Show 959: Farmacology, What Farmers Can Teach Us About Health

An ever-increasing appreciation of the complexity of ecosystems has begun to change farming practices so that they become more sustainable.

Science is demonstrating that our human bodies are also complex ecosystems, made up of more microbes than human cells. Could some of the principles of sustainable farming help us stay healthy too?

Dr. Daphne Miller visited many such farms and has lessons for us in her book, Farmacology. What do ranchers in Missouri and an allergy researcher in Munich have to teach us about germs on the farm and the hygiene hypothesis? Does exposure to a wide variety of microbes at an early age reduce our chances of having allergy and asthma problems later in life?

We explore the metaphorical and literal connections between bacterial communities in the soil and those in our own bodies.

Guest: Daphne Miller, MD, is a pioneer in the field of eco-medicine, a family physician, writer and an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She founded WholefamilyMD, the first integrative primary care practice in the San Francisco Bay area. Her book is Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing. Her website is drdaphne.com