“Culture” has become a major theme of employee relations with many companies these days. Years ago, the issues were mostly salary, perks, insurance, and job requirements. Culture, the working environment and social conditions of the workplace, was barely considered. Raising culture to a major job consideration is a positive development, because employees spend major portions of their lives working, and if they will not enjoy their work environment and time spent with co-workers, they will also not be likely to thrive in their job functions.
Culture is not a simple matter, and only partially under the control of the company. A good culture requires good interaction of the employees with each other as well as with the company and the work environment. Some companies invest in programs to bring people closer together with enjoyable team events and activities. Sour relationships within a work group can destroy culture even when work conditions are otherwise good. Of course, a bad work environment will sour the whole group, and if management does not seem to be in touch with the employees, the morale will be low and culture will suffer.
“Work-life balance” was a term that was coined in the last couple of decades, where flexible time off, partial work at home, or other measures were sometimes introduced to make the employee happier. Ironically, those measures didn’t always help the culture, because they reduced social interaction between employees even though they made life easier for them. Companies have a lot of factors to juggle to provide a good culture, but a bad culture is deadly to a company’s work force and thus the company itself. Conversely, a good culture means the company can weather some storms and be more resilient when difficulties arise because the employees will give more effort to help a company in which they like working. The company may literally last longer and be healthier when their work culture is good.
Your corporate body
You function somewhat like a company. Your mind is the CEO, your brain the COO (Chief Operating Officer), and your cells are your employees. It is vital to you that their culture is good, because a bad culture will wreak your health. Your CEO, through the COO, coordinates the employees and gives them instructions. You provide the working environment and best conditions for them to do their jobs, but they also have to get along with each other. Plus you have independent contractors — your gut flora — which although they are not employees, they still must get along, be part of the culture, and contribute to the bottom line.
When you have a good culture in your body, your brain (which is part of your body) also performs better. Just like a healthy company which supports its employees (and its employees support it), your health depends upon a harmonious interaction of your cells which your brain supports, but also which supports your brain. It is bi-directional, not one way.
Focus on the good…
In the Corporate world, studies are run frequently to learn just what makes a successful culture. What do they usually study — well-functioning companies or failures? It’s rare to see a study on failed corporate culture; usually the great successes are studied so that others can try to emulate them. So what happens when we study health? Many studies focus on sickness and disease. They are not looking to emulate the conditions of these study subjects; rather, they are looking to see what they can avoid so that others could potentially avoid the bad conditions and ensuing diseases. Occasionally a study does focus on what can be done right to avoid disease. Here is one, which is published in Nature Mental Health, where researchers looked into what conditions healthy people exhibit. They focused upon “resilient” people who, even when faced with hardship, kept their health and good attitude. They wanted to see how their bodies retained health despite stress. It was no surprise that they found that a healthy brain supported good microbiota (gut flora) by providing a good environment for the flora, nor was it surprising that good flora supported a healthy gut and healthy brain, but they were surprised to find that healthy flora resulted in activation of certain portions of the brain that promoted emotional stability and clear thinking. Even though the gut flora was external to the body, it was very much part of the team and partnered with the brain, perhaps even instructed the brain to turn on better functions.
Teamwork
We tend to think of gut flora microorganisms as non-essential remote contractors that are our servants. So if we wipe them out with antibiotics, no big deal, just send in some replacements and we’re good to go. We let them fend for themselves instead of considering their culture. They should have the respect we would give employees. Then they will do their jobs for us, and in return we get not only physical benefits, but mental perks as well. And this is key: it’s not just health we are talking about, but longevity. If treating gut flora well gives us emotional stability and a balanced brain, we have resiliency which will help take us through the storms in life, reduce stress and inflammation, and most likely increase our lifespan and healthspan. What this study showed is that healthy and resilient people are that way partly because of their gut flora. “Namely, the high resiliency group’s microbiomes excreted metabolites and exhibited gene activity associated with low inflammation and a strong and healthy gut barrier.” At the same time, people in the resilient group “were less anxious and depressed, less prone to judge, and had activity in regions of the brain associated with emotional regulation and better cognition compared to the group with low resiliency.”
As previously noted, the “gut-brain axis”, or simply the “gut-brain connection” is a two-way street. There is much communication going on between them, and they are a team. The gut flora is a major part of the gut even though it is technically not part of the gut. The flora organisms are so integrated with the gut that they act as part of it: they help the gut digest, and they reduce inflammation if they are the “good” microorganisms. If they experience proper working conditions — a welcoming environment — the good ones will take control and the bad ones will fade. So, when we talk about the gut-brain axis, with all of the massive communication that goes on constantly between the gut and the brain, we are including the gut flora (or microbiota as it is technically called) as part of the gut.
