In this article we are unveiling the intriguing link between Soil Microbes and human gut health by the role Beneficial Soil Microbes play in nutrient delivery.
Today, studies show that we are around 90% deficient of beneficial gut bacteria. We are also deficient in a diversity of bacteria. This is due to artificial environments, chemical pollutants, our obsession with sanitising, and not spending enough time in nature, eating natural food.
The diversity of microorganisms, in a human organism, creates balance
Natures Free Health Service
The human microbiome has many parallels with the behaviours of soil microorganisms. In both cases, there are diverse microbes and biological activities. Creative microbes, stabilising microbes and demolishing microbes all function together, and need each other to perpetuate the cycle of life.
We all have microbes in our gut, mouth, nasal passages and other “habitats” in and on us. We have coevolved as “superorganisms” with microbes that perform critical functions and provide ‘health services’.
Parallels of the Human Gut and the Soil
The microbial health of our gut is inextricably linked to the health of the microbes in the soil. We are at the stage now in our human evolution where we are just beginning to understand what soil microorganisms do.
Soil microorganisms, bacteria and fungi, cycle nutrients and water to plants and crops, and ultimately, to our food, in support of our health
The bacteria in the soil is like the “stomach” of plants. Soil microbes have a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, and enable the digestion of nutrients to happen, so that the plants can assimilate the nutrients.
Why we need Healthy Gut Microorganisms
Microbes in the human body aid digestion and maintain our immune system, just as soil microorganisms digest nutrients and protect plants against pathogens and other threats.
For example, plants form symbiotic associations with fungi that colonise their roots and extend the reach of the roots a hundred-fold. These fungal filaments channel nutrients and water back to the plant cells, but the filaments are also used as communication systems for the plant to warn other plants of threats or pests.
Interrupting these intricate pathways, through heavy tillage or chemical overuse, inhibits the plants immunity, just as interrupting the human gut microbiome can deplete the overall human immune system.
Soil and Gut Health Solutions
Vital microbes in the human gut are destroyed through the overuse of antibiotics, chlorine, chemicals used in farming and processed foods. We have also devastated the microbiota in the soil through the overuse of chemical fertilisers, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides and heavy tillage.
Read Why Farmers are Shifting to Organic Nitrogen.
Reintroducing beneficial soil bacteria to depleted soil is akin to eating yoghurt and fresh food to restore the gut microbiome
Repairing the soil can be done through regenerative agriculture and natural farming, using natural soil care practices, and organic inputs like Biological Fertilisers. These are practices that can be applied to small or large-scale agriculture.
The best way to restore our gut health is to eat a diversity of fresh foods, particularly fresh leafy greens, that have been grown in natural ‘living’ soil.
It is now believed that autoimmune and other diseases is owed to the disruption between our bodies and the natural microbial soil system that we coevolved with. Zach Bush MD describes this in detail in the following excellent video.
