--- content_date: 2020-04-16 feed: "DANIEL_ON_SLOPE" codex_section: "S03" codex_candidate: true source: Scotomaville source_file: 01.11-feed-your-gut.pdf chapter: 01.11-feed-your-gut total_pdf_pages: 8 volume: v1 title: Feed Your Gut monomyth_stage: "02 - Call to Adventure" category: - awareness - strategy tags: - gut-microbiome - scotoma - awareness - bad-actors - vagus-nerve - circadian-rhythm - plant-based-food - probiotics - lectins - self-care summary: I point out that I'm only 10% human and 90% microbe, with a hundred trillion little guys in my gut forming a coup against my intentions and creating cravings for junk food. Recognizing the bad actors of microbes, my prefrontal cortex, circadian rhythm, and stress, I recommend feeding the gut with foods that can rot on the counter like fresh fruits and fermented veggies rather than processed stuff. This awareness of the scotoma helps me adjust my food, exercise, sleep, and stress to regain control over my biology. qr_links: - https://youtu.be/YW0ShLAzFe8 - https://youtu.be/nBhBlL2TkqY --- # 01.11-feed-your-gut ## Spread 001 [p1–p2] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=53% R=15% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The left page displays a large, high-resolution color micrograph filling most of the space, showing a dense, tangled cluster of rod-shaped and spherical bacteria in earthy browns, greens, and beiges, with the word "microbes" overlaid in large white lettering. A dark gray banner at the bottom repeats the chapter's opening text about fecal bacteria and 100 trillion microbes, while "VOL 1 AWARENESS" runs vertically along the left margin and the chapter title ".11 FEED YOUR GUT" appears at the top. The right page uses a dark gray background with a white box header stating "90% Microbe, 10% Human," followed by body text on gut influence and cravings. To the right of the text is a stylized pink-and-orange anatomical illustration of the stomach and intestines, with a yellow-handled magnifying glass hovering over the gut revealing a cluster of brightly colored cartoon microbes (purple, green, blue) with simple faces and expressions. The spread contrasts a realistic documentary-style electron-microscope image on the left with a whimsical, anthropomorphic diagram on the right that visually supports the metaphorical idea of a microbial "coup" against human intention. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 100 FEED YOUR GUT .11 Fecal bacteria. Yep, just a small community of the 100 Trillian Microbes that make up the human body. VOL 1 AWARENESS microbes ### Right page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 101 When you look down, do you see a belly or your shoes? One of my favorite lines from the movie ‘Secondhand Lions’, is this: “Everyone needs something to believe in, even if it’s not true.” An example: Eating fat makes you fat! Wrong! For decades, we’ve had low-fat this and low fat that, but eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Ketogenics shows that you need fat in your diet to train your body to burn fat rather than store fat. Bad Actors of Wellbeing I’m not into conspiracy theories, but here are four bad actors: The first bad actor is a hundred trillion microbes. I’m only 10% human. I’m 90% microbe. They conspire against me. They form 90% Microbe, 10% Human There’s a coup underway. It’s 100 trillion microbes against your intention. Did you know that we are only 10% human and 90% microbe? When you look down, do you see your shoes or your gut? When you have a craving, is it for junk food like pizza, ice cream, burger and fries? Manage the microbe chorus in your gut, the emotions coming from your amygdalae and stress by slowly changing the culture in your gut rather than appeasing your taste buds . little focus groups and chant, ‘We want pizza! We want ice cream! We want sugar, burgers and fries! If you give in to them, they grow their culture, demanding more. Their cravings override the second bad actor — right here. (mo tioning to forehead) It’s called your prefrontal cortex. It manages ‘in tention’ and regulates the amygdalae - two almond-shaped ## Spread 002 [p3–p4] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=0% R=31% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The left page opens with a large dark gray rectangular header box containing centered white text that reads: “MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT ‘WE ARE WHAT WE EAT’ IT’S A BIT MORE ACCURATE TO SAY ‘WE ARE WHAT WE DIGEST’ BUT HEY, EVERYONE NEEDS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN, EVEN IF IT’S NOT TRUE.” Below it flows dense body text discussing the vagus nerve, gut