Can you idenitify this beautiful creature?

DIET!?  It’s important!  Which one?  For whom?

Every patient comes in with their own unique dietary patterns.  This is obvious; and we all know in medicine, certainly within holistic medicine, that good eating habits are crucial to their health.  In 95% of the cases (my own stats here) adjustments in ones diet can result in better health outcomes.

So the big question is what diet, and for whom?  There are so many to choose from.  Do we go with the Westin Price Diet as espoused through Nourishing Traditions and the Westin Price Foundation (see the detail on their up-and-coming main conference this year entitled, Curing the Incurable:  Holistic Therapies for Chronic Disease); or, what about the antithesis to the foregoing, the raw foods only diet as preached by such authors as Bob McCauley ND in his book Achieving Great Health: 7 Components of Natural Health, and as espoused by such holistic MD luminaries as Gabriel Cousens (see Gabriel teaching from his Tree of Life Center).  Both powerful, thought provoking paradigms of practice.

What is the Bioimmersion vision regarding diet in the practice of food as medicine?

To answer this I might ask, what are the points of agreement in the two diets above? One is that they both absolutely believe in eating organic.  Secondly, they both believe in the critical importance for health of eating a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fresh vegetables can be the highlight of every meal … almost every vegetable that has been studied has been found to contain substances that benefit the heart and blood or counteract the formation of tumors. (Nourishing Tradition by Sally Fallon, pg 366).

The BioImmersion Therapeutic Food Line is all about eating a wide variety of organic fresh fruits and vegetables.  Allow me to make the use of the Therapeutic Foods Line very practical for you.  See the Clinical Notes below.

Bon appetit!

Sincerely yours,
Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

One of the most difficult tasks to get patients to do is to truly change their diets.  Their dietary patterns are one of their most cherished joys in life, no matter how bad it is for their health.  We believe, at BioImmersion, as do the two diets above, that patients must bring into their bodies at each meal the life-giving phyto nutrients obtainable in fresh fruits and vegetables.

So, the question is how can we facilitates this with the typical American breakfast of toast, bacon, eggs and hash browns?

It’s easy!  Have your patient, 20 minutes before their meal, take 2 tablets of our Organic Chlorella, gulped down with a tablespoon of the Beta Glucan Synbiotic Formula (good bugs and fiber) mixed in water.  Of course you can use any of our seven synbiotic formulas.  They will all promote good digestion, and help protect the GI tract membrane from potential pathogens.  Diversity of good bugs in our gut is important.

Chlorella is the greenest of all green plants.  It has the highest level of chlorophyll to clean the blood, detox the body, help the liver.  It provides vitamins, minerals and all of the essential amino acids—the most amazing of superfoods.

With the meal take one capsule of Phyto Power (wild crafted blueberry, rosehip and dandelion).  You have a rainbow of colors, strongly representing the multitude of flavonoids, polyphenols, catechins, anthocyanins, carotenoids, organic acids and more.

Why not also add 1 capsule of Cruciferous Sprouts Complex (diakon radish, red radish kale, watercress, broccoli, mustard and cabbage sprouts).

Top it off with one capsules of the Ultra Minerals (all 72 of them).

Repeat this supplementation pattern with each meal throughout the day.  Also, it is ok to mix it up regarding your synbiotic choice for each meal.  Why not at lunch or dinner take a capsule of the Supernatant Synbiotic Formula.

Are you getting the vision?  You can powerfully transform any meal into something alive and nourishing with health giving nutrients to turn the body on.  It’s a doable start in the tranformative dietary journey that leads to the rebuilding of health in our bodies.

The Last Quiz Answer:

The Amazing Cycles of Life
Brood II 17 year cicadas will emerge on the East Coast this Spring in about a week, as many as 30 billion of them. They haven’t seen the light of day since 1996. There are 15 broods each of which appear only once in 13 to 17 year cycles. What a feast it will be for dogs, cats, birds, squirrels and big (2 inchers) stinging wasps.

Can you idenitify this beautiful creature?

