HEALTH & WELLNESS

These local community, farmers, gardeners, and makers are working on REWILDING our microbiome so we can be healthier.

THE HUMAN MICROBIOME

You may have heard of the human microbiome, which mainly consists of the gut, mouth, urogenital, and skin. A microbiome is a community of microorganisms or microbes (such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria) that exist in a particular environment. Our microbiome begins developing at birth and continues to change in response to a host of environmental factors, such as exercise, diet, medication, stress, and other exposures. The human microbiota consists of trillions of microbes, primarily bacteria in the gut. The state of our microbiome determines the strength, balance, and functionality of our immune system, digestion, mood, sleep, energy, hormone production, overall health, and the role of disease.

EATING LOCALLY

Poor gut health is tied to nearly every disease in some way because the gut is where 70% of the immune system resides. It may be natural to think that eating a nutrient-dense diet, exercising, and taking probiotics are enough to strengthen your microbiome. Though this is absolutely an excellent start, a strong microbiome is also about how and where your food is grown and in the state of the soil it’s grown in, the conditions/environment, and which animals are around, as each community has its own ecosystem directly connected to our human microbiome.

Local fresh produce, for example, contains higher amounts of nutrients as the nutrient content starts to decline as soon as it’s picked. If your produce is on a truck for a week or two traveling to your grocery store, a significant amount of nutrients may be lost. 

As we move further away from nature by reducing open green spaces and replacing them with concrete, polluting our air, and relying on fast, packaged foods, we are weakening our environmental microbiome, thus weakening our community microbiome. 

Developing without considering large open spaces with soil, trees, flowers, or local shared gardens increases carbon dioxide, pushing the insects, birds, and animals further away, thus reducing our robust community ecosystem and dampening the overall energy frequency.

COMMUNITY

The beautiful thing about nature is that it’s forgiving and has this innate intelligence to rebuild, repair, and restore; but this takes a community effort. Our local community, farmers, gardeners, and makers are working on REWILDING our microbiome. 

Dennis Duce of Shan Shui Garden is one local set out to make a difference among many. From uncovering and nurturing his local land into a beautiful, thriving biodiverse garden, Shan Shui, to growing a highly nutrient-dense unique variety of microgreens, which I have tried and can attest, are must add to your life. His passion for rewilding our community microbiome is admirable. Further, to connect local makers, growers, and the community, he created idigogden.com, which is developing into a one-stop shop for locals to purchase local goods.

How can you do your part in rewilding our community and reap the health benefits too? One easy step is to support our local farmers, gardeners, and makers. There is still time to set up your CSA (community-supported agriculture). A CSA allows you to purchase local produce or animal products for a weekly, monthly, or seasonal fee. In return, you get freshly picked produce from your local gardener or farmer. You can still order one through Urban Prairie Agriculture and pick up at the Saturday farmers market each week. Aside from idigogden.com, localharvest.org is another website to search for a program in your area.

Here’s just a small list in the surrounding Ogden area to get you started:

Arrowhead Urban Farms

Argyle Acres

Jul Bud Ranch

Dancing Moose Farms

Urban Prairie Agriculture

Shan Shui

Patio Springs Gardens

Famers Market Ogden is another excellent resource for gathering local goods.

Check out Grow Ogden Farm, Eden Streets, and the Oasis Community Garden for additional ways to get involved.