Quantum Nutrients, Two Brains, Upside Down Diets

Her Gut Was Producing Alcohol

Via CNN  — Her breath reeked of alcohol. She was dizzy, disoriented and weak, so much so that one day she passed out and hit her head on a kitchen counter while making lunch for her school-age children.

Yet not a drop of liquor had passed her lips, a fact that the 50-year-old Toronto woman and her husband told doctors for two years before someone actually believed her. “She visited her family doctor again and again and went to the emergency room seven times over two years,” said Dr. Rahel Zewude, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto…

“I know of over 300 people diagnosed with auto-brewery syndrome and we have over 800 patients and caregivers in our private Facebook support group,” said Cordell, who was not involved in the new case.

“Part of the mystery of this syndrome is how these people can have these extremely high levels and still be walking around and talking.”

All of the emergency room doctors questioned the Toronto woman’s drinking habits, and she was examined by three different hospital psychiatrists who concluded that she did not meet criteria for the diagnosis of alcohol use disorder.

“She told doctors her religion does not allow drinking, and her husband verified she did not drink,” said Zewude, who treated the woman and coauthored a report on the anonymous case that publishedMonday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal….

Extremely rare and frequently unrecognized

Auto-brewery syndrome, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, is an extremely rare conditionin which bacteria and fungus in the gastrointestinal tract turn the carbohydrates in everyday food into ethanol. The first known case occurred in 1946in Africa, when a 5-year-old boy’s stomach ruptured for no known reason. An autopsy found his abdomen filled with a “frothy” fluid smelling of alcohol.

Read the article on CNN.

The Political Brain

Empirical evidence suggests that the political brain is less about how humans are opinionated or view the world. And more how the brains of conservatives and liberals are actually quite physically different.

Scientists at University College London found that those “who identify themselves as conservatives have a larger amygdala than self-described liberals.” The amygdala is the fear processing center of the human brain. This finding suggests that conservatives are more prone to overreact to perceived threats.

In another study published in 2008 in the National Health Institute, National Library of Medicine. Researchers found that liberal minded students tend to seek adventure and travel more. Whereas, conservatives minded students tend to live a more orderly lifestyle and enjoy familiarity. 

“Although political views have been thought to arise largely from individuals’ experiences, recent research suggests that they may have a biological basis. We present evidence that variations in political attitudes correlate with physiological traits. In a group of 46 adult participants with strong political beliefs, individuals with measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening visual images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism, and gun control, whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism, and the Iraq War. Thus, the degree to which individuals are physiologically responsive to threat appears to indicate the degree to which they advocate policies that protect the existing social structure from both external (outgroup) and internal (norm-violator) threats.”

Negativity Bias

In a 2012 study published in The Royal Society, conservatives were shown to have “negativity bias.” In this study researchers monitored subjects’ eye movements. When shown two images—one “positive,” like a cute kitten, and one “negative,” like a car wreck—liberal identifying participants would look at the cute kitten first. Conservatives, on the other hand, would look at the car wreck first.

Psychologists refer to this as “negativity bias”. Meaning conservatives’ attention is skewed toward threats. This makes the world a scarier place for conservatives. University of Central Arkansas social psychologist Paul Nail says, “Conservatism, apparently, helps to protect people against some of the natural difficulties of living. The fact is we don’t live in a completely safe world. Things can and do go wrong. But if I can impose this order on it by my worldview, I can keep my anxiety to a manageable level.” For the conservative mind it seems all about managing anxiety. That may be a reason so many gun owners identify as conservatives. Guns make people feel safe.

Feeling Safe Versus Feeling Threatened

From the Scientific American, Unconscious Reactions Separate Liberals and Conservatives, September 2012: “When people feel safe and secure, they become more liberal; when they feel threatened, they become more conservative. Research conducted by Paul Nail and his colleague in the weeks after September 11, 2001, showed that people of all political persuasions became more conservative in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, in an upcoming study, a team led by Yale University psychologist Jaime Napier found that asking Republicans to imagine that they possessed superpowers and were impermeable to injury made them more liberal.”

Take some time to consider the meaning of this quote. More terrorism, more war and more chaos will in turn make people, in general, become more conservative. If you want to push a society to be more restrictive what do you do? Create fear and sow chaos of course.

Politicians Use Fear And Anxiety To Decrease Freedoms

Politicians are well aware of this knowledge. If you are a politician, pushing a conservative agenda. Trying to crack down on civil liberties, or increase your power. It is in your interest to scare people. To create misinformation, conspiracy, drama and even perform false flag operations. This is no conspiracy, this is what is happening right now, and has been happening for as long as there have been top down societies.

These studies I mention suggest that the sort of information, physical events and the perspective from which the human brain processes it, triggers predictable outcomes. In conservatives with a larger amygdala, it is much easier for the process to bypass the critical thinking part of the brain and connect directly to the hardwired fight or flight part. 

Fear And Control Never Equals Freedom

Knowing this information we should then consider that media consumption and dietary preferences are two more parts of the reaction machine. Why do you think conservative news and conservative politicians are always talking about crime and freedom? They are pushing an agenda towards less freedoms, but selling it as freedom. It’s upside down manipulation and programming.

Look how much fear based media complexes exist in America. It should come as no surprise that right leaning media are pushing a steady diet of fear, anxiety inducing, reactionary news stories. With culture war chants against things like the “War on Christmas” which supposedly rejects Christian values. Of course it does no such thing. Or the “War on Meat” which rejects ideas of a healthy diet and lifestyle. In favor of the freedom to hurt your own health while ignoring the massive detriment to the environment meat production creates. Portraying eating meat as masculine.

This is all control based messaging meant to keep the consumerist status quo and support existing entrenched financial architectures. I explain the reasons and many more details in the The Political Gut. It’s all about money and power of course.