Let’s celebrate the biosphere that we are all a part of. We just need collectively to get our relationship with the rest of the biosphere right.  Actually, we desperately need to do so. The greener our earth, the healthier we are. See study below in Clinical Notes.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sent down some well-wishes from the International Space station yesterday tweeting, ”If anthing my respect and my concern and my love for the Earth has only been deepened by [having this] new perspective on the planet.”

This planet is not terra firma.  It is a delicate flower and it must be cared for.  It’s lovely.  It’s small. It’s isolated and there is no resupply.   And we are mistreating it. Clearly, the highest  loyalty we should have is not to our own  country or our own religion or our own  hometown or even ourselves.  It should be to,  number two, the family of man (human), and  number one, the planet (mother earth) at large.   This is our home, and this as all we’ve got.  (Scott Carpenter, Mercury 7 astronaut)

A Chinese tale talks of some men sent to harm a young girl who upon seeing her beauty, become her protectors rather than her violators.  That’s how I felt seeing the earth for the first time, I could not help but love and cherish her.  (Taylor Wang, astronaut)

We live in Seattle and Chief Seattle said it all, in 1859, didn’t he?

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.  If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.  This we know:  the earth does not belong to man—man belongs to the earth.  This we know.  All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.  All things are connected.

HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE

Sincerely yours,
Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

Looking for something that can safely reduced inflammation and improve the quality of life for OA patients?  Try our Fructo Borate Complex, 1 to 2 capsules BID.

Read:  A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study to Evaluate the Effect of Calcium Fructoborate on Systemic Inflammation and Dyslipidemic Markers for Middle Aged People with Primary Osteoarthritis.

The Last Quiz Answer:

A red fox pup comes out of its den on a Spring morning.

The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by former Vice President & Nobel Laureate Al Gore, is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis.

Become a climate leader:  Apply Now.

©2005 – 2012 BioImmersion Inc. All Rights Reserved

Dear Friends

Our shopping cart is up and running once again!  We are very excited about our new platform, and we hope you will like it too.  Thank you for your patience!!!

You can log in now and create your orders.  Give it a go and let me know how you like it.

To log in:  We couldn’t save your passwords so when you try to log

in you will have to click on “I forgot my password”, the system will immediately generate a new password for you with which you will be able to log in.  Then of course you will be able to create you own password once inside. A note: If you have changed your email, please let me know, as the new password will go to your old email address.

There is much more programming that’s being done, improvements, and additions, so if something within the cart isn’t working as well as you think it should, please let us know.

Enjoy the new cart.  Our aim is to provide the highest quality therapeutic foods and supplements, enjoyable customer service, valuable education, and meaningful communication.  And, as always, if you prefer to call us to order—we are happy to hear from you.

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

The Last Quiz Answer:

In the wild places, the deciduous forests of northeast a wren proclaims, ”It’s Spring!  It’s Spring!”

Dear Friends

We have been going through a major IT upgrade (changing servers, software platforms, etc.) over the past week, as many of you have discovered when trying to log in and order, and were directed to call us for your orders at 425.451-3112. It’s all good and very exciting as when completed we will have the capacity to add many wonder-ful communication technologies to our website. So, hang in there for the duration and do give us a call for an order or a chat. We are truly looking forward to connecting with all of you.

Let us share with you our heart:

RMI (the Rocky Mountain Institute) is one of my favorites.  In this link they are presenting their vision and progress towards recreating/transforming our world wide energy system, called Reinventing Fire, into a system that is environmentally friendly, and ecologically sound.  As they say they are a grass roots, think-and-do organization. RMI demonstrates in this video the very effective use of video technology, highlighting their global activities.

As we all know communication is key for everyone so we can make the wholistic, healing changes in our world that we hold dear.  Our mission at BioImmersion is to promote food as medicine and to advocate a worldwide change in our ecological practices as exemplified in agro-ecology.  I also have taken the task, a research project as Dohrea would say, to help us all get to know who is out there that is doing the good work.

You, dear friends and practitioners, are a part of this hard working group that’s efforting to change the practice of health and medicine.  I think of this beloved work (to use Dohrea’s term) as connecting the dots.  Effective use of technology is key.  Do take just a few moments to connect with one or two of these wonderful groups (links)—it will fill your soul and encourage your own work.

