Introducing the Gbiota technology

Introducing the Gbiota technology

 

 

 

 

The smartest creature on the planet?

break down rocksWe humans think we are the smartest creatures on the planet – and we are but we are dependent on the smallest creatures.

For the first few billion years the earth was just a barren, inert rock then some billion years ago microbes appeared, we don’t know from where but we think an asteroid.

The microbes broke down the rocks to release nutrients so they are bio-available to make soil. Life exploded with the most amazing and massive creatures.

Eventually, quite recently humans appeared but they struggled and died young from diseases. But they survived and developed technologies such as medical advances that enabled them to largely overcome these diseases so they lived longer.

The soil built up to massive depths, many metres in some places so there was an abundant supply of beneficial microbes but then humans developed a concept called money which deluded humans into thinking they could borrow wealth from the future and the past for immediate benefit.

moneyThis they did on a massive scale, they changed the climate and destroyed much of the soil but the costs lay in the future so, at first it was not an immediate worry. There was always time and the possibility of some new technology which would solve any problems.

But it turned out that the microbes which came from the soil did a very important job for the humans. They entered their gut and communicated with each other to create an intelligent system which regulated their bodies keeping them fit and healthy.

But without these beneficial microbes, there was no intelligent control system for humans. Hence they got fat and sick and died from an epidemic of non-infectious diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart attacks and dementia.

This was not a cost in the future this is a ‘here and now’ problem with three out of four people dying from these non-infectious diseases.

Of course, they tried all sorts of solutions from sophisticated pharmaceuticals and complicated surgery but it never resolved the root cause of the problem – a lack of the beneficial microbes in their guts.

Of course, there was a simple solution that was so simple that it was just dismissed as too simple and that was to breed the beneficial microbes in the soil, then grow plants in this soil and eat the plants.

But there were just two snags that prevented this simple solution from working.

Snag number 1 the silo dwellers

siloThe first snag was that they needed to breed the beneficial microbes in the soil without breeding the harmful microbes which causes so many problems with infectious diseases.

Microbes breed very easily but how to breed the beneficial microbes without the harmful microbes? The solution to that is simple – just create the conditions that favour the beneficial microbes so they out-compete and out-breed the harmful microbes.

This was given the name Ecological balance which while it works very well sounds a bit too much like coming from the green lunatic fringe for the specialist reductionist scientist living in the techno-silos.

But that is not so serious as if ideas work they are eventually adopted despite the initial reluctance to adopt.

Snag number 2 Microbes die fast

partyThe second snag is more difficult to overcome. Microbes may breed like crazy but they also die fast with a very short life span.

We may see the same species of microbes but they are not the same microbes, they are the grandchildren of the microbes we saw a few days ago – a situation we call dynamic equilibrium.

It is like a big city, always teeming with people but not the same people.

But there is an easy solution to this.

Find local growers who can be trained to breed the beneficial microbes in the soil.

Take a container, like a supermarket basket with plenty of holes and drop it into a hole in the soil so the creatures of the soil can easily enter the basket.

Then grow plants in this living soil.

When ready lift out the basket and supply to a customer who just has to water and when ready pick and eat the plants while they are still fresh.

When the plants are all eaten swap for a fresh basket.

Any more snags?

deficienciesYes, we have to show that such a simple solution works. That is easy, persuade a number of people to try incorporating Gbiota plants into their diet and see if food cravings stop and they feel satisfied.

People overeat because of deficiencies in their diet, remove the deficiencies and the food cravings go away and people feel satisfied.

Then we have the problem of making people aware that this simple and inexpensive solution is available in an era of mass disinformation where no one believes anything they read on the internet.

This can be solved by the ancient process of people talking to people they trust.

Wickimix

The Gbiota technology  breeds beneficial microbes in a special soil called Wickimix. Plants are grown in Wickimix and when eaten the beneficial microbes enhance our gut biota which regulates our appetite and hence wards of chronic of non-infectious diseases overweight, diabetes, heart attacks and dementia.

This website describes how our intelligent control system works and how to prepare Wickimix.

If you want to study this process then follow the links on this site. If you just want to buy plants growing in Wickimix in Gbiota baskets all you have to do is to link up with a licensed grower who can supply you with the Gbiota baskets.

As the beneficial microbes have a short life this only works with living plants so you need a supplier who can supply living plants on a regular schedule.

To link up with a grower please complete the registration form here or below and enter ‘customer’.

If you are interested in becoming a licensed Gbiota supplier then enter ‘local grower’.

 

 

 

fat and skinnyWhy are some people fat while others are skinny, why do some people enjoy a long and healthy life while others are fat and sick?​

We know from the study of twins that genetics play a part, but it is just a part, it is what we eat that matters the most.

