The Silver Bullet Will Be a Microbullet (Microbiome).

Will a Vaccine Save Us?
This monumental moment is asking each one of us some deep and lingering questions. Instead of where do we go from here, allow your curiosity to ponder where do I go from here? Not selfish “I” — I as part of the collective.

While there is a search for a vaccine, I encourage us all to stay informed about whether a vaccine is going to be the silver bullet we are seeking, and what’s being developed as a “fill in” to a traditional vaccine inoculation. Let’s explore whether either is the answer to the question will a vaccine save us, if it is the fix for the conflicts, the calm to the storm.

Is root cause resolution what you seek for yourself, your body? Root cause resolution is about resolving underlying causes that set our internal systems up for a virus to have an ill effect. Whatever your answer may be to that question, hold as truth for a moment that viruses are opportunists, not vectors for disease. Viruses need a host, and if that host is compromised or does not have the capability to mount a strong acute immune response, a virus may have deleterious effects. In this example, if we think we can control the virus, then we’re in effect shooting the messenger. Viruses serve as updates for our bodies, our microbiome. In holding this truth, a vaccine (or equivalent gene therapy) cannot be the silver bullet, as there will always be another “novel” virus, or opportunist.

To be clear, no, I am not “anti-vax”, I am pro-big-picture. This is not a black and white discussion, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. It is not about antibiotics or probiotics. The considerations upon us exist in the grey area. I am interested in what we’re hoping to resolve with a vaccine/gene therapy, what will be the collateral damage, and are we looking at health as a positive vitality, or just the absence of dis-ease?

What is the microbiome?
To unearth the way through and out of this storm, we would do ourselves a favor to simply, profoundly, come home to ourselves. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites have lived in, on, and around us since the beginning.

We have co-habitated with these organisms since the dawn of time. So what’s changed, you ask? Of course there are a lot of factors contributing to the change. But when it comes down to the body’s ability, or capability, to weather this storm of a novel corona, or any virus for that matter, it becomes solely about the terrain (your microbiome).

THE BUG IS NOTHING. THE TERRAIN IS EVERYTHING.

Louis Pasteur, father of pasteurization towards the end of his life

The microbiome is the microbullet. Your microbiome is the microbial diversity of your gut. This includes a collection of human cells, bacteria cells (existing in beneficial, neutral, and altering roles), viruses, protozoa, and other microbes. This is the terrain of our immunity, which is synonymous with health.

What is the difference between having a balanced terrain and not?
This terrain is akin to the soil from which plants grow, and soil is different than dirt. When a plants’ terrain, or soil in which it grows, is diverse, nourishing, and balanced, the fruit or food it produces also bears these characteristics. This is not to suggest that soil is devoid of harmful critters or deleterious pathogens. The balance is key.

Your gut is the terrain (i.e. microbiome) of your immune system. It is important to consider what we do on a daily basis that may be negatively impacting the soil of our body, the terrain of our gut. Are we balancing the insults with improvements? This includes physiological inputs as well as mental, spiritual, and emotional inputs- as beliefs influence biology.

We are all in the same storm, weathering similar patterns. The roots of all illness, be it cancer or an ulcer, manifest in much the same way, and that is inflammation and impaired immunity. The messages relayed to and within our microbiome inform the health of the rest of the body.

Did you know?
The number of human cells in our body are ONE TENTH that of microbial cells in our body! It appears we are a microbe having a human experience, not the other way around (a human with some microbes). With the interplay between all these microbes there occurs a turning on and off of genes, a triggering of the production of hormones, and activation of immune cells. Epigenetically-speaking, an attenuated virus within a vaccine (along with the adjuvants used to preserve it) or the recent gene therapy option being called a “vaccine”, these may not be the best way to take care of our terrain. At best, it is only part of the story. Like Paul Harvey would allude to, what’s the Rest of the Story?

What would it look like to make this shift in normalcy bring about a personalized, individual path, so as to pave a different road towards a stronger being. Would this not lead us to a more informed, deeply empowered collective? To heal the terrain of the world, we must begin with our own soil.

If this all seems like a lot…stay with me and stay curious. The language around viruses, the microbiome, and gut health is important. Of equal importance is the relative ease at which we can positively influence your terrain.

A relatively simple way to tend your soil is knowing what offends it. Get a FOOD SENSITIVITY TEST to determine unfavorable foods for your gut. These may be contributing to symptoms like: bloat, headaches, tiredness, irritability, and more. “Knowing is half the battle,” as they say.

Food Sensitivities Microbiome Vaccine