Our new IT platform will give us these capabilities.  Enjoy!

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

This morning why not:

• 1 scoop Energy Sustain (organic millet, buckwheat, amarath, quinoa, chia)
• 1 tbl organic Brown Rice Protein
• 1 tbl Beta Glucan Synbiotic (good bugs and fiber including beet root).
• 2 caps Phyto Power (wildcrafted rosehip, blueberry, dandelion).
• 2 tabs  Organic Chlorella
• 2 caps Cruciferous Sprouts
• 2 caps of  Ultra Minerals
• 1 cup organic pear juice, diluted with water, to make a large delicious drink.
• 1 cap No. 4 Systemic Booster- Metabolic Balance (10 minutes before the drink).

The Last Quiz Answer:

Monkey and Bull discussing food.

• 7-Keto (3-acetyl-7-oxo-DHEA) does not raise blood steroid levels:  Total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, estradiol, cortisol, thyroxin and insulin levels remain within normal range.
• 7-Keto promotes fat metabolism:  It is approximately 2.5 times as active as DHEA as an inducer of the thermogenic enzymes—mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and cytosolic malic enzyme.
• 7-Keto increases anti-inflammatory molecular levels:  It enhances interleukin-2 production by human mononuclear leukocytes.  Supports reduced inflammation.
• 7-Keto supports improvement in memory:  More effective than DHEA in improving memory in old mice.
• 7-Keto is safe:  The acetylated derivative of 7-oxo-DHEA (7-Keto), which is devoid of androgenic activity and is not metabolically convertible to estrogens or androgens, was found to be safe and well tolerated in normal healthy adult men at doses up to 200mg/d for 28 days.

• In a double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol 30 adults (28 women and 2 men; mean age 44.5 ± 11.5 yrs) with a mean body mass index of 31.9 ± 6.2 were randomly divided into 2 groups of 15.
• Group 1 received 7 Keto 100mg twice daily and Group 2 received placebo for 8 weeks.
• All subjects participated in an exercise-training program 3 times per week.  Each exercise session consisted of 60 minutes of cross-training (aerobic and anaerobic exercise).
• Each subject followed a diet of approx 1800 kcal/d.
• Participants underwent serum multiple-assay chemistry testing, as well as body composition, blood pressure, and dietary analysis at baseline, week 4 and week 8.

• Group 1 lost a significant amount of body weight compared with Group 2 (-2.88 kg vs -0.97 kg) over the 8 week period.
• Group 1 achieved a significant reduction in body fat compared with Group 2 (-1.8% vs -0.57%).
• The rate of change in body fat per 4 week interval in Group 1 was 3.1 times that in Group 2 (-0.88% vs -0.28%).
• Group 1 experienced a significant increase in T3 levels compared with Group 2 over the 8 week study.
• There were no significant changes in levels of TSH or T4 in either group.
• Additionally, no significant changes were observed in vital signs, blood sugar, testosterone and estradiol levels, liver and renal function, or overall caloric intake during the study.  No subjective adverse effects were reported throughout the study.

• In vitro the phlorotannins (polyphenol extracts) from Ascophyllum nodosum (kelp) and Fucus vesiculosus (bladderwrack) completely inhibited in a dose dependent fashion alpha amylase and alpha glucosidase with very low IC50 values compared to other plant polyphenols.
• In vivo in animals studies, the polyphenols and phlorotannins extract was able to reduce the normal increase in postprandial blood glucose seen 30 minutes after a meal by 90% and consequently reduced peak insulin secretion by 40%.
• Glucose absorption was prolonged in the treated group for 360 minute compared to less than 120 minutes in the control group.

The protocol tested which gave impressive results was to take 2 capsules before each of your two largest meals of the day.  But we also feel that 1 capsule twice daily will also give very good results.

The Last Quiz Answer:

This little beauty is an aardvark baby.

“Aardvark mothers give birth to one offspring at a time.  The pinkish, hairless newborn stays inside the burrow for about 2 weeks and then begins to follow its mother in her search for food.  The young first eats solid food at 3 months of age and is suckled until 4 months.