We all know the old adage, eat less and exercise more but what really matters is what we eat rather than how much.

If we eat the right sort of food we feel satisfied and simply feel satisfied and naturally want to stop eating. If we don’t eat the right sort of food we get food cravings and overeat.

Our modern food system is high in energy food – fats and sugars but low in essential minerals and vitamins but above all low in the beneficial microbes which live in our gut and control our appetite.

The right sort of food comes from eating plants grown in soil full of beneficial microbes that reinforce our gut biota and break down the minerals to make them bio-available.

Microbes are easy to breed, they are naturally a randy lot, the skill is in creating the right conditions so the beneficial microbes out compete and out breed the harmful microbes.

This is a process of creating an Eco-balance to favour the beneficial microbes and is the key to the Gbiota technology.

The soil produced this way is called “Wickimix”.

It is not that difficult, an experience grower can learn to do this however for most people it is simpler and easier to buy a Gbiota box loaded with Wickimix and seeded so a spectrum of plants are already growing.

But buying Gbiota boxes is more than just buying a box from a store, it requires linking up with a grower who can provide a regular supply of Gbiota boxes on a swap over basis so the boxes are continuously replenished with fresh Wickimix which has a finite shelf life.

To link up with a grower you can sign up for free here.

If you are interested in becoming a Gbiota grower, either just for your own use or to provide a beneficial and profitable service for your local community you should email me here.

 

 

Why develop the Gbiota technology?

plastic garbageMost of us now live in towns and cities. We buy our food from the local supermarket wrapped hygienically in plastic which we throw into the bin and it dutifully disappears.

The same with our human waste which we flush away without further thought.

We live in the age of technical marvels, we can video chat with a friend from the other side of the globe, we can search the internet for any obscure piece of information we desire, we can buy almost anything on line and have it delivered to our door.

why we dieIf we are sick we can expect a pharmaceutical pill or a complex operation to cure us, and without doubt the advances in medical science is one of the wonders of the world.

We have also devoted the same technical expertise to developing the technologies for killing other humans on a mass scale. Why is one of the puzzles of this complex creature?

We can even jot down a few notes and have it turned into a polished article of any style we wish using AI. But not this article, this is written with human passion by me, a fellow human – but why?

feed and trainBecause, despite all our sophistication we are still are an animal and dependant on the Ecosystem. We will all die at some point so we, as a species, survive by breeding, which we have been doing with great success for the last million years or so – despite the lack of medical instruction manuals.

If we are to survive as a species we have to accept that we are an animal – maybe a highly intelligent animal – and the future of our species is dependant on us accepting that simple fact and coming to terms with the need to be in balance with the Eco-system on which we depend.

As a great grand farther I want to see by great grandchildren thrive and survive and indeed my species to thrive and survive way into the future.

That is what the Gbiota technology is all about, learning to adapt to the Ecosystem which supports us.

 

Welcome to Gbiota: Revolutionising Health through Soil and Gut Microbiome Science

Developed by Colin Austin, One of Australia’s Leading Innovators

colin austinAt Gbiota, we’re pioneering a healthier future by reconnecting humans, plants, and soil through cutting-edge technology.

Recognized by the Institute of Engineers as a trailblazer in innovation, Colin Austin has crafted a system that enriches both the soil and your health.

How It Works

Our Wickimix soil is teeming with beneficial microbes and nutrients, developed through a sustainable process that transforms organic waste into life-giving earth. Plants grown in this nutrient-rich soil become a natural source of gut-supporting microbes.

When consumed, these beneficial microbes enhance your gut biota, a key player in your body’s intelligent control system. This helps you regulate hunger, feel satisfied naturally, and avoid unhealthy cravings.

Why It Matters

  • A Different Approach: Forget restrictive diets that leave you hungry. Our method supports long-term health by tackling the root causes of chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, heart conditions, and dementia.

  • Healthy Fat Distribution: Proper gut health promotes balance, helping you achieve sustainable well-being.

Explore Two Paths to Better Living

Learn for Free: Dive into our knowledge hub, where articles about diet, gut health, and longevity are available under the Creative Commons license. Share, re-publish, and spread the word.

Grow and Thrive: For growers and entrepreneurs, learn to create Wickimix soil and produce Gbiota Boxes. These can be used for personal health or as a community-focused business. Subscriptions include technical support to ensure your success.

Be Part of the Solution

The journey to better health begins with the soil beneath our feet. Join us in creating a world where nutritious food supports thriving gut health, intelligent eating, and a long, healthy life.