microbes, chronic stress as an “emotional black box,” and the “third bad actor” (circadian rhythm), with a red-highlighted question: “Are you losing that battle? When you look down, do you see your belly or your shoes?” A small list of four adjustment handles (FOOD, EXERCISE, SLEEP, STRESS) appears in the middle of the left page. The right page continues the text with an example of preparing fruit, organic meal powder, and ginger root, then features a bold vertical numbered list (01–04) aligned along the far right edge. The four points read: “IF IT WON’T ROT ON THE COUNTER, DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH,” “SHIFT YOUR MICRO-BIOME CULTURES TO CRAVE PLANT BASED FOOD,” “PAY ATTENTION TO CLUES LIKE GAS, BLOATING, INFLAMMATION, ETC.,” and “EAT FOOD THAT GROWS ON A PLANT, NOT STUFF MANUFACTURED IN A PLANT.” Dominating the lower right portion of the spread is a large, high-resolution close-up photograph of vibrant green cellular structures—circular cells with visible internal details—resembling a microscopic view of plant tissue or algae (likely chlorella or spirulina referenced in the adjacent text). The image feels illustrative and documentary rather than ironic or cartoonish, serving as a direct visual anchor for the chapter’s focus on feeding the gut microbiome with real plant-based foods. The overall layout is text-heavy with the biological photo providing the primary visual ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 102 parts of your brain that function like emotional black boxes. Chronic stress forms a disfunctional partnership resulting in emotional hysterics. In addition, the vegas nerve connects a hundred trillion microbes in your gut to your brain and further influences mood, fear and anxiety. So when you put stuff in your mouth that tastes good but has poor nutrients, and some poisonous molicules, you fuel the conspiracy - a tidal wave acting against your wellness. Are you losing that battle? When you look down, do you see your belly or your shoes? The Third Bad Actor is your circadian rhythm. That’s the daily cycle of your hormones and sleep. Basically, the habits you have and the schedule that you set determine this actors pay. A Fourth Bad Actor! Stress affects your cortisol, which ends up as belly fat. It’s challenging to manage because the other conspirators drive it your emotions, habits, circadian rhythms, and coping mechanisms fuel the matrix. So coming into equilibrium, creating health and longevity starts with aware ness. Four handles to adjust. • FOOD • EXERSIZE • SLEEP • STRESS Here’s a scotoma: If you have belly fat, it’s a great indicator that you have a fatty liver that is backed-up with communter traffic, and is no longer working in your favor. Which means you’ve got inflammation in your gut. That means you likely have a leaky gut, where microbes and other crap pass from your colon into your blood system. Imagine your black tank leaking into your freshwater tank? The garbage eventually degrades an organ. Then you have a symptom. So you ask a doctor for a pill. Rath er than fix your plumbing leak, the pill masks the symptoms! You’re not addressing the root scotoma! My recommendation is to feed your gut microbe rather than yield to demands from your mouth or emotions. How about your cravings? They’re seldom good for you. How to feed microbes? The general idea is to consider that if the food can’t rot in a day left on the counter, you shouldn’t swallow it. It’s only got six to eight hours before it’s coming out of you! If it can’t rot, you won’t digest it! And you’re not what you eat! You ARE what you DIGEST! Many people believe that “we are what we eat” it’s a bit more accurate to say “we are what we digest” but hey, everyone needs something to believe in, even if it’s not true ### Right page 03 02 01 04 if it won’t rot on the counter, don’t put it in your mouth. shift your micro-biome cultures to crave plant based food. pay attention to clues like gas, bloating, inflammation, etc. eat food that grows on a plant, not stuff manufactured in a plant. For example, these are chunks of fruit - fresh papaya and pineapple and man go and banana that I’ve chopped up, thrown in the freezer, and have on hand. I add this ‘Organic Meal’ to build my gut culture. Think of it as feeding guppies in a tank. Next, I add chopped fresh ginger root. After eating this, I can feel the difference in my gut and brain. However, life has curves, and this is by far not the end of my journey. ONUS PROBANDI For a year following this episode I had a scotoma. I didn’t know that many of my ‘healthy’ ingredients contained lectins. Lectins cause inflammation and lead to colon