At about 6 months the young male becomes independent and goes off on its own, while the young female stays with the mother until after the next baby is born.  The young female may then dig its own burrow a few yards away from its mother but still joins her to forage for termites.” (African Wildlife Foundation)

Over 50,000 activists against the Keystone Pipeline marched pasted the White House this past Sunday urging President Obama to once and for all stop the pipeline.  It was the largest climate rally in US history. Thank you Bill McKibben and 350.org.  Check out this power website for addressing the human derived factors causing our climate change.

Also in case you missed this amazingly soulful song, lamenting the tar sand’s disaster in Canada which I put into last May’s Forward Thinking, I’ve reconnected the link for you here.  Don’t miss it this time!!!  Jennifer Bereza sings her heart out in her song—My Memory Forever.

                         ©2005 – 2012 BioImmersion Inc. All Rights Reserved

Can you identify this beautiful creature?

We now have our newest product in our shopping cart, in the warehouse, and ready for shipping—the No. 4 Systemic Booster:  Metabolic Balance.

In order to highlight this very exciting product, I’ve gathered together information from earlier newsletters I’ve written to you about it—consolidating them here.  This time I’ve added some key references.

Why No 4. Systemic Booster:  Metabolic Balance?

In the last decade we have all witnessed the weight gain of our fellow Americans.  According to the latest figures from the CDC under Adult Obesity Facts:  More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese, that’s around 67 million.  Additionally, 65% of Americans (193 million) are overweight.  This, of course, is a very serious public health issue for, as we all know, obesity-related conditions increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other disease related conditions.

What is No 4 Systemic Booster?

The No. 4 Systemic Booster:  Metabolic Balance offers you a powerful new tool in your arsenal to battle weight gain, and can be the perfect addition to weight management programs you already have in place.  It is made up of two components:  7-Keto DHEA (50mg per capsule) which is a downstream metabolite of DHEA, and seaweed extracts (125mg per capsule) from two different species of wild brown seaweeds—kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum) and bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus).

How does it work?

As we age we tend to store more fat, simply because our body is less efficient converting stored body fat to energy.  So then we diet and employ a caloric restriction, but our body, very quickly, slows down its metabolism, which makes it more difficult to loose fat weight.  The good new is that in studies, 7-Keto DHEA and seaweed extract demonstrate support of weight loss as 7-Keto enhances the metabolic rate by promoting thermogenesis (the burning of body fat for energy), while the seaweed polyphenols from kelp and bladderwrack facilitate to slowing down of absorption of carbohydrates from a meal, thereby helping to maintain healthy insulin levels—too high insulin levels pushes the body in the direction of fat storage rather that fat burning.

What is the research supporting No. 4 Systemic Booster?

No. 4 Systemic Booster addresses weight loss issues—the reduced metabolic rate and the rate of absorption of calories—through its two components, 7 Keto DHEA and seaweed extract, by the following actions:

The majority of weight loss is fat loss.

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.
• The Effect of 7-Keto Naturalean on Weight Loss:  A randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.  Curr Ther Res 2002:63(4).

Activates three thermogenic enzymes

• Ergosteroids II:  Biologically Active Metabolites and Synthetic Derivatives of Dehydroepiandrosterone. Steroids 1998;63:158-165.
• The Effects of the Ergosteroid 7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone on Mitochondrial Membrane Potential:  Possible Relationship to Thermogenesis, Arch Biochem Biophys 1997;341:122-128.
• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.

Promotes weight loss without use of stimulants.

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.
• The Effect of 7-Keto Naturalean on Weight Loss:  A randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.  Curr Ther Res 2002:63(4).

Clinically proven 200% more weight loss than diet and exercise alone.

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.
• The Effect of 7-Keto Naturalean on Weight Loss:  A randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.  Curr Ther Res 2002:63(4).

Augments what the body naturally produces.