Explore More

 

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Welcome

Welcome

Our intelligent control system

Infectious and chronic or non-infectious diseases

chronic diseasesWe are living longer, thanks to major advances in medical science.

In the past people died, often when young, from infectious diseases now we die predominantly from chronic or non-infectious diseases with three out of four people dying from a chronic disease.

We are in the midst of an epidemic of chronic diseases overweight, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Medical science may keep us alive for a long time but far worse is that we may live for a long time with poor health. Our life span may be increasing but our health span is not.

The mind and body are inseparable

We have a mind and a body, they are inseparable with our mind controlling our bodies, I prefer to call the part of our mind that controls our body our intelligent control system.

Chronic diseases determine whether we are fit and healthy or fat and sick. They stem from our intelligent control system not working properly.

fat and skinnyA person may be obese because they suffer from food insecurity, this may have started in early childhood or in a war when food was scarce and is now firmly implanted in our mind or intelligent control system.

The person is obese because their intelligent control system has decided that it needs to store more fat so it sends out signals to both eat more and store the excess fat.

Going on a restrictive diet or taking appetite suppressant pills like Ozempic may appear to give some temporary benefit but is not facing the core of the problem which is food insecurity which may be hidden away in our subconscious so we are not even aware of it.

Some people are fat while others are skinny. It all depends on our intelligent control system.

If it decides we should be fat we end up fat and if it decides we should be skinny we end up skinny.

Finding out how our intelligent control system works

We need to understand how our intelligent control system works. Finding a cure once the chronic disease is well established can be very challenging.

For example, it is very difficult to cure blocked arteries which can cause death but it is relatively simple to avoid arteries becoming blocked in the first place.

Prevention is so much better than cure.

We are a communal animal, we cannot breed and thrive without our tribe. If we are suffering from a deep feeling of food insecurity we may find the solution is eating communally with sympathetic members of our tribe, often our family.

The support and understanding of our tribe which focuses on the underlying cause may be a far better solution than some restrictive diet which may make matters worse.

Fat in the wrong places

The underlying cause of these diseases is fat in the wrong place, in our tummies, pancreas, arteries and brain.

So what causes fat in the wrong place? It does not just happen.

Saying that it is because we eat more than we burn and the solution is to eat less and exercise may explain how we get fat, and has not been effective.

That is just restating the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy. It does not tell us why we get fat.

We need to understand why we get fat and the answer is because our intelligent control system decides we need to store more fat.

The big question

whyThe big question is why does our intelligent control system decide we need to store more fat?

Every single person has an intelligent control system which regulates their bodies.

This system controls our temperature, heart rate, breathing and most importantly our appetite, what and how much we want to eat and how much fat we store.

If we are going to resolve the epidemic of chronic diseases we need to understand how our intelligent control system works.

Continue reading the full article on our intelligent control system.

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Changing the Health Paradigm

Changing the Health Paradigm

Changing the Health Paradigm

Our intelligent control system

Infectious and chronic or non-infectious diseases

chronic diseasesWe are living longer, thanks to major advances in medical science.

In the past people died, often when young, from infectious diseases now we die predominantly from chronic or non-infectious diseases with three out of four people dying from a chronic disease.

We are in the midst of an epidemic of chronic diseases – overweight, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Medical science may keep us alive for a long time but far worse is that we may live for a long time with poor health. Our life span may be increasing but our health span is not.

This result from our modern food system which we need to change, but changes are never easy.

For the last thirty years, I have been working on how we need to change our food system so it is sustainable and leads to healthy people.

This requires a food paradigm shift – a different way of thinking about food.

As luck would have it I had spent the previous twenty years creating a paradigm shift in how engineers went about their design process.

This was an invaluable lesson on creating paradigm shifts and this is my story of creating a paradigm shift for food.

The birth of Computer Aided Engineering

Fifty years ago I was a humble lecturer in plastics processing at the RMIT in Melbourne. They had a mainframe computer, typical of the time with punched card input – a most unimpressive machine.

But then the very first mini-computer appeared and I had this instinct that this would change the way engineers went about their business.

I took out a second mortgage on my house to buy the second mini-computer to come to Australia, which is now laughable in its capabilities but still costed about a third of the value of my home.

The simulation with unexpected results

I learned computer programming and wrote, in my spare bedroom, a simulation of hot plastics flowing into a cold mould which was a pioneering technology for that time solving coupled complex non-linear partial differential equations.

The software may have been an achievement but the unexpected results changed the industry.

The industry was having problems in filling some moulds and the obvious solution was to make the flow channels bigger. That looks like common sense.