Energy Is Omnipresent

Everything, everywhere around us, all the space is energy. Again, to be exact, 99.99999% energy. Only .00001% is matter. In a vacuum, energy cannot be removed. Energy is omnipresent. What is energy? Many different things manifest in different shapes and forms.

Plants Can Feel, Hear And Remember

There are studies which have shown plants are susceptible to a person’s energy and know when they enter the room. In another study published in Entomology Today in 2014 the researchers showed that plants can hear and remember.

These researchers played the sounds of a caterpillar munching on leaves from a tape recorder and the plants responded by producing chemical defenses. “What is remarkable is that the plants exposed to different vibrations, including those made by a gentle wind or different insect sounds that share some acoustic features with caterpillar feeding vibrations, did not increase their chemical defenses,” Professor Rex Cocroft said.

“Previous research has investigated how plants respond to acoustic energy, including music,” said Heidi Appel, a research scientist. “However, our work is the first example of how plants respond to an ecologically relevant vibration. We found that feeding vibrations signal changes in the plant cells’ metabolism, creating more defensive chemicals that can repel attacks from caterpillars.” Clearly, there is much more intelligence on this planet than just ours. 

Our Food Is Energy Beyond What Is Defined As Calories

In addition to nutrition and intelligence, becoming aware that food has energy is important. Food is also 99.99999% energy and .00001% matter. Humans must consider the way foods are handled, treated, and grown. The attention, or not, paid to it and the care in which it is handled. The microbial content of the soil, the history of the soil, the climate and stress of the plant, the farmers and planet. The happiness and virility of the plant, the quality of the air it breathes.

How could these not affect the nutrition, energy content, quality, and taste? A human will be less healthy, and more prone to illness should they be raised on a meager diet, exposed to dangerous chemicals, high stress, and starved of nutrients. What is the disconnect here? It’s not just a plant. We are what we eat.

Stress Is Stress, In All Life Forms

Why would this idea be so radical or different for any living thing, plant, insect, or animal? Fear causes the release of chemicals. The release of chemicals causes fear. More stress impacts healthy functioning.

In animals these hormones have been shown to taint the flavor of the meat and cheese. Why wouldn’t this be applicable to a plant? Plants are living and they communicate with each other. Maybe humans don’t speak plant language—though these days there are some scientists who are learning to speak plant.

Basic intelligence should cause us to infer the same, as with all other living things. They are still 99.99999% energy. Common sense would also dictate that a healthy plant will possess more nutrition and taste.

Chef Dan Barber

Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill Farm and Stone Barns has proven this. He has been named one of America’s 100 most influential people in Time magazine. He has also received several James Beard awards and given Ted talks. In his Ted talks he highlights how sustainability actually creates better tasting food. I recommend watching his Ted talks. They are very interesting. He is referred to in The Gothamist as a “chef-thinker,” exploring taste, sustainability, and meaning in food.

For one of his experiments he partnered with some local farms in upstate New York. What they found is nothing short of remarkable. Healthier plants—as defined by more microbial diversity within the soil they grow in—had fuller, more flavorful profiles and higher nutritional content.

Turns Out It’s All About The Microbiome

Remember, the microbiome in the soil interacts with the roots of the plant. These microscopic life forms make nutrients bio-available to the plant.  In much the same way, bacteria in the human gut makes nutrients available for the human body.

Healthier soil is defined by more diversity of microbes, in turn facilitating more availability of nutrients for plant uptake. This made the plants produce taste better and have more nutrition. It’s so very simple, let nature work for us. Nature knows the way, having been around much longer than humans have. There are a couple more studies that further these ideas.

Energy Is Omnipresent

Scientists in Europe made cheese from goat’s milk. For this study. They herded goats into a pristine mountain pasture, full of herbs and grasses. In an area with no known predators. The goats were encircled with a natural wood fence. When the time came, the scientists milked the goats and made cheese. Then they tested for stress hormones and other related compounds.

The experiment was repeated. Same goats, same pasture. This time the scientists replaced the wood with an electric fence to contain the goats. What they discovered was that the goats, when enclosed by an electric fence, produced milk with more stress hormones. This resulted in the cheese being described as having “off flavors”. When compared to the first cheese made when the goats were enclosed by a wooden fence.

Goats therefore must be able to sense the electric field created by the electric fence, inducing stress. This is just one of the most basic examples where energy is more present than humans take into consideration. Every living plant and animal, including humans, are tapped into this field of energy all around us.

Humans Have The Same Sense Of Perception

Have you ever been to New York City? As a resident for twenty years it was very obvious that humans are able to detect this energy. As soon as you cross the Hudson river from New Jersey, the energy in Manhattan is very strong and present enough to feel it.

Humanity may have dulled their overt perception to lesser energies. Yet, this doesn’t rule out the possibility. We are much more connected than we are able to recognize. Not only that, but humans are actually able to fine tune this connection, to gain a better reception to the energy. To be able to use and communicate with the energy that surrounds us and creates our physical being.

I’m sure you can think of an experience in your life where you had thought transference with a close friend, lover, or relative. There are studies that prove we can read other peoples minds. From couples “thinking in sync” to being able to feel it when someone is looking at you, and more.

Once we fine tune the reception, we are able to receive the messages more accurately. To bring this into a more overt unconscious behavior. I believe the first step is to remove the toxins dulling our sensors by actively changing our diet and lifestyle. Learn more how to do this in The Political Gut.

Artificial Sweeteners Cause Depression

Even if the label says “sugar free” it is most likely is not sweetener free. Even worse, artificial sweeteners cause depression and are toxic for the brain. One study by the NIH (National Institute of Health) showed that people who drink diet drinks with artificial sweeteners are more depressed than those who don’t.

I personally stopped eating sugar about 5 years ago. It wasn’t easy. Almost every item in the supermarket contains sugar, corn syrup, artificial sweetener, or a sugar derivative. Many times it is a combination. Even pet food has sugar in it. Over the years I became an expert at finding this hidden drug.