A review study published in Immune Network goes into detail as to how microbiota works hand-in-hand with the gut and the whole body. The researchers noted many partnerships. Microbiota help the gut regulate the immune, metabolic, and nervous systems. Gut flora influences the disease process — either positively or negatively. It affects mood and behaviors. It can cause neurological disorders if disrupted. It impacts gut barrier integrity which affects the immune system and toxins which can impact the brain. The gut flora is a major part of your employee team!
If one part is honored, all the parts rejoice…
What helps part of you helps all of you. Develop a good culture for your body cells — they are your employees. Treat them well. Treat them as you would want to be treated, because they are you!
Dr. Nemec’s Review
This is such an important concept to grasp. You’re not a self: you’re part of a team, part of a community. When you choose something in life, you don’t choose just because you like it or don’t like it. You must choose for the entire community. The community all work together: everyone has their part, their gift, their talent, but the community only works the way it was designed to work when everyone works together as one.
What is disease?
It is a departing or separating from health. How does this occur? When the CEO is selfish and self-centered — when this major influencer only tells the brain to tell the cells that they have to work overtime all the time and their pay is greatly reduced, plus their working environment is not supportive. This is how you end up with declining companies, or declining health, which eventually becomes disease.
How do you make a good environment for the subcontractors (the gut flora)?
This is made by the thoughts you think, the perceptions you have, the stored subconscious and conscious programming in your life — and also very importantly by the diet you choose. Many people in America are still eating the diet they ate when they were 18. That food might’ve been OK at 18 but it’s not OK at 28, and it’s surely not OK 35 and beyond. At 18 you ate for self-pleasure whereas at 35 and beyond you’re eating for health and longevity: you’re making investments in the community to support the microflora which support not only your physical 100 trillion cell community, but they also support your cognitive mental-emotional function. So you want to choose your food wisely and make sure you’re investing in an extended lifespan health span.
Which food is the most anti-inflammatory and gut supporting?
Plants and plant fibers — and the more living and raw plants the better.
The two power houses
Garlic and onions are two of the most powerful foods on the planet. When you eat them in the raw state uncooked, they have their full power unleashed. Garlic is superior to onions, but onions are close behind. They are both prebiotics and probiotics. Garlic is like a smart bomb: it will kill bad bacteria and fungus in the gut but will not harm good bacteria. It will support growth of beneficial bacteria.
Treat the two-way street
What’s in the brain, programmed subconsciously and consciously, tremendously affects every cell in the body, including the gut flora. Also the gut flora secretes hormones and neurotransmitters that tremendously affect the entire community, especially the brain. So you must work on both areas to have balance and harmony along with a long lifespan and health span. We have been treating patients for 40 years, addressing the 2-way street. This is vital for correcting any health condition: remember every one of those hundred trillion cells is receiving messages from the brain and the brain is receiving messages from the intestinal tract.
The Hidden CEO
There is a second CEO that tells the brain what to tell the body to do. In most people this is a silent partner, when in reality, this is the major CEO that should be controlling all of the hundred trillion-cell community, including the gut microbiota. Who is this mysterious CEO?
It is your heart, your spirit, your true identity. It is the one that is not selfish or self-centered. It is the one who comes from unconditional love and flows that love to all of the hundred trillion-cell community. If your heart CEO ran the business, you would never have disease.
This is the basis of our Heart-Brain therapy at Revolution New Medicine. This is the most important factor in restoring health. You must reestablish the heart — the spirit — as the major input to the brain and then to all the cells. When this occurs, healing and health always follow.
The Spirit gives life; the mind counts for nothing. The words from the Spirit give life to the body. The words from the mind bring death to the body.
Here are the ways we can help you in your health journey:
- Outpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-has the most benefit of teaching, treatment, live classes and personalized coaching. This program has the most contact with Dr. Nemec with 3- 6 month programs that can be turned into a regular checking and support program for life. This is our core program that has helped so many restore their health and maintain that restoration for years.
- Inpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-is our four-week intensive inpatient program for those that are not in driving distance, usually over 4 hour drive. This is the program that is an intensive jumpstart with treatment, teaching, live classes and coaching designed for all our international patients along with those in the US that do not live in Illinois. This program is very effective especially when combined with our new membership program support.
- Stay at Home Program-is offered to continental US patients who cannot come to Revolution New Medicine but still want a more personal, customized plan to restore their health. This program also includes our Learn Membership Program.
- Membership Program is our newest program offered for those that want to work on their health at a high level and want access to the teaching at Revolution New Medicine along with the Forums: both Dr. Nemec’s posts and other members posting. And also, to have the chance to get personalized questions answered on the conference calls which are all archived in case you miss the call. The Membership Program has 3 levels to choose from: Learn, Overcome and Master. The difference is at the Overcome and Master levels you received one on one calls with Dr. Nemec personalizing your program for your areas of focus.
