SOIL HEALTH - HUMAN HEALTH

      Last evening I watch 2 hours of PBS titled "IN DEFENSE OF FOOD", and another hour on a related subject "FAT vs SUGAR".  Fascinating.   There were so many parallels to what I have been viewing on soil health, how complex the system, and how little we know.  Bottom line: --eating less is the only real way to lose weight.  The food processing, the marketing methods, and our culture encourage eating in excess.  Neither a high fat or a high sugar diet by itself was a problem for weight gain; however, the combination of fat and sugar hits all the pleasure receptors in the brain making it nearly irresistible to control over eating.  Microbes in our digestive system react to the food they are exposed to.  In an unhealthy diet, certain microbes dominate, unbalancing the digestive system,  and this leads to health issues and shortened life span. What is a healthy diet?  What I got out of the information was:  Increase plant foods, decrease processed foods, decrease meats, eat everything in moderation.  Be aware of the fat/sugar relationship in the processed foods.  If you look at the labels on food items,  nearly all processed food has fat, --and added sugar.
      I saw many parallels to what I have been learning about soil health.  Primarily, an unbalance in the soil microbial community creates weed and disease issues above the levels found in a soil with a balance in the microbiological community.  Like our human health, we have the ability to effect soil health.  All we need is the knowledge, and the willingness to make appropriate decisions.