Another NIH study found that artificial sweeteners are are affecting the concentrations of mood-regulating neurotransmitters. Which can be toxic for your brain. Sugar and it’s derivatives like high fructose corn syrup can also cause brain inflammation. This of course than lead to fatigue and depression as well.

Sugar Has Many Detrimental Effects To Your Health

Among many other detrimental effects, sugar feeds tumors and cancer cells. This is called the ‘Warburg Effect,’ named after Dr. Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in 1931.

He figured out, wait for it, that cancer feeds itself by fermenting sugar. In my book I mention about Auto Brewery Syndrome and the potential for corn syrup to ferment in your gut. Not only that, this process can alter your genes through epigenetic expression.

Of course I cannot forget to mention diabetes, fatigue, addiction, serotonin deficiency and obesity. All unwanted negative side effects of eating and consuming sugar and artificial sweeteners on a daily basis. If you want to get your energy back and feel happier, cutting our sugar and artificial sweeteners is a must.

Not to mention the negative energy associated with the production and cultivation of sugar over millennia. Million of people were enslaved just to harvest sugar. Still to this day. In my book the The Political Gut I elaborate more, detailing sugars history and studies which have shown that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. No wonder it’s in almost all the foods you buy at the supermarket. Sugar is also in your fast food french fries. Fried in oils that have been shown to cause depression as well.

Corn Syrup May Be Altering Your DNA

If bacteria in our gut can alter our brain functions, mood, and thinking clarity, then I think it would be safe to say that corn syrup may be altering your DNA. Consuming a commercial product—made using bacteriological production methods—could have an adverse effect on our health, mental clarity, and even the expression of our genes.

Corn Syrup And Its Derivatives

Here, I am specifically referring to corn syrup and its derivatives, dextrose, maltose and high fructose corn syrup. Highly fermentable sugars made from corn starch. They may seem pretty harmless on the surface since they are made from corn. But, maybe they are not so harmless after all. The majority are made from GMO (genetically modified) corn. When you dig deeper into the production methods and learn more about the process, things become less simple.

The Chemical Process Of Making Corn Syrup

First, the starch has to be separated from the corn kernels. They do this by mixing water with sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide is a toxic gas emitted from volcanoes. When you burn a match, that smell is sulfur dioxide gas.

After a few more processes all of the starch has been separated. The producer then uses enzymes excreted from bacteria and fungi. These bacteria and fungi also have been genetically modified to meet commercial production needs for replicability. One of the more common forms of bacterium used is Bacillus licheniformis which is most commonly found in dirt. 

Corn Syrup Is Made From Bacterial Excretions

Bacillus species produce enzymes called α-amylase through excretion. Excretion is a nice sounding word but let’s put it in context. What is human excrement? Feces, shit, poop, doo-doo whatever you want to call it. It’s a waste product in this form and contains genes and DNA. Remember the mice who were given human feces in chapter 4? 

The enzyme α-amylase is prevalent in the human body, and is most commonly found in human saliva. In saliva it breaks down starch into maltose and dextrin, which is harmless enough in human form, bearing human based DNA strands.

The fungi used to make corn syrup and its derivatives is Aspergillus. Aspergillus excretes γ-amylase which further helps to convert the oligosaccharides created from the α-amylase into glucose. Like Bacillus, Aspergillus has many different species. Some species are used to make Sake (Japanese rice wine), others are used in medicine. Yet, other forms will make a human sick. Think black mold.   

DNA Soup

Corn syrup could be altering your DNA. Here is where it gets interesting. In saliva, depending on your diet, you could have different DNA copies of α-amylase genes. Remember in chapter 4 where I talk about how the number of DNA/genes in microbiota living in/on the human body significantly outnumber human DNA/genes. Imagine a big old pot of soup. That is what’s going on in the human gut. Human genes, genes from food, fungi genes, bacteria genes, archaea genes all blending together. Big business is well aware of this.

One such brand is Nestlé. Nestlé’s former CEO, when asked, is on record referring to water as a human right being an “extreme” argument. In essence he does not agree with the statement that water is a human right. Of course this comes from a company that is one of the largest sellers of bottled water on the planet. This kind of thinking should make you start thinking.

Epigenetics, A Little Know Way To Alter Your Genes

I bring up Nestlé because they have hundreds of scientists working on the science and technology of their products. Nestlé, of course, isn’t the only company that operates this way. One field specifically Nestlé focuses on is the epigenetic impacts of diet and lifestyle on individual health.

The term epigenetics describes the study of how different biological and environmental signals affect gene expression. There are basically two types of gene expression. The ones you are born with, like your skin tone, and the color of your hair and eyes. And then there are environmental or epigenetic gene expressions.

Epigenetic gene expression makes changes to chemical groups in genes, essentially turning them on or off. I don’t want to bog you down with all the technical elements. Just be aware that food, stress and environment, among other things, can and does alter your genes. There is a lot of info out there and it is fascinating. I suggest you do some homework here.

Your Energy Can Affect Gene Expression

I have been talking a lot about energy so far. A big part of what this book’s message is about is energy. We’re all just energy after all. There happens to be yet another, energetic way to alter your genes.

There is a non-profit health organization called the HearthMath institute. “HeartMath Institute is committed to helping awaken the heart of humanity. We believe that when we align and connect our hearts and minds and connect with others, we awaken the higher mental, emotional and spiritual capacities that frequently lie dormant.” This is straight from the about page on the HearthMath website.

Magnetic Fields Are Powerful

Carlo Ventura, M.D., Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of the World Journal of Stem Cells and professor at the University of Bologna in Italy. Discovered that by using magnetic field frequencies stem cells can be altered. Not only that, he says, “nonstem adult cells can be epigenetically reprogrammed backward to a state where they can eventually give rise to neural cells, cardiac cells, skeletal muscle cells or insulin-producing cells.” Talk about malleability!

