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The Food Party!

By Laura Stec

E-mail Laura Stec

About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...  (More)

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Help! I'm Covered in Bugs

Uploaded: Jun 25, 2015
You've probably heard by now that you and I are covered inside and outside with bugs.

Our microbiota supposedly make up 70% -90% of our cells, which means we are more them than us!

I've been researching the topic, and just took a test of my gut and mouth to see who's actually living within. It was a mail order process: swab yourself, put your samples in tubes, mail, wait for results. When registering online, you check whether you want to keep the information to yourself, or allow it to be used in international comparison studies. The research is so new, science doesn't even know what a normal / healthy microbiome actually looks like, so we are figuring it all out together.

I love the questions Ubiome asked when I registered. I never really thought about all the ways we might be helping and hurting our live-in residents.

Do you eat raw or pasteurized cheese?
Do you eat miso, yoghurt, sauerkraut, kombucha?
Do you burn or tan easy?
What products do you use on your skin?
Were you given a lot of antibiotics as a child?
Have you had wisdom teeth pulled?
Do you wash your vagina with soap?
Where do you get your water?
How are you feeling these days: stressed, happy, anxious?
Does your toothpaste have fluoride?
Do you use dandruff shampoo?
How often do you eat sugar? What kind?
Have you had a colonoscopy?
How would you describe your diet? paleo vegetarian, vegan, gluten free?
Did you have a vaginal birth, or was it by C-section? (my mom had a good laugh when I called to ask)

Plus about 25 more.

I'll pass on the results when they come back. Until then - if you want to learn more, KQED's Forum just had a show on this very topic this week, Can Your Gut Bacteria Affect Your Mood?

It discussed research looking into the various ways gut bacteria affect us, discovering links to obesity, asthma and allergies. Now they are investigating whether the microbes in our stomachs also affect our moods and behavior. Just what are all those bacteria inside us up to?

Science is fascinating.



On a separate note ? good news! We just learned the judge refused to allow the merger of food service providers Sysco and US Foods (a deal valued at 8.2 billion). Read more about the problems associated with Big Food and how it relates to Silicon Valley corporate food service in Burger Please, Side of Integrity.

p.s.s: Did anyone go to the vegan 520 Chef's Table at Garden Court this past Thursday?

Community.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by hilary, a resident of Fairmeadow,
on Jun 30, 2015 at 10:48 am

waiting for the lab results. Looking forward to knowing you better Laura :-)
hilary


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley,
on Jun 30, 2015 at 2:29 pm

Hmmmm Hilary - "my live-in bugs..." maybe that is more than most readers want to know about me?


Posted by No thanks, a resident of Southgate,
on Jul 1, 2015 at 2:07 pm

>I'll pass on the results when they come back.

Please, spare us your narcissism. Of course we can skip your blog, but you write catchy headlines.
Please just sit in front of the mirror for as long as you like, and don't over-share.


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: Westridge,
on Jul 1, 2015 at 7:35 pm

No thanks, you think writing about my microbiome is narcissistic? Wow - I don't even know how to respond to that. Someone please - think of something clever. What if our bugs turned out to be similar? Would looking at myself in the mirror be just like looking at you? Then what would you call it?


Posted by chester, a resident of Cuernavaca,
on Jul 2, 2015 at 2:03 pm

This blog is suppose to be about food right?
Voice representative can we please have a food blogger that posts more consistently about..food?
Less about Caitlyn Jenner -
Less about bugs that are on us -
Less about her social life and how she gets all cheesed cause she thinks coffee is a date -
Less about compost piles? What the heck, that's gardening!!!!! Out with Laura!!!!


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