• Ergosteroids II:  Biologically Active Metabolites and Synthetic Derivatives of Dehydroepiandrosterone. Steroids 1998;63:158-165.
• Induction of Thermogenic Enzymes by DHEA and its Metabolites, Bellino F, Daynes RA, Hornsby PJ, Lavrin HD, Nestler JE, eds. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Aging. New York:New York Academy of Sciences;1995:171-179.
• Studies in Steroid Metabolism: Isolation and Characterization of New Urinary Studies. J Biol Chem 1954;210:129-137.

Clinically proven weight and fat loss.

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.
• The Effect of 7-Keto Naturalean on Weight Loss:  A randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.  Curr Ther Res 2002:63(4).

Safe when used as directed.

• Safety and Pharmacokinetic study with escalating doses of 3-acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in healthy male volunteers. Clin Invest Med 2000;23(5):300-310.
• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of 3-Acetyl-7-Oxo-Dehydroepiandrosterone in Healthy Over Weight Adults.  Curr Ther Res 2000;61(7):435-442.

Awarded U.S. Patent for Metabolic Rate increase and Weight Loss

• United States Patent Number 7,199,116.

Consumption of brown seaweed extract inhibits activities of alpha glucosidase and alpha amylase.

• Anguenot R et al.  Effect of a commercially available algal phlorotannins extract on digestive enzymes and carbohydrate absorption in vivo. Food Res Int. 2011;44(9):3026-3029.
• Apostolidis E et al.  In vitro potential of Ascophyllum nodosum phenolic antioxidant-mediated alpha glucosidase and alpha amylase inhibition.  J Food Sci 2010;75(3):H97-H102.

Digestion of carbs is slowed down, not blocked.  You eat 100 calories, you digest 100 calories.

• Anguenot R et al.  Effect of a commercially available algal phlorotannins extract on digestive enzymes and carbohydrate absorption in vivo. Food Res Int. 2011;44(9):3026-3029.

Lowers postprandial plasma glucose and insulin levels.

• Paradis ME et al. A randomized crossover placebo-controlled trial investigating the effects of brown seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus) on postchallenge plasma glucose and insulin levels in men and women.  Anal Physiol Nutr Metab. 2001;36:913-919.

How do I recommend it—what’s its Suggested Use?

• Take 1 to 2 capsule two times daily, 15 minutes before your two largest meals.

It’s the New Year 2013, and Spring and Summer are coming.  Let’s get fit!!!
Sincerely yours,
Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

This seal pup is a grey seal.  There are 33 species of seals worldwide, with greys being larger than common seals.  The grey population are growing at 7% per year.

Grey seals mate on land and give birth on land.  The pups form very strong bonds with their mothers through their unique smell and vocalizations.  Grey seals can live to be 46 years old.

Dear Friends

The marriage of concepts derived from ecology and new technologies in microbial sequencing and metagenomic analysis are lifting the veil on the metabolic mysteries that lie within the ecosystem we call the human gastrointestinal microbiome.

The included peer-reviewed papers will bring you up-to-date on key concepts and terminologies that will help you to make better decisions regarding your choices for probiotic supplementation:

• Gonzalez A et al, Our microbial selves:  what ecology can teach us; EMBO Rep. 2011 August; 12(8): 775-784.
• Thomas T et al, Metagenomics- a guide from sampling to data analysis; Microbial Informatics and Experimentation 2012, 2:3 doi:10.1186/20-42-5783-2-3

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell
Clinical Note:

Emperor penguins are the largest of penguin species, reaching a height of four feet tall.  Have you ever wondered how they can survive the -76 degree cold winter nights in Antarctica?  I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of large huddling flocks of penguins.  Well, those on the inside of the huddle are toasty.  Not so for the peripheral regions of the group—it is very very cold out there!  This is why the birds all rotate their positions, so that they are share in the pain and the delight—and survival.

Last week I told you about Eco Literate, a very exciting book from The Center for Ecoliteracy, that just came out.  This week I’ll share with you another book just published that I think has much extremely important practical information for maximizing the functionality of our brains—Make Your Brain Smarter.  Interested?  Here’s a podcast interview with the author herself—Sandra Bond Chapman PhD on her book.