Drawing my own conclusions from this information. We can infer that everyday of our life we are changing and have the ability to manipulate our own gene expression. The secret is tapping into that magnetism. The HeartMath Institute seems to have found one way to do exactly that. As mentioned already, genetic determinism is the traits you are born with. Epigenetics is signaling genes on and off.

Being A Victim Of Nature Or Controlling Your Health Destiny

Stem cell biologist and bestselling author Bruce Lipton, PhD says, “The difference between these two is significant because this fundamental belief called genetic determinism literally means that our lives, which are defined as our physical, physiological and emotional behavioral traits, are controlled by the genetic code,” He further states, “This kind of belief system provides a visual picture of people being victims: If the genes control our life function, then our lives are being controlled by things outside of our ability to change them. This leads to victimization that the illnesses and diseases that run in families are propagated through the passing of genes associated with those attributes. Laboratory evidence shows this is not true.”

Quantum Nutrients

Here is where energy comes in. HearthMath Institute calls this energy “Quantum Nutrients.” According to Dr. Lipton, “When we have negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and dislike or hate, or think negative thoughts…we experience stress and our energy reserves are redirected.” Researchers have found that human intentions can alter DNA strands using what HearthMath Institute refers to as heart coherence, “a beneficial state of mental, emotional and physical balance and harmony.” Think meditation but more complex.

The heart generates a stronger electromagnetic field than the brain does. In one 2003 study, Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-Focused Intention by McCraty, Atkinson, Tomasino, it states, “Individuals capable of generating high ratios of heart coherence were able to alter DNA conformation according to their intention… Control group participants showed low ratios of heart coherence and were unable to intentionally alter the conformation of DNA.”

What this means is that through thoughtful, heart centered intention, participants in this study were able to change DNA samples through focused intentions. These participants were able to alter their personal energetic signature and embed simple command messages inside of it. In turn changing their electromagnetic field into a sort of programming module that interacted with DNA strands. Specifically, they held DNA in a test tube in their hand and focused on unraveling the strands, and it worked.

Previously, I mentioned Robert Edward Grant. Remember he had made some discoveries implying that humans are made from binary code set into our DNA through frequencies. If our DNA can be created through energetic means then it can also be altered through the same. Which is what these studies have shown.

Serotonin Regulates Mood, Anxiety and Depression

If you are unaware, sugar is the most legal addictive substance in the world. Think about how your mood and energy levels change after consuming, or during a prolonged absence of sugar in your diet. Not only that, sugar significantly affects serotonin levels. As I mentioned, roughly 93% of your body’s serotonin is produced in the gut.

Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that regulates mood, anxiety and depression. Most antidepressants work by blocking serotonin receptors. All of these factors combine as an alteration of your personality and energetic signature.

When consuming corn syrup we are affecting serotonin production. That’s why we get the sugar rush. By inhabiting our guts, these corn syrup producing microorganisms could very well be altering our gene expression, affecting fear response, mood, energy levels, electromagnetic signature, thinking, clarity, and sending craven signals to our brain to eat more foods with corn syrup in them.

How Corn Syrup, Food And Energy Are Altering Your DNA

Let’s tie it all together. This is how corn syrup may be altering your DNA. Extrapolating from above, we know that food, environment, and energy are able to alter human DNA expression. We also know that microorganisms in our gut can affect our thinking, mood, fear response and energy. We also know that our mood, thinking, and intentions can alter energy and our genes.

Corn syrup is produced using the waste products of bacteria and fungi. In the process of separating the α-amylase from the bacteria, and the γ-amylase from the fungi. It is almost certain that there are still DNA, bacteria and fungi (or spores) present in the solution used to manufacture the starches into corn syrup and the final product.

Even if, and this is a big if, the producers were able to completely remove all these bacteria and fungi. The process uses some of the most common forms available. Meaning you are likely ingesting and inhaling these same bacteria and fungi regularly. It’s very possible these microorganisms are actively consuming sugars and/or fermenting carbohydrates into corn syrup in your gut altering your energy signatures negatively.

Read More in The Political Gut available on Amazon in Kindle and print formats May 20th, 2022.

Probiotics And The Gut Brain Connection

It would seem that there is no way humans could live on Earth without bacteria known as probiotics. Probiotics also make an important connection, via the vagus nerve, to the brain. Known as the gut brain connection. These microoraganisms control us much more than we may want to think.

There have been some interesting studies done with mice and the probiotic bacteria, lactobacillus. In one such study at McMaster University in Canada. Mice were placed in a stressful situation to measure anxiety and stress response. One at a time a single mouse was placed in a bucket of water. With no way to escape. The goal of this study was to see how gut bacteria might influence brain behavior and stress response.

The control group were just normal mice. Eating normal mice food. The study group had been fed lactobacillus rhamnosus, a probiotic bacteria. The control group, when placed in the water, swam frantically, trying to escape until they were exhausted.

The study group—the one fed lactobacillus rhamnosus—swam in a less frantic, thoughtful manner. After the mice had given up and stopped swimming. The researchers removed them from the water and tested for corticosterone. Corticosterone is the mice version of the human stress hormone, cortisone. They found that the study group, the mice fed lactobacillus rhamnosus, had significantly lower levels of corticosterone than the control group.

The Vagus Nerve

For the second part of the study the scientists severed the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the human body. It contains both motor and sensory functions and runs from the medulla oblongata all the way to the gut. For our purposes here you just need to understand that it connects the stomach to the brain. In man and mice.

When the scientists ran the same tests after severing the vagus nerve. They found that the lactobacillus rhamnosus had absolutely no effect on anxiety reaction or corticosterone production.

This finding suggests that the gut brain connection has an important linkage—more importantly, that there is a link between bacteria in the stomach and chemical function in the brain. Lactobacillus rhamnosus was shown to minimize the production of the fear-inducing hormone corticosterone. This in turn, helped to minimize stress and fear reaction.

