Room to Breathe: Terrain

A September Series on Breath & Immunity

AIRWAY & DEVELOPMENTHEALING FOUNDATIONSROOM TO BREATHE

9/13/20264 min read

Room for the ecosystem to self-regulate

Kill, eradicate, repopulate. I hear some version of this advice repeatedly in holistic health communities. Kill the unwanted bacteria, yeast, mold, parasites or other organisms, then introduce probiotics, fermented foods or supplements to put the “good” organisms back.

Antimicrobials and probiotics can have an appropriate place. What concerns me is how often they are recommended without understanding the individual or asking what allowed that person’s ecosystem to shift in the first place. If the conditions supporting the imbalance remain, removing one organism and adding another may not create the restoration we expected.

Last week, we began Room to Breathe by following air into the body through the nose. We ended at the place where the outside world meets the moist surfaces, microbial communities and immune tissues of the respiratory tract. This week, we are staying at that meeting place and considering the terrain in which those relationships unfold.

September carries us into the Metal season of Traditional Chinese Medicine, associated with the Lungs and Large Intestine. Metal has much to teach us about boundaries and the movement of receiving and releasing. The Lungs receive air from the world around us, but that air also brings microbes, pollen, dust and information from every environment we enter.

Our immune system has to decide how to respond to those encounters. We often speak about immunity as though its main purpose is to find and attack anything foreign, yet much of its work requires discernment. It must recognize what it encounters, tolerate what is compatible with us and respond appropriately when something presents a threat. We could not breathe, eat or interact with the natural world if every encounter produced an immune battle.

The condition of the terrain helps shape that response. Terrain includes the air we breathe, the food and water we consume, our hydration, digestion, sleep, light exposure, stress, surroundings and the energy available for the body to regulate and repair. It also includes the health of the moist linings of the nose, mouth, throat, lungs and digestive tract, where so much contact with the outside world occurs.

We are continually meeting microbes through air, soil, plants, animals, food, water and other people. Human biology developed within this diversity, and the organisms living on and within us participate in digestion, immune education, tissue protection and communication throughout the body. Their behavior is influenced by their surroundings and by the health and vitality of the person hosting them.

When the terrain changes, the microbial community may change with it. Dryness, inflammation, poor sleep, inadequate nourishment, chronic stress and environmental exposures can all influence which organisms flourish and how the body responds to them. An organism may participate in the symptoms we experience while also revealing something about the environment that allowed it to gain influence.

This makes me question the eagerness to kill organisms before we understand the full effect of doing so. A broad antimicrobial approach may remove beneficial organisms along with the ones being targeted, changing relationships throughout the community. There may also be effects beyond the microbiome.

Mitochondria evolved from ancient bacteria and still share some features with them. Certain antibiotics designed to interfere with bacteria can also interfere with mitochondrial function in our own cells. Antibiotics can be necessary and lifesaving, but this shared biology reminds us that the effect of killing bacteria may extend beyond the organism we intended to remove.

The body then has to adjust to whatever has been changed or lost. If we immediately introduce selected organisms, the immune system must meet them, the existing microbial community must adapt and the surrounding environment must be able to support them. Repopulation may place another demand on someone whose system is already depleted or struggling to regulate.

I think about this when oral probiotics are promoted for cavities, gum disease or bad breath. Manufacturers choose strains associated with positive outcomes across groups of people, but that does not establish that every individual needs those particular organisms or has the capacity to integrate them.

Some biological oral-care developers have chosen prebiotics instead, providing nourishment intended to support the microbial community already living in the mouth. The intention is to improve the conditions around the community so it has a better opportunity to find balance. Even then, individual response matters because what supports one person can be too much or inappropriate for another.

The mouth gives us a visible example of terrain, but it is one part of a much larger landscape. Air moves through the nose and throat. Saliva and everything it carries are continually swallowed. The oral, respiratory and digestive environments each have their own characteristics, yet they remain connected through the movement of air, food, fluids, organisms and immune information.

Vitamin D also belongs within this relationship between terrain and immunity. Its role extends beyond helping the body fight infection. Vitamin D participates in immune communication and helps maintain the protective surfaces where the body meets the outside world. Its availability and use are influenced by sunlight, circadian rhythm, digestion, nourishment and sleep, which makes it difficult to understand through a supplement or laboratory value alone.

These relationships require energy. The immune system needs energy to recognize and respond. Tissues need energy to maintain themselves, and the microbial community depends upon a host capable of adjusting when conditions change. Our mitochondria help provide the cellular energy needed for communication, regulation and repair.

Holistic traditions may describe this capacity as vital force. We can also understand it as the health and resilience of the host and the energy available to adapt. Both perspectives encourage us to look beyond the organism and consider the person experiencing the imbalance.

Supporting terrain does not mean refusing treatment when it is needed. It means that removing an organism should not end the investigation. We can address what is causing immediate harm while still asking what changed within the individual, what may be weakening the boundary and what is interfering with the ecosystem’s ability to regulate itself.

As we move through the Metal season, notice how your body responds to the world around you. Pay attention to how freely you breathe, whether your mouth and throat feel moist or dry and how you feel after restorative sleep, nourishing food, time outside or a day filled with too much stimulation. Notice which environments seem to leave you feeling more open and resilient and which ones ask more of your system.

Terrain changes with our surroundings, rhythms, nourishment and available energy. Becoming familiar with our own terrain can help us understand that supporting immunity involves caring for the conditions in which the body and its microbial communities are being asked to live.

Next Sunday, we will continue through the Metal season by exploring exchange and the relationship between the Lungs and Large Intestine.

Room to Breathe: Terrain

Room for the ecosystem to self-regulate

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