My software showed that some parts of the mould were filling first and the solution was to make some flow channels smaller to divert the flow into the more difficult areas of the mould.

That simulation showed that the current paradigm of how to design plastic moulds was deficient and my software led to a new paradigm which literally changed the industry across the globe.

Comparing Paradigms

The old paradigm for plastic flow was that the way to fill a mould was to make the flow channels bigger. It seems so obvious.

The new paradigm was to make some flow channels smaller to divert the flow to the more difficult to fill areas.

When I presented this idea at public lectures I was at first ridiculed and heckled. It made no sense. How can making flow channels smaller help a mould to fill?

But a few people heard the message, tried it and it worked and gradually became the accepted new paradigm.

Years later I face a similar situation. The current paradigm is that if you are getting fat then eat less. It seems so obvious.

The new paradigm I am presenting is that we get fat because our bodies (our intelligent control system) can sense deficiencies in our diet so we overeat and then get fat.

My solution is to fix these deficiencies by eating more, well not just more but more of the right sort of food.

I know the conventional wisdom is to eat less so to propose eating more sounds ridiculous. The missing words in that sentence are “more of the right sort of food”.

That automatically leads to eating less of the sugary fatty foods which make us fat.

 

From Plastics to Food

The company I formed Moldlfow became the leading exporter of technical software and was eventually sold for $500 million. Most of that went to the vulture capitalists but it still put me in the multi-millionaire category.

For my pioneering work on Computer Aided Engineering and creating the paradigm shift which changed the industry I was recognised by the Institute of Engineers as one of Australia’s leading innovators.

I took a complete turn in my life to focus on what I thought, and still think, is the major issue facing humanity, how to grow food sustainably which will keep us healthy.

Speculative Research – doing daft things

We like to think of science as a nice logical step by step process and that is certainly part of the scientific process.

But doing things which seem daft at the time can lead to new ways of thinking. Moldflow, a company worth half a billion dollars was the result of doing daft things that led to a new way of thinking.

I was in a position to spend a few million dollars on speculative research knowing that most would be a complete failure but that failures lead to new ways of thinking which can have a profound impact.

With climate change, I am even more convinced of the importance of how we grow our food. I could say that I have spent the last thirty years of my life focused on how to sustainably grow food that will make us healthy but that would not be strictly accurate as I was used as child labour in WW2 to help mum grow food in the German U-boat blockade.

Computers have a delete button – Doctors don’t

My wife is a medical doctor, I am an engineer and there is a vast difference in the mode of operation.

If I make an error in my computer programming I can just hit the delete button whereas a medical doctor has to follow strict protocols which slows the rate of change and the adoption of new paradigms.

I am only too well aware that the current paradigm for chronic diseases is that they are caused by fat in the wrong place and we store fat in the wrong place because we eat more energy food than we burn, the calorie balance theory.

Eat less, Exercise more – it is more complicated than that

eatless exercise moreThere is no disputing that calorie balance is an essential requirement for storing excess fat, this is just obeying the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy so it is not in dispute – this is what I call the “how” we store excess fat but it does not explain “why” we store excess fat.

Intelligent control software

It just so happened that I had written intelligent control software which can be quite complex as the software has to learn the behavioural characteristics of the specific machine, it is a form of Artificial Intelligence with self-learning capabilities.

Our bodies have a similar self-learning capability, as we can see from simple experiments on the human body, and the reason why we store excess fat, which leads to the chronic disease epidemic, is that our intelligent control system has decided that we need to store excess fat.

How is not the same as Why

whyThis is the “why” underlying chronic disease.

It then sends out signals so that we eat more food which is the “how” we end up storing fat and is the underlying cause of the epidemic of chronic disease.

To understand why our intelligent control system decides we need to store more fat we have to understand how it takes decisions based on the information it receives.

The key point here is that our intelligent control system is highly sophisticated and the result of millions of years of evolution. Over this extensive period, it has learned to manage our bodies with a food supply relatively low in energy food but with an abundance of both microbes and nutrients.

 

We changed our food system

It is now faced with a different food supply with an abundance of energy food but deficient in microbes and some nutrients. This is a direct result of changes to our food supply.

To rectify this we need to change the paradigm from calorie balance, which we have tried for decades without success to the intelligent control paradigm.

Changing paradigms is always difficult but in the medical world can be a matter of life and death so a cautionary approach, which may seem prudent, makes this even more difficult.

Effective democracy depends on pro-active Governments

too busyThe first problem we have to overcome is the modern phenomenon of busy work.

For the last thirty years, I have been working on how we need to change our food system so it is sustainable and leads to a healthy outcome and I am not a drongo.

