The Microbiome: You Are a Colony
There are more bacteria cells in your body than human cells. They control your mood, your cravings, and even your thoughts. The 'Self' is actually a committee.
1. Introduction: 50% Human
Count the cells in your body. 43% are human. 57% are bacteria, viruses, and fungi. By gene count, it's even worse: human genes are outnumbered 100 to 1. You are not an individual. You are a Superorganism—a walking coral reef. This is the Microbiome.
2. The Second Brain
The gut contains 500 million neurons. It produces 90% of your body's Serotonin (the happiness chemical) and 50% of the Dopamine. This is why you get "butterflies" when nervous. The Gut-Brain Axis runs via the Vagus Nerve. Your gut talks to your brain constantly. Depression might not be "in your head"; it might be in your colon.
3. They Control You
Do you crave sugar? It might not be you. It might be the Candida yeast in your gut screaming for food. Bacteria manipulate your behavior to ensure their survival. Toxoplasmosis (a parasite in cats) makes mice unafraid of cats so they get eaten (completing the parasite's lifecycle). Do our gut bacteria make us social? anxious? brave?
4. Antibiotic Apocalypse
We have waged war on bacteria for 100 years. Antibiotics save lives, but they are also carpet bombs. They kill the good citizens along with the criminals. The rise of allergies, autoimmune diseases, and obesity is linked to our destroyed microbiomes ("The Hygiene Hypothesis"). We are too clean for our own good.
5. Conclusion: Gardening the Self
Stop thinking of your body as a machine. Think of it as a Garden. You are the gardener.
- Fertilize with Fiber (Prebiotics).
- Plant seeds with Fermented Foods (Probiotics).
- Avoid poison (Processed sugar). When you feed your inner alien friends, they reward you with joy.