Course No. 5
52% of the cells in your body have no human DNA.

Cellularly, You're Only Half Human.

Overview
The human body could not function without microbes. Scientists call these non-human microbes the microbiome. We focus on the microbes in the digestive tract, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. However, the vast majority of the microbiome operates in the small intestine, which is why we call it the bioreactor.
These microbes produce much of the chemistry to operate the human body. These include the neurotransmitters that operate the brain and nervous system, such as serotonin and dopamine, which allow us to sleep, move effortlessly, and feel great. Other critical molecules that microbes produce include short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids, neuropeptides, vitamins, secondary metabolites, and endotoxins.
Before adding anything to food, the standard must become whether it is proven safe to you AND your microbiome, rather than the current standard of not yet proven harmful to human cells.
Food passes from microbe to microbe, each further reducing the complexity of the food molecules for the next microbe in the food chain. The result is an enormously complex ecosystem with as many existential interdependencies as any in nature. After the Silent Spring was published in the 1960s, pesticides, herbicides, and environmental chemicals came under strict scrutiny and regulation to protect the outside ecosystem. Now, we need to do the same with complex sugars, additives, thickeners, emulsifiers, preservatives, harmful oils, and flavor enhancers to protect our inside ecosystem.
Actionable Knowledge
  • If you count all the cells of the human body, 47% have human DNA, and 53% do not have human DNA. Over a trillion cells of nearly 4,000 species, each with unique non-human DNA, have been identified as likely to be metabolically active, meaning they play a role in nutrition and health.
  • "Generally recognized as safe," or GRAS substances, are considered safe for human consumption by the United States Food and Drug Administration. However, GRAS substances are ONLY tested for safety against human cells. Before adding something to food, the standard must become whether it is proven safe to you AND your microbiome, rather than the current standard of not yet proven harmful to human cells.
  • Scientists are just now discovering that microbes either outright manufacture critical molecules that run the human body or make the building blocks of these molecules. These include the neurotransmitters that operate the brain and nervous system, such as serotonin and dopamine, which allow us to sleep, move effortlessly, and feel great.
  • When the healthy microbe ecosystems in the human bioreactor are out of balance, and critical molecules are no longer made, that’s called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is a major element of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and metabolic disease.
Cellularly, You're Only Half Human.
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