©2005 – 2012 BioImmersion Inc. All Rights Reserved

Can you identify this beautiful creature?

The awareness that the health of the GI tract ecosytem (the Microbiome) is an important determining factor as to the overall health of the patient is becoming an accepted fact within both the allopathic and, of course the holistic medical practitioner communities.

Perhaps the two most crucial age groups to focus on relative to the microbial flora are the very young and the aging (senior citizen) populations.  Mounting research is demonstrating that the GI tract microbiome configuration of the very young sets up their developing immune systems to be healthy or maladaptive.  And, as we age into the 60s and above, for a variety of reasons, the microflora in our gut may become dysbiotic resulting in a quickening of the diseases of aging.

In the linked article, Microbiome:  cultural differences, from Nature the December 6, 2012, Virginia Hughes summarizes the recent research on the effect aging has on the health of our microbiome, specifically linking our dietary habits as a causative force in shaping our GI tract flora towards our good health or chronic disease.

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:

The above paper makes the point that older people tend to develop higher proportion of bacteria from the phylum Bacteriodetes and a lower proportion from the phylum Firmicutes, in large part because of a decrease in fiber in their diets.  Too high of a percentage in favor of Bacteriodetes correlates with markers for inflammation, high blood pressure, and small calf circumference (a measure of frailty).

All of the lactic acid producing bacteria we use in our synbiotic formulas are of the Firmicutes Phylum.  The Original Synbiotic Formula, the Beta Glucan Synbiotic Formula and the No. 7 Systemic Booster all are ideal for the older patient.  Each are in a powdered form which enables us to add higher amounts of prebiotic (good fiber), which in turn, as you well know, stimulates the growth of these GI tract health enhancing, friendly organisms.  The Original and the Beta Glucan can be used very successfully with the very young as well.

Last Weeks Creature:

Tucked high in the Qin Ling Mountains of central China, the golden snub-nosed monkey, remnants of once widespread populations, has managed to survive.   Pressured by logging, human settlement, and hunting, particularly for their thick beautiful fur, they have been pushed into high-altitude habitats.  In groups of as many as 400 they brave the long winters.

Dear Friends

It's cold out there and we really need to huddle together. Hang on, Spring is coming!

Dohrea and I wish each and everyone of you a wonderful holiday and for all of us a phenomenal, amazing 2013!

Thank you for your being part of our BioImmersion family and we pray for much good success in your businesses.

Happy New Year!!!

Sincerely yours,

Seann and Dohrea Bardell

Clinical Note:
 

• 1 scoop Energy Sustain (organic millet, buckwheat, amarath, quinoa, chia)
• 1 tbl organic Brown Rice Protein
• 1 tbl Beta Glucan Synbiotic (good bugs and fiber including beet root).
• 1 tsp No.7 Systemic Booster (organic cherry, cranberry, pomegranate, pineapple, etc).
• 2 caps Phyto Power (wildcrafted rosehip, blueberry, dandelion).
• 4 tabs  Organic Chlorella
• 4 caps Cruciferous Sprouts
• 4 caps of  Ultra Minerals
• 1 cup organic pear juice, diluted with water, to make a large delicious drink.

The Last Quiz Answer:

This beautiful creature is a ring tailed lemur, found only on the island of Madagascar. Lemurs are primates. Both males and females live together in troups with an average size of 17 members.  They are ruled by a dominant female.  Ring tails are unique to lemur species in that they spend much of their time on the ground.  When they do climb up into the trees they use their hands and feet but not their long tail as other lemur cousins do.  They are mostly vegetarians.

Like many wild places in the world their dry forests are being destroyed.  Because of this they now must be classified as an endangered species.

What can be more important than each one of us becoming significantly more deeply involved in 2013 in protecting Mother Earth from thoughtless humans causing the destruction of her biosphere?

Watch this trailer on the film Elemental scheduled to be released in 2013. It tells the story of three individuals united by their deep connection with nature and driven to confront some of the most pressing ecological challenges of our time.

                         ©2005 – 2012 BioImmersion Inc. All Rights Reserved

Dear Friends

How are recent analytical advances within the field of microbiology bringing our relationship with Mother Nature back centerstage into the practice of medicine?