Stress And IBS

Another study worth mentioning was done by Jay Pasricha, M.D., Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology. In terms of constipation, diarrhea, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), researchers are finding that irritation in the gut ends up sending signals to the brain that trigger mood changes. “For decades, researchers and doctors thought that anxiety and depression contributed to these problems. But our studies and others show that it may also be the other way around,” Pasricha says. “That’s important, because up to 30 to 40 percent of the population has functional bowel problems at some point.”

What doctor Pasricha is saying. Stress, anxiety and depression are caused by bowel problems, rather than contributing to the onset of these problems. Scientists have just located the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the gut-brain connection. There are many studies out there showing how gut bacteria affect mood, thinking clarity, and so on.

If you want to learn more. Here are a couple books you should check out; Giulia Enders, Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ and The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD. If you are interested in learning more about your body and how it works. This knowledge will empower and motivate you to eat healthier. It will also improve your quality of life. 

Making Your Own Probiotic Rich Foods

Making your own fermented foods at home is a fun hobby. In one sitting you can make months worth of probiotic snacks that contain lactobacillus. If you need help to get started. There’s an excellent book by Sandor Katz called the Art of Fermentation. This book has all the information and recipes you will ever need to ferment almost anything at home.

Something else to keep in mind. There really shouldn’t be more than a gram or two of sugar in any type of probiotic food. Ideally, all of the sugar will be fermented out. So with store bought items check the added sugar content. And it’s not just sucrose. Sweeteners have 56 different names, which I will detail more later on.

Probiotic foods like sauerkraut, tempeh, miso and pickles shouldn’t have any sugar at all. Check the label if you are buying kimchi. Store bought kimchi will often have sugar in it. I make kimchi at home all the time and you can leave out the sugar when you do it yourself. It is not a necessary ingredient.

One other thing to keep in mind. Products listing microflora count on the packaging. If it’s counted, there is a very good chance it’s added. These are not living, natural probiotics. Most of these products have been heat pasteurized. Which means you are consuming the dead bacteria. The producers then add probiotics back in. 

All Gut Health Studies Say The Same Thing

All of the gut related studies out there suggest the same thing: improper microbial gut balance, affects decision making, mood, skin health, energy levels and creates a tendency to overreact to stress and fear. Bad bacteria will make you unhealthy and can cause you to make poor decisions. When you pair these facts with some other fascinating psychologically based brain studies the picture becomes even clearer.

Preface

The Political Gut is built upon nearly three decades of professional and personal experiences. From owning a wellness brand built around tea, named Pure Luck®, to a career as a professional artist. Working globally with major advertising agencies, fashion labels, alcohol brands, post production studios, art departments, mega corporations, politicians and more.

I was engaging with, and working for the entities that try and succeed, to define us. Creating the content to do it. The message I kept receiving was clear. I had to stop supporting these entities. And begin actively working to educate as many people as possible how upside down the system is.

My Memoir From The Anthropocene

My goal with this book is to inspire people to change the way they live. To manifest change in our collective patterns of thinking and being. By altering how we view food and the world around us. We will build a new way of being and thinking. Breaking ourselves free from the toxic world we presently inhabit.

My hope is that I motivate others to assist in creating this new paradigm. Where every person has the basic necessities of life – food, water, shelter, clothing, safety and sanitary living conditions. Where we are able to make clear-headed decisions, free from chemical contamination, ill health and manipulation. The idea is simple: the return to “natural.” My wish is for humanity to come together collectively and build a new paradigm, one so popular it renders the current one obsolete.

This “memoir” is telling the story of our current paradigm, our epoch, the Anthropocene. A period of time in which human activities have altered society and changed the course of the planet’s geology and ecosystems. I piece together the myriad of ways consumerism and business as usual are changing the very being of humans, our DNA, food systems, and society.

Shining a bright light on what is obscured by our everyday lives. I have collated a wealth of information and research, bringing it together in one place. Viewed as a whole a clear picture emerges. The goal is to enlighten, inspire, and foster a new view to enmeshing with the natural world around us.

Recalibrate Back To Natural

The physical world is full of traps, constraints, and heavy weights. Holding humanity back from meeting, and being our full potential. Causing us to act against our best interests. My aim is to help you navigate and recognize the tripwires. The world we live in has been built upside down on purpose. Food is political and the human gut is an integral part of the decision making process.

I highlight several key areas: energy, critical thinking, diet, discipline, kindness, awareness, objectivity, love, and mindfulness. To gain awareness of oneself, engaging in an inner dialog is imperative. Throughout the book I point out methods and means of trickery used against humans to continue the status quo. To maintain the status quo means to continue keeping humans from focused, clear thought, at all costs.

Living in a natural state of being. You begin to experience the world around us for what it truly is. Once you see this, it cannot be unseen. Stop, think and recalibrate back to natural. Maybe you don’t even know what a natural state of being feels like.

Improve Your Quality Of Life

Free yourself from dogma and embrace dharma. Challenge the ways you think, believe, eat and live. This will actually reduce your stress and increase your health. The Political Gut is meant to be a “memoir of paradigm,” and provide the tools to the art of living in the 21st century.

Remove the guardrails, they don’t exist. It’s all an illusion. Cut out the toxicity, pills and bad influences; ignore the manipulation and cravings and remove the toxins we ingest and absorb willingly. These toxins collect in our bodies and infect our minds, thoughts and most importantly our decision making. Becoming aware of it all is a big first step. From there I will guide you to detox, re-align your reality, and renew your quality of life. You have never known freedom like this.

We Resist What We Don’t Know

Humans are programmed and designed to resist the unknown and foreign. Every day we are taking unconscious actions to resist conflict. Making decisions based on group think. As a species, we are ultimately just stumbling through the dark on a rock hurtling through space time, searching for a light switch, trying to keep up, and figure it out.

Group acceptance is a very powerful force. We let groupthink control us more than we should. To think freely–true free thought–is to be accepting of the unknown and to be open to new ideas. In marketing, there are categories used to describe different types of people. A person who takes a risk. Accepting an idea or product before the majority of others is known as an early adopter. This is roughly thirteen percent of people.

