What keeps us young and energetic

In 1912 a French surgeon found that he could keep the cells of a chicken heart alive indefinitely. The trick? The surgeon prepared a new saline mineral-rich solution for the cells each and every day. As long as he did this, the cells thrived. After 20 years of changing the solution, one day the surgeon stopped. He added more minerals to the water that bathed the cells, but he never replaced the old solution. The cells of the chicken heart eventually died.

So what keeps us young? According to the French surgeon who kept the cells of the chicken heart alive for 20 years, environment gives each cell the energy that it needs to grow. When placed in the right environment, each cell thrives. When placed in the wrong environment, cells in the body eventually break down. If a clean, toxin-free environment surrounds each cell, its lifespan is without limits. While this is great news, the environment of a Petri dish is a lot easier to control than the world that surrounds us. For example, most of us do not know about all the chemical toxins in our water, our air and our food.

Besides these chemical toxins that we consume on a daily basis, many people in the world today allow toxic emotions to circulate through their body. These are emotions like fear, greed, jealously, and anger. While it may seem like these emotions have nothing to do with our physical health, research is showing that emotional stress can weaken the immune system as much as physical stress. Luckily, nature has equipped our body with an army of trillions helpers. These helpers are the bacteria living in our digestive tract. Gut bacteria communicate directly with the immune system. They shut down tissue destruction. They help to remove some of the toxic burden that the body must deal with on a daily basis. They generate calming neurotransmitters and help to regulate mood. In short, gut bacteria create a nourishing environment that supports each and every cell in the human body.

Also, the liver has capability to detox the body if it is given right conditions. Unfortunately, the standard American diet does not support these friendly microorganisms. In fact, many of the foods found at the supermarket, at fast food chains, and even in high-quality restaurants can overwhelm the immune system and damage the inner ecosystem where friendly gut bacteria live.