bleeding. The banana and numer ous ingredients in the meal replacement powder are on the NO side of The Plant Paradox recommendations. (see pages 306-307) On the YES side are broken cell wall chlorella or spirulina. These single-cell powders smell like green pond water and have a taste that I failed to master. Viome later confirmed that they are abundant with purine, which helps mini mize uric acid, deterring kidney stones. (see pages 270-271) EXERCISE I’m walking. It’s kind of steep. We live in a digital age where I can record this, which is fantastic, but we still have a biological shell. Meaning we have to de sign our lives to manage our biology. Do so with the choices you make to exercise every day. ## Spread 003 [p5–p6] **type:** image_heavy | **img coverage:** L=29% R=44% **heading:** Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE ### Visual description The left page of the spread shows two product-style photographs at the top: a small wooden bowl overflowing with deep green spirulina or chlorella powder on the left, and a clear glass jar of SCOUL brand kimchi with a bright green lid and visible orange-red contents on the right. Below the photos sit two dark gray rectangular captions, one noting single-cell green powders as a starting point and the other highlighting kimchi and fermented vegetables for probiotics. The lower half contains the chapter’s continuing body text on sleep and stress, with blue hyperlinks to other pages and the footer “LEAVING SCOTOMAVILLE 104.” The right page is dominated by a large, high-resolution microscopic image of densely packed green and blue rod-shaped and spherical bacteria filling the upper two-thirds. Bold yellow text reading “Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE” sits at the top, with large white “FEED YOUR GUT” lettering beneath it, followed by the smaller subtitle line “Awareness • 90% Microb - 10% Human • Bugs Everywhere.” A dark gray panel on the lower right holds the playful mantra quote about a hundred trillion microbes singing for kimchi and chlorella. The visuals are documentary and illustrative rather than ironic: the food items are straightforward product shots, while the microbe image functions as a direct visual metaphor for the gut microbiome being addressed in the chapter. The overall layout pairs literal examples of gut-health foods on the left with an enlarged scientific view of the microbial world on the right, reinforcing the “feed your gut” theme without cartoonish exaggeration. ### Left page Leaving SCOTOMAVILLE 104 SLEEP You can adjust your sleep by managing things like caffeine or the blue light from devices you’re around late at night — also, the job you have or the work you do. If you are challenged with sleep jump forward to watch Dr. Mathew Walker on page 277 STRESS If you’re self-employed or an entrepreneur, you have no excuse! You are your boss and not a ty rant! Start treating your employee and your single factory with significance! Treat it as the most valu able thing that you possess! Angelina and I know this first-hand. If you loose your biology, mental capacity or will, you will loose all. Recovering can take decades. We know. Eat and sleep when it’s best on your circadian rhythm. Try new things. Adjust your sleep cycle, change your diet, add exercise, start working on the thoughts that direct your biological machine and gut culture. You’re the boss! Not them! Don’t be subservient to a hundred trillion microbes. If you’re specially challenged with your weight, stress, sleep and exersize, jump to episode 02.12 SELF-CARE on page 298 Single cell green powders like spirolina and chorella are an excellent starting point. Kimchi - and other fermented vegetables add probiotics to feed your gut microbes. ### Right page I want you to take up a little mantra: A hundred trillion little microbes singing “We want Kimchi! We want Chlorela!” You teach them that and they’ll listen! ## Spread 004 [p7–p8] **type:** text_only | **img coverage:** L=0% R=15% **heading:** YW0ShLAzFe8 **urls:** `https://youtu.be/` `https://youtu.be/` ### Left page YOURT https://youtu.be/YW0ShLAzFe8 Awareness, Understanding, Discipline. Getting out of Scotomaville is a multi-faceted journey. Our psychology is woven with our physiology. Bad food, bad thoughts. Poor intake, bad output. Lets begin with Awareness. Your turn. List the usual foods you eat that are high in lectins. WATCH REFLECT https://youtu.be/nBhBlL2TkqY ### Right page RTURN How’s your sleep? Are you so stressed and working 60+ hours a week without exersize or diffuse time? It can be a tough cycle to break out of alone. Share your victories and get tips from other explorers and me. DISCUSS