The Early Adopter

Early adopters don’t care if others are widely adopting an idea. This person is open to change and trying new things. “Early adopters are typically younger in age, have a higher social status, have more financial lucidity, advanced education, and are more socially forward than late adopters.” – Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers.

Another word we may use to loosely describe an early adopter, progressive. “Progressive,” defined by Merriam Webster, “1) using or interested in new or modern ideas especially in politics and education  2) moving forward.”  Those with a progressive mind are living, moving into the future, evolving, and changing sooner. The early adopter is flexible in their mindset, creating new neural pathways, methods and sometimes even paradigms.

Everyone Else

If most people are not going to accept something new. How do you get the majority to purchase or accept it? Through repetition, birth, manipulation, and coercion. This is the purpose of advertising, politics and the media. When those things don’t work. There are always laws, chemicals, and additives. These mediums are signaling it’s OK, go ahead and give into your craving. Follow us. Try it out. Be like everyone else. There is a lot of psychology behind all this.

The idea sold to us is that we should be getting the newest thing. Maximizing our buying power by working and competing harder. Endlessly, consuming and working to get money, to exhibit status. When you minimize inputs instead of maximizing consumption. You will find much greater peace of mind with less. Realizing that the majority of things that are sold to us as “must haves” are actually worthless.

Change The Way You Live

What if you cut out social media, shopping binges, the newest TV, culture war politics, junk food, meat, soda, TV dinners, snacks, candy, special sauces, and the like? Learning to live with less will free your mind of the mental weight and cravings of physical things. You will find this significantly improves your health, sleep and lowers your stress.

What if you start drinking only clean, pure spring water? Eat real organic food and turn off the TV, just sitting with yourself, in the quiet of your mind. The majority of people may find this very difficult at first, or maybe even say they don’t have the time. Yet, you have the time for social media and to watch TV, right? If you make the time, you will regain your focus and absolutely maximize the quality of your life. If you can find your natural state you might learn something very new and appealing about yourself and the world around you.

Objectivity Is Power

Being able to objectively, and reflectively view ourselves and the world around us. Allows us to see the incredibly negative effects of the world we live in, and the outsized influence it has on our minds, environment, health, and collective futures. Taking a moment to stop and recognize relationships and interconnectivity. Enables us to break the mono-mindedness cycle. Stop living in a repetitive state, reliving our past experiences endlessly.

Open it all up. Take the time to think and inspect ourselves. Shine a bright light in all of the crevices and cracks of your mind. I want to show you how you can view yourself objectively. Creating context and the ability to acknowledge what is really happening. And to be able to build an off-ramp, safely crossing the barrier into the unseen and natural world. We can create a better quality of life, a more kind society and a healthy world if enough people dare to do the same.

Inspiring You To Make The Connections

In The Political Gut I convey a lot of information in generalities in order to drive the main points home. The goal is to provide fodder for your mind. To stimulate you to think and ask questions. To make the connections I provide a trail of breadcrumbs. It is up to you, the reader, to make the effort to do the homework.

The best way to learn and come to realizations is by committing and undertaking the task yourself. Spoon feeding the reader is how the media works. They expect you won’t do any research for yourself.

My Personal Philosophy

The Political Gut takes a philosophical approach to what we call the Pure Luck Lifestyle. From there, it builds on existing theories and ideas. Ideas which my company has been teaching during our fermentation seminars and lectures for the last decade.

I cite dozens of scientific studies as correlative and anecdotal evidence and interweave experiences from my own life and our interactions with clients. I have personally been living the lifestyle I describe in The Political Gut for a long time. However, there was a time when I was just like everyone else: wanting to fit in, consuming, and addicted to sugar, alcohol, nicotine, meat, salt, and fat.

I sincerely believe each person has the power to change the world. First by making the change they want to see within themselves. I strongly believe in leading by example. I wish to thank you for making it this far. You are well on your way to true balance and freedom.

What Is Time, Really?

What is time really? A human invented concept of units meant to use as a measure. Based from revolutions of our planet, broken down by division into minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. A way to keep track of our lives and those who have come before us. A measure to make sure we show up at the right place at the right time. In a world full of uncertainty time provides much needed solace in predictability. In the end is time anything more than just a way for us to count the days of our lives until the end?

Our Energy Is All That Endures

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, humans don’t really live that long in the grand scheme of things. But what about our energetic unconsciousness? There are many documented cases of children remembering their past life in great detail. If energy can never be created or destroyed, then how old are we truly?

Sure in human physical life terms a few hundred years is a long time, but not to the universe. What is our comparison? In what context can humans compare time? Taking this statement with a grain of salt. How do humans even know how old the universe is? The idea that we can look back into time through shaped glass. Observing light signatures of varying wavelengths to measure time, it’s not an easy concept to grasp. How can we know for sure, this is true? 

Bang! Now This All Exists

Suddenly, a big bang. An ever expanding universe. Now this all exists. It makes me wonder. When a video game is created, if it too is witness to a big bang. Then suddenly all the games world exists. Imagine the metaverse. As time goes by, the developer builds, adds architecture and life.

Oscar Wilde wrote in 1889, “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” This is known as an anti-mimesis point of view. When compared to Aristotle’s mimesis, “art imitates life.” From this I pose a question. Is our art, using a video game or the metaverse as an example, imitating our existence? It would seem to be so. And if our existence, our life, is some higher beings art or game. Then our life is imitating art. While our art, or game, is imitating our life.

Wilde further states that anti-mimesis, life imitating art, “results not merely from Life’s imitative instinct, but from the fact that the self-conscious aim of Life is to find expression, and that Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may realise that energy.”

85% Of Everything That Exists Is Dark Matter – What That Is, No Human Knows

What exactly is “this” within which we exist? Scientists suppose 85% of the Universe is dark matter. What is dark matter? They don’t know, but they know it exists, and it makes up the majority of our Universe. I certainly don’t know the answer. I think these ideas create more questions than answers. Searching for answers is one of the things that keeps us going. Giving us purpose.