I cannot condense thirty years of thinking in an email or two.

It needs intelligent time from someone prepared to consider new concepts with an open mind.

Hopefully, my little cartoon demonstrates the status better than any words.

This is a global issue, every twelve seconds some unfortunate person has a limb amputated from diabetes, eight million people a year.

This is the dominant issue for health globally and I have an instinct that by changing the paradigm to our intelligent control system I could be sitting on the solution – just as I had that instinct fifty years ago that computers would change the way engineers would carry out their daily business.

Colin

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Mind and body

Mind and body

Colin Austin © 11th Dec 2024 This document is published under the Creative Commons system which means that it can be copied and republished without further permissions but the author Colin Austin at gbiota.com must be recognised.

Our intelligent control system

Infectious and chronic or non-infectious diseases

chronic diseasesWe are living longer, thanks to major advances in medical science.

In the past people died, often when young, from infectious diseases now we die predominantly from chronic or non-infectious diseases with three out of four people dying from a chronic disease.

We are in the midst of an epidemic of chronic diseases overweight, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Medical science may keep us alive for a long time but far worse is that we may live for a long time with poor health. Our life span may be increasing but our health span is not.

The mind and body are inseparable

We have a mind and a body, they are inseparable with our mind controlling our bodies, I prefer to call the part of our mind that controls our body our intelligent control system.

Chronic diseases determine whether we are fit and healthy or fat and sick. They stem from our intelligent control system not working properly.

fat and skinnyA person may be obese because they suffer from food insecurity, this may have started in early childhood or in a war when food was scarce and is now firmly implanted in our mind or intelligent control system.

The person is obese because their intelligent control system has decided that it needs to store more fat so it sends out signals to both eat more and store the excess fat.

Going on a restrictive diet or taking appetite suppressant pills like Ozempic may appear to give some temporary benefit but is not facing the core of the problem which is food insecurity which may be hidden away in our subconscious so we are not even aware of it.

Some people are fat while others are skinny. It all depends on our intelligent control system.

If it decides we should be fat we end up fat and if it decides we should be skinny we end up skinny.

Finding out how our intelligent control system works

We need to understand how our intelligent control system works. Finding a cure once the chronic disease is well established can be very challenging.

For example, it is very difficult to cure blocked arteries which can cause death but it is relatively simple to avoid arteries becoming blocked in the first place.

Prevention is so much better than cure.

We are a communal animal, we cannot breed and thrive without our tribe. If we are suffering from a deep feeling of food insecurity we may find the solution is eating communally with sympathetic members of our tribe, often our family.

The support and understanding of our tribe which focuses on the underlying cause may be a far better solution than some restrictive diet which may make matters worse.

Fat in the wrong places

The underlying cause of these diseases is fat in the wrong place, in our tummies, pancreas, arteries and brain.

So what causes fat in the wrong place? It does not just happen.

Saying that it is because we eat more than we burn and the solution is to eat less and exercise may explain how we get fat, and has not been effective.

That is just restating the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy. It does not tell us why we get fat.

We need to understand why we get fat and the answer is because our intelligent control system decides we need to store more fat.

The big question

whyThe big question is why does our intelligent control system decide we need to store more fat?

Every single person has an intelligent control system which regulates their bodies.

This system controls our temperature, heart rate, breathing and most importantly our appetite, what and how much we want to eat and how much fat we store.

If we are going to resolve the epidemic of chronic diseases we need to understand how our intelligent control system works.

Understanding intelligent control systems

I am an engineer. Engineers create machines, and every machine has some form of control system. These can range from simple on-off switches to highly sophisticated intelligent control systems that learn the operating characteristics of a machine to anticipate changes before they happen.

I will describe an intelligent control system I wrote for irrigation and compare it to the intelligent control system in our bodies. This comparison will help us understand how this significantly more advanced biological control system may work.

Both systems are designed to control living organisms – relatively simple plants in one case and our complex bodies in the other.

 

Processors

  • In the irrigation system, there is just one processor. In the human body, we have three:
  • The Conscious Brain
    This allows us to decide what food we eat – fish and chips or a fresh salad. This is a deliberate choice.
  • The Subconscious Brain
    This determines what we want to eat, among many other functions. Some actions, like body temperature regulation and heart rate, are entirely outside our conscious control. Others, like breathing, are partially and temporarily controllable.
  • The Gut
    This contains trillions of microbes capable of communication, providing genuine intelligence. However, the results depend on the species of microbes present, which can create different “answers” – a complication akin to having a computer with conflicting outputs. Having a computer which gives different answers does not make life easy.

Awareness

When I suggest that we store fat because our intelