All the fauna in your system, all those micro-creatures, have garnered much attention lately. There used to be a time, not so long ago, when we thought killing all the little creatures, internally and externally, as in taking antibiotics or sterilizing everything in your home, was the way to go - the Lysterine and Chlorox way. We took hygiene to the extreme, inside and out.

Now we are learning that we are living in dependent coexistence with our microbiome, which is the entirety of all the little microorganisms in our body. We are beginning to understand that a well populated and diverse gut and intestinal microbiome is the basis for a healthy immune system. Hence fermented foods have become all the rage - yogurt, kombucha, Sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, pickled vegetables, sourdough bread - because they all add to and diversify our gut bacteria.

In that regard researchers noticed that Amish children, who grow up in a farming environment, are less susceptible to the more and more prevalent asthma and allergies that children experience who spend much of their time indoors.

So, cultivate your microbiome, don't sweat the small stuff, such as a piece of bread that fell on the floor or a lettuce leaf that still has a bit of dirt on it, it all helps to "grow more hair on your chest" or strengthen your immune system. Please revisit two earlier blog posts on fermented foods and sauerkraut and kimchi..