Other scientists have even hypothesized that there must be a mirror world right next to ours to account for right spinning neutrinos. Since, in our world neutrinos, for some unknown reason, only spin to the left. These physicists believe spinning neutrinos are somehow connected to dark matter’s function. Even if we have no idea what we are looking for. Like making art, the process is a part of it. In this case discovery is the process.

We Are So Very Small

Our concept of time and space is so small. Like a crumb of dust, on a crumb of dust, of the cosmos. Consider the size of the Sun when compared to Earth. Our Sun is more than 100 times the size of Earth and is said to make up 99.8% of all the mass in our solar system. Look out the window of an airplane. Humans are nothing but ants. Tiny little ants.

Our physical world’s mass is pretty much meaningless at this scale. Everything humans do. Everything that ever was and will ever be created by human beings began from stardust and shall be returned to stardust and forgotten. All of our buildings, books, monuments, and machines. Every single physical thing, including our bodies.

We Are All Made From Stardust

To quote Ali Sundermier again, “About 99 percent of your body is made up of atoms of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. You also contain much smaller amounts of the other elements that are essential for life. While most of the cells in your body regenerate every seven to 15 years, many of the particles that make up those cells have actually existed for millions of millennia. The hydrogen atoms in you were produced in the big bang, and the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen atoms were made in burning stars. The very heavy elements in you were made in exploding stars.” What are we truly? 

In my opinion. Nothing we do is really significant or important in any way in the grand scale of the Universe. Except for working on the energy that binds us, our energetic unconsciousness. Energy that can never be created, nor destroyed. It already exists and only changes form.

Life In A Bubble

Humanity lives in a bubble, quite literally and metaphorically. Yet, we are poisoning this planet like a virus does a cell. Creating waste until the environment has been ruined beyond repair. All in the name of greed, consumption, and reproduction. Is that the reason humans exist? To just endlessly consume, breed and lay waste?

The only meaning derived from living is the one you give to yourself. Most people will say they live for their kids. If this was true. Then wouldn’t these same people, who live for their kids, make their best effort to be certain their kids have a better living environment? One that’s free of pollution, chemicals, and toxins. How could anyone say they are living for their children yet not act as custodians of food, of the planet and nature?

Are we all that disconnected from the life force that sustains us? Without the environment of Earth’s climate, soil, microbiome and clean water. There is no future for children. Except one of misery and suffering. Life is often said to be “what you make it.” This is quite literally and metaphysically true. Right now our actions are making life less and less good for our children.

Owning Our Smallness

Being insignificant in itself is not a motivating thought. Actually owning humanity’s insignificance and smallness. Being a nobody is hard to grasp and accept. Those in positions of power always act in a way as to be great, to be somebody. Controlled by ego.

Rulers often seize lands and say they are doing so to reclaim the “motherlands” or to make their country great, or to liberate people from an oppressor. Every now and then these gestures are altruistic. In reality, more often than not, they are done for power, greed, or to be remembered in history. However grand these egocentric gestures are presented, the achievements mean nothing in the scale of time. 

Instead The People Suffer

Many times the method to go about these reclamations involves great strife, death, and suffering for everyday humans. We need only to look at what is happening in Ukraine in 2022 for an example. The majority of people just want to live and love in peace.

This negative egocentric or machismo energy does nothing for the collective of humanity. To be great, in my opinion, is to live in peace with all mankind and nature. Which means destroying the Ego.

The Physics Of A Game Called Earth

On Earth we have what I like to call, the physics of a game called Earth. Gravity, Newtonian Physics and Relative Theory. They define the mechanics our world and universe.

The Golden Ratio

Our natural world on this planet follows a very predictable formula called the Golden Ratio. A major component of the physics of a game called Earth. Some examples: the shape of a nautilus or snail shell, a hurricane, a spiral galaxy, human faces, flowers and DNA molecules. They all grow and fit within this ratio. 

I find it compelling that there’s such an order in our natural world. It lends credence, in my opinion, to the theory that this is all just a simulation. Imagine a video game. When a developer designs a video game, all of the mechanics have to follow certain rules and set parameters. These defined “physics” make the outcomes predictable, allowing the characters to exist and interact within the game world with order and reliability. 

Which Came First, Order Or Chaos

In some ways I think that the order of our world is an argument that it is not real. In a true “natural” world one might surmise everything could be random, not orderly. I think that UFO sightings and NDE’s (Near Death Experiences) in some ways exemplify this idea.

Many eyewitness reports of UFO’s highlight how these objects never follow what we perceive as our predictable rules, or mechanics. UFO’s are outlier artifacts that come and go as they wish. Often explained away as “advanced technology”. I am not saying I know the answer, but I have to ask. What if it is simply that they, like the game developer, do not need to abide by the mechanics since they control the mechanics? 

Surviving Death And Living To Tell About It

NDE’s have a similar pattern. The majority of people who have died and come back from clinical death have conveyed similar patterns of experiences. In these experiences time, space and consciousness do not follow the same rules as we know them. It’s often a chaotic experience.

People who have experienced NDE’s, describe peeling away from their body and hovering over or around the scene. They are able to watch what is going on around their body. At the same time a person experiencing an NDE is able to perceive things happening, without leaving where they are, in a completely different locale. There is almost always a tunnel or white light that feels loving, comforting and warm. With absolutely no perception of time as we define it.

You Have More Work To Do!

People often describe the same things during the NDE experience. And they often end the same way. Someone tells them, “You have more work to do, it’s not your time” Followed by a pulling feeling, ending with them coming back to life. Yet, somehow they remember these experiences even though they are clinically brain dead. Millions of people have experienced these undeniable and interesting phenomena. Always the person comes back with a completely different view on this existence.

Are we all just players in a game called Earth? Bound by the physical mechanics defined by another intelligent life form? It is impossible to know. I explore these idea deeper in The Political Gut.

