guys". We have relied on research, notable pediatric gastroenterologist recommendations (Thank you Dr. Suskind!), parent communities, lots of cookbooks, and loads of trial and error. What started as a "N of 1" became a "N of 3" as my husband and I were all in.
A few years have passed and now I have an almost 16 year old daughter who is strong and healthy. We have learned a lot, our new habits are fully cemented, and the new normal is no longer new, just normal. This blog is an attempt to share, connect, and to keep me on my toes. There are about 39 trillion microbes (in my daughter alone) counting on me and we have barely scratched the surface.
