A person’s body is much like a garden. I do not write this as an ode to a Shakespearean sonnet rather, I mean it in a literal way. Both a person and a plant need water, sunlight, and food to prosper and grow. Other elements are key for a thriving individual or plant such as regular care, companionship, and diversity. What do I mean by diversity and companionship? Read on and you will see…

Recently the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled Feeding the Bacteria in Your Gut. The article talks about prebiotics and how they are being added to our drinks, cheeses, cereals, yogurts and breads. Prebiotics are different from the now ubiquitous probiotics which have graced our dairy shelves for some time in yogurts and diet snacks. Probiotics are dietary supplements of live bacteria or yeasts thought to be healthy for the host organism (you). In other words, probiotics are added to food to help increase the good bacteria found in our bodies and help us better digest our food.

How do prebiotics differ from probiotics? Prebiotics are selective as far as which bacteria they encourage to grow. They also promote better digestion through heightened mineral absorption and strengthen the immune system.

As you may remember from the 5th grade, photosynthesis is the process in which plants convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. What the plant does not use exits through its roots into the ground. It is then the delight of all the little guys like the fungi, protozoa, and amoeba to eat the waste up. Bacteria and fungi play key roles in maintaining robust soil by helping to decompose it.

Those of us who are gardeners have at one time or another added organic or inorganic fertilizer to our gardens. The basic ingredients of plant food are nitrogen, potash, and phosphorus. There are other components called “trace elements” that include tiny amounts of Zinc, Iron, Boron etc, these promote health and prevent deficiencies in plant growth.

Anyone in touch with US agricultural norms today knows farms in the US have been conditioned to grow soy beans and corn. We have ourselves something of a monoculture in the pastures of our heartland. Even small time gardeners know about the benefits of crop rotation and the importance of diversifying one’s plantings. If we move our tomato plants to different areas in our gardens each year the nutrients in the ground do not get depleted at the lightening speed that factory farm vegetable beds do thus necessitating them to buy fertilizer.

Just as diversity is key to a healthy garden it is great for our bodies. In fact, through a diverse diet we can introduce natural sources of prebiotics into our bodies through the form of soybeans, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, chicory root, raw oats, and unrefined wheat and barely. These vegetables, beans, and grains offer a more natural path to increasing helpful bacteria in our bodies. There are organic ways to introduce good bacteria in our gardens too that do not interrupt the order of things, like photosynthesis, by killing bacteria in the soil. Compost heaps, humus, and planting a diversity of companion plants all help boost bacteria while attracting some intrinsic insects and deterring others.

If prebiotic additives in yogurt are to soybeans what plant food is to compost then I can unequivocally say (unless I someday suffer from an extreme gastrointestinal problem) that I’d prefer to add my bacteria by myself– simply and organically.

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