Natural Immunity, Gut Biome, and its Importance in COVID-19 #2 — The Whole You


Natural Immunity, Gut Biome, and its Importance in COVID-19 #1 — Introduction

This is the second in a series consisting of an introduction, 19 Chapters, and 2 apendices. Over 165,000 words in total, about 400 pages in book length. The whole thing is already completed in draft with almost half of it through first-pass editing. I'm issuing it chapter-by-chapter for Members of this blog. Join here. The publishing schedule is not formal, but an average of a chapter every couple of weeks is a reasonable expectation.

  • LET’S JUST SAY LOTS AND LOTS
  • EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE AND EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE
  • THE ONLY GOOD BUG IS A DEAD BUG
  • NOT SO FAST!
  • TOWARD AN EMERGING UNDERSTANDING
  • BACTERIA ARE AWESOME
  • HOW DID THEY GET THERE?
  • FEED YOUR GUT
  • WE’VE MET THE ENEMY AND IT’S US!
  • FOOTNOTES

Who are you? A doctor? A farmer? A father, mother, son, daughter? You may be any of these or a few, but it isn’t even close to describing who you really are in total. You aren’t even a single entity, but a collection of living things that work in unison, mostly symbiotically. Inside each and every one of us is a world so bizarre, so strange and alien, that we couldn’t even begin to fabricate a story so implausible. It’s science, not fiction—and the unison of the two is ironically less strange.

To make sense of it, we often call it nature, a sort of catch-all. Or, we punt in various ways, invoking superstition. Doing so is probably nature and natural, too.

LET’S JUST SAY LOTS AND LOTS

There’s about 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and about a million bacterial cells in a milliliter of fresh water. In total, there’s estimated to be about five million trillion trillion, or 5 × 1030 (5 nonillion) bacteria on Earth with a total biomass equaling that of plants. Some researchers believe that the total biomass of bacteria exceeds that of all plants and animals.1

Inside of every human organism are armies of microorganisms with DNA that are entirely different from our human cells. That microbiome not only outnumbers your human cells by a factor of ten to one but in total, it outnumbers every individual human that has ever lived on Earth. Your intestinal microflora numbers an estimated 100 trillion! Compare that with the total estimated 110 billion humans who have ever been born. You’ve got 900 times as many microorganisms as that. Your internal civilization of gut bugs comprises up to 1,000 different species with 3 million non-human genes, compared to your own 24,000.

But, perhaps large numbers aren’t your thing. After all, the U.S. National Debt in 2021 now stands at over $27,000,000,000,000, and that doesn’t appear to alarm too many; and many even seek to double it. Perhaps the numbers are just too big to comprehend. So let’s look at it another way. Suppose all of your human tissue cells (organs, blood, bone, etc.) were the same size as your bacteria. They would all fit in one coffee can. However, you would need 10 cans to store your bacteria. And did you realize that dead bacteria make up approximately 60% of your stool? So, yea: lots and lots of the little buggers.


This is a preview. The complete post is for Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, and Lifetime Members. Login or Join at the level you choose. Member posts sometimes go out in complete form to non-members on the email list, so subscribe. Browse the free downloads. New ones are added regularly.

LoginJoinEmailDownloads

Richard Nikoley

I started writing Free The Animal in late 2003 as just a little thing to try. 20 years later, turns out I've written over 5,000 posts. I blog what I wish...from diet, health, lifestyle...to philosophy, politics, social antagonism, adventure travel, expat living, location and time independent—while you sleep— income by geoarbitrage, and food pics. I intended to travel the world "homeless," but the Covidiocy Panicdemic squashed that. I became an American expat living in Thailand. I celebrate the audacity and hubris to live by your own exclusive authority and take your own chances. ... I leave the toilet seat up. Read More

I Raised My Testosterone By 40% In A Year With No Drugs Or Special Supplements

— And I Wasn’t Even Trying Boost your testosterone naturally. Follow along as I tell…

More...

Physical Culture: Gym, Diet, and Fasting

“Delve into how it all began, beginning with Art De Vany in 2007, and continued through many iterations and self-experiments with workout styles (even working personally with Martin Berkhan — Leangains), diet hacks, and all forms of fasting known to mankind…right up to how I eventually became a “gym junkie” at the ripe age of 62 as an American Expat in Pattaya, Thailand…achieving the best gains and fat blasting of my life.”

More...

Artificial Intelligence Is Coming For Your Job

— Being Already More Creative Than 99% of Humans, AI Can Replace You. What Are…

More...

On the Intellectual Downfall of Nassim Nicholas Taleb

— We’re Not Fooled by Taleb Anymore Introduction He sure was the bee’s knees and…

More...

Will Russia Become The Moral Leader and Conscience of the World?

— White Knight? “Explore a deep-dive analysis of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech on the…

More...

The No-Pill Advantages Course Brochure (114 Lessons, 5 Per Week)

— How to Harness the Power of the No-Pill Advantages for a Life of Freedom…

More...