American society suffers from wide spread chronic dysbiosis, aka a severely out of balance microbiome. This is tied to 3 macro trends which picked up steam in the 1950s. The use of chemicals and artificial soil maintenance in modern farming, the wide spread use of antibiotics in humans and livestock, and a culture wide reduction in probiotic consumption due to common household refrigeration, and common dairy food treatment methods.

These 3 vectors, I believe, are one of the primary factors in the rise of cancers, chronic depression, anxiety, and dissociative levels of violence.

As a single example, researchers are finding that a deficiency in naturally occurring folate (B9) is a significant cause of depression, as it metabolizes serotonin and dopamine. Modern medicine thinking assumes the best course of treatment for this is to supplement a synthesized form of B9, which does has a positive effect. But you become dependent on this artificial form. Where as if the microbiome contains high enough levels of L. casei, L. lactis, L. reuteri, and L. Plantarum (bacteria found in kombucha, yoghurt, and kimchi), the body produces its own supply.

We cant wait for governments or corporations to get this right. We have to take responsibility and action for our own health.