Are You Nature Deficient? (Hint: your body holds clues)
Biodiversity loss isn't just a risk to nature
When I say the words “biodiversity” and “biodiversity loss”, chances are you are thinking about species extinctions and near-extinctions from the wild.
The idea that we are living through the 6th mass extinction has been floating around for decades. Humans have been disrupting the land, water, and oceans at unprecedented rates. We’ve obliterated species through direct killing, habitat loss and displacement.
Of the plants and animals that remain, more and more of them exist in small, isolated populations that are risk of disappearing.
We have little understanding of what will happen to our world as the fabric of nature unravels, and holes appear in important roles for food and ecological sustainability. A clear example of the potential danger comes from the loss of native pollinator species and their critical role in plant pollination and food production.
But what does this biodiversity loss have to do with you and your body?
While Biodiversity Loss refers to the loss of species in nature,
Nature Deficiency refers to the loss of nature in the human body that influences health.
The mainstream colonial view of the world holds that humans are separate from nature, and that we have dominion over it.
We have built cities, dammed rivers, converted forests and grasslands to fields for food production, and otherwise disrupted natural ecosystems. We have shifted our lives indoors, out of the sun and away from nature. We have modified our diets to contain concoctions never before eaten by humans (e.g. high fructose corn syrup, food additives, etc.). And we have sanitized our homes with cleaners, and our bodies with antibiotics.
This is in sharp contrast to most Indigenous world views in which all things are connected, including humans to nature. In these philosophies, what happens in nature, happens to us too.
It turns out (no surprise) that the Indigenous view is much closer to the reality we now find ourselves living in.
Our bodies are suffering from biodiversity loss in the same way
that natural ecosystems are suffering from biodiversity loss.
Science is rapidly discovering links between microbial deficiencies and:
malnutrition (nutrient deficiencies),
impaired immune response,
chronic inflammation, and
disease risk, including new evidence that issues with the brain may be caused by the gut microbiome.
Although our first microbiome comes from our mother during birth and breast feeding, after that, new microbes are introduced through our environment.
If our environment is made up of only man-made spaces, then our microbiomes have limited access to nature. Nature is where key components of our microbiome are found - and these components have been essential for our health and survival during thousands of years of human evolution.
You gain microbiome components when you touch, smell or taste nature.
Nature is the source of key human microbiome components.
Touching natural objects introduces new characters to your skin microbiota. This happens when you touch soil, plants and even your pet dog or cat. Some of these microbes may transfer into your body by touching your nose or mouth.
When we smell nature, we likewise are breathing in important organic compounds and microbes that find their way into our bodies. There is compelling research showing that the scent of soil has profound effects on our mental wellbeing through this type of information transfer between nature and you.
And when we eat and drink natural whole foods, we enrich our gut microbiomes directly. Local foods, especially if you grow some at home, are a key component of enriching your body with local microbiota from your natural surroundings.
This is in sharp contrast to what happens when you eat ultra-processed, stabilized foods that are so devoid of nature they don’t spoil for months (or even years).
Do you see the difference?
Unless you actively and regularly experience nature through your senses, then chances are high that you are at risk for nature deficiency. Meaning the chances are high that your microbiome lacks diversity and that lack of diversity creates holes in your chances of living a healthy long life.
Nature Deficiency In Your Body
While “nature deficiency” may sound like a wacky diagnosis, a recent review published in the Porto Biomedical Journal (Feb 2024) suggests that doctors may one day have tests that can detect nature-based microbiome deficiencies and prescribe solutions.
Think about it:
Your inflammation, anxiety, depression, brain fog, digestive issues and immune responses are likely related to your microbiome.
Your microbiome is directly affected by the environment you live in.
As an ancient human, your environment was mostly outdoors in close contact with nature, eating whole foods.
As a modern human, what is your environment?
And does it include regular, sensory exposure to nature?
And what do you eat?
The emerging science is compelling.
There is a link between your gut and body microbiome, and your state of health.
And to link back up to how we started this conversation, as we lose species in nature - especially as we lose the biodiversity of our food and medicinal plants - we are foreclosing on opportunities to have lasting health.
Everything is connected.
We cannot afford to lose nature and natural biodiversity. And we cannot afford to have limited microbiomes.
So as the colder, darker days of winter set in for the northern hemisphere, it is even more important to craft doses of “nature” as your supplement of choice. While Planetary Health/One Health doctors may one day be able to diagnose you and hand you a nature prescription, in the meantime, good old fashioned nature experiences will give you a head start on health.
In the coming weeks, here at The Naturalized Human, we are going to explore:
How each of your senses (Touch, Taste, Smell) contribute to your microbiome
Options for getting that dose of nature inside your own home, when it’s too cold be outside for long
Whether our pets are contributing to our health, or if they are simply mirrors of our inadequate environments and lifestyles
AND - Keep an eye out for some how-to videos that I am working on (for paid subscribers) - I am looking forward to adding some more resources like these to this newsletter in the coming months.
Fantastic article. It makes me feel happy to be surrounded in organic fields, trees and animals. And spending so much of my day with filthy hands. Thank you so much for sharing this!