What If Gut Health Affects Quantum Mechanics?

The Invisible Microbiome Working For Us

Microorganisms form a very important role in the food chain and decomposition. In the soil they make nutrients available for plants. Inside the human gut they do the same, making nutrients bioavailable for humans. These microbes are essential for life on this planet and proper gut health in humans. If they were to die out, so would humans.

In the last decade, scientists have only begun to learn how different bacterial compositions are within our gut. And how these compositions change the function of our brain, health and bodies, by altering our perception, mood, well-being, genes, and cognitive abilities. This is amazing breakthrough science of which we have only just scratched the surface.

Why are yeasts, fungi and bacterias so different in every city, town, and home worldwide? Why are there so many different species of yeasts, fungi, archaea, and bacteria living in our bodies and everywhere around us? Where do these microorganisms come from anyway? Scientists have a theory. About three billion years or so ago they may have formed in the seas or maybe they rained down from the skies. However, these same scientists admit that no one truly knows where bacteria came from. It is very important to absorb this concept about our knowledge.

Do We Really Know Anything?

Contrary to contemporary egocentric beliefs, humans in this physical form are quite insignificant. Ultimately, we really have no idea how we came to be. Sure there is the theory of evolution. It is a valid theory. But one has to accept there could be many other theories as well. Did aliens come to Earth and splice monkeys with their DNA? Is this all just a holographic simulation? What if all the evidence we find, buried in the Earth, was planted there for us to find? Maybe everything we think we know is a total set up and manipulation. 

Philosophy Meets Science

French philosopher Alain Badiou argues that truth is a witnessed event. Constructed through process. The process being, the witnessing of said event. By witnessing it and naming it into worldly situations we write it’s “truth.” He argues that ontology is situational. Meaning that every persons existence is based on their situation. How each experience of an individuals situation is how they view the truth of the world.

Further, since we cannot account for, or know all situations. That which we know as truth, or in the case here, knowledge. Is only what we experience it as, an “event” or “situation.” Meaning the only truth we know is from what we are experiencing. Our experiences of life here and now. 

Regardless of what was “learned” or “experienced.” In my view, humanity mostly has no idea what is going on. Caught up in the minutia of the day to day. The knowledge we know, mostly comes without comparison. No matter what you think, study, learn or believe. We cannot put human existence in any context. There is no comparison.

Therefore, we cannot truly have an objective understanding of why or how we got here. Or what our existence is, in comparison to other intelligent life forms existences. Of course we can feel like it’s this or that reason. Humans can make up theories and study so called evidence. But we can’t even be sure if the physical world we live in even real. And many credible scientists seem to agree, it’s not real!

These same scientists theorize that, in fact, this world is not real, more of a simulation or hologram instead. Ultimately, we are just hurtling through space, counting what we call time, on what we believe to be a rock. A human named Earth. Living in what I like to call the “stone age” of an idea we express as “technological advancement.”

The Quantum Mechanics World View

Let’s get scientific. Quantum mechanics is a very fascinating field of study. The quantum model of physics states that the physical world is 99.99999% energy and .00001% matter, meaning atoms are mostly empty space and fields of energy. I, very briefly, majored in Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston and absolutely love physics and chemistry. But was terrible at the math. Even though I never even came close to completing my studies at Northeastern University. I still do my best to keep up with the latest advancements in theoretical physics.

When I began to learn about quantum theory, it just blew my mind. The key to remember with quantum mechanics is that the electron of the atom does not appear in a position until you view it or “manifest the wavelength,” or “collapse the wave function.” A bit like what I think Alain Badiou means when we witness an event we record it as truth. Once witnessed, at that point the electron appears as a particle in position. This could be simply be interpreted that by thinking and viewing, we are creating. Quantum mechanics is the secret to manifesting humanity’s future selves and makes good sense of the theory that this life is actually a simulation.

If this is all a simulation what can we do about it?

You are probably wondering what does gut health and quantum mechanics have to do with each other. Here is how I see it. Quantum mechanics rules the world we live in. Energy is a very important aspect of this world. As I mention in later on in this book, there are scientific studies which show that by controlling our personal energy, humans are able to use that energetic focus to manipulate DNA strands simply with thoughts.

The Gut Brain Connection

Studies have shown that bacteria in our gut effect our mood, cognitive abilities, well-being and so on. This is why gut health is so important. If we accept that our world view is dictated by the microbiome living in our gut. We must also recognize that if our mood is dour and the cause is poor gut health, or poor diet, that affects the bodies ability to metabolize nutrients amongst a host of other side effects.

We all know that when we are grumpy from a sugar crash, hangover or because we are hungry that our energy signature and brain function isn’t the same as when we are operating at 100%. This in turn effects our ability to be our best selves and use our energy to manifest our reality. Remember with quantum mechanics it is all about manifesting the wavelength. Meaning that if we focus hard enough building a picture in our mind and our energy is congruent with the quantum field that surrounds everything. Then we can bring that idea into reality.

When our energy signature is not congruent this can leave us stuck or going in circles. Imagine your bodies is like a formula one race car and you keep putting cheap regal gasoline in the tank. This is how your gut health and the gut brain connection work together with energy to steer each individuals reality.

Gut Health Effects Decision Making

A big part of the system is decision making and the ripple effect. If you replay past events in your life. You will find jumping off points that lead you in one direction, or another. Most people probably don’t realize that every decision you make in your life has a ripple effect. For example, maybe there’s a great networking event. If your gut health is poor and you are afraid that you might have to run to the bathroom at this event and you don’t like public toilets, you may choose to skip the event all together. In turn missing an opportunity. This is one of the more obvious examples. But there are also many more subtle ways that gut health can effect your decision making process and you may not even know it. In the end you are the only one responsible for your decisions and your health. The best you can do to keep you energy congruent with the quantum field is to make sure that you have great gut health and maintain proper gut brain connection.