Part and partial to the practice of medicine is accurately understanding our relationship with the microbial world—that unseen world that became visible through the world of Louis Pasteur.  His work in the late 19th Century brought germ theory into the field of medicine.  His focus was on bad bugs and that they must be killed—pasteurization and hygeine became good medical standards of practice. 

But, we have come along way since then.  NIH, through the Human Genome Project, in collaboration with scientists around the world, developed advanced analytical tools in order to map the human genome, and these tools became a platform through which they could take on the analysis of the microbial world that lives in us and on us—the human microbiome.  In 2007 NIH began the Human Microbiome Project with a goal of determining the core microbiome of a healthy human being.

In this week's Forward Thinking we will share the insights expressed by Gevers D, Knight R, Petrosino J et al. in their paper, The Human Microbiome Project:  A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome. (2012) PLos Biol 10(8): e1001377.  In particular, we will look at two new analytical tools used in the leading edge of human microbiology—High Throughput 16S Sequencing and Shotgun Metagenomic Analysis.  

The bottomline of what we are discovering in that good microorganisms in our gut and on our body are instrumental to our health and wellbeing.  They are partners in our physiological functioning, they are soldiers in our immune systems, they are crucial to our very survival.  To find out more about the tools to analyze who and what these microbial friends of ours are read more.

In the above diagram, taken from Govers D et al, we can see the two methods of analysis—on the left 16S rDNA Amplification and on the right Shotgun Metagenomic reads.  The challenge had been for microbiologist to see the microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tract for example—95% are unculturable outside of the body.  With these new technologies scientists are able to identify and study the bugs in sito.

The procedures are as follows:  First, you take a sample from one of the body sites—for example, the stool which is used for determining the bugs of the GI tract.  Then, researchers pop the cells open and get the total DNA content.  In some samples there will actually be human DNA in there mixed bacterial DNA because of the nature of the body site and how the sample was collected.  Finally, through the use of PCR primers, scientists can amplify (make multiple copies) of the 16S rRNA fragments so that we can sequenced for their bases.  This provides us with the bacterial fingerprint for each organism, for 16S rRNA sequencing takes us down to the species level of bacterial identification.  Much of the work now is to achieve a complete genomic mapping of the bugs in the gut.  The HMP consortium has already completed the sequencing of 1000 organisms, resident to the gastrointestinal tract.

Next, in regards to Shotgun Metagenomic Analysis, scientists take the original sample and just shear it into little pieces.  Then, they sequences the DNA fragments into genes. The low hanging fruit that comes out of the shotgun approach is that you can get the entire gene content of the sample which allows you to map those genes back to the known metabolic pathways that exist in a bacterial cell.  This gives you an idea of the metabolic potential of a given sample.  This allows you to do a basic metabloic reconstruction of the sample.  How well does it metabolize carbohydrates, or polysaccharides, amino acids, etc.  You compare from sample to sample to get an idea of the different metabolic pathway potentials of a give sample. 

How does all of the above relate us to Mother Nature?  Mother Nature is the biosphere. The biosphere is the tree of life.  Within the tree of life we are the branches of the evolutionary process and the microbial world our foundation. You could say we are its offspring.  The Human Microbiome Project is making it visibly clear just how marvelously connected we are to the microbial world.  We all Mother Nature, the microbial world and ourselves are one.

A very big hug to you all and Happy Holidays from Dohrea and me!
 

Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

Clinical Note:
 

The Last Quiz Answer:

You might think that this beauty is related to the above creature above.  But it is not, not even in the same family.  This is one of the loveable Meerkats of South Africa.  There has been lots of TV series on these critters, so I'll keep this short and sweet.  Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert.  They are of the mongoose family.  The creature above is of the primate family and lives in Madagascar.  Give me its name and I'll send you a free product.   

This is the season for giving and in this article collected by The Global Oneness Project called Radical Generosity, Paul Van Slambrouck explores the diversity of gift economy projects around the globe.  It is very thought provoking and inspiring.  Everyone can do it, all can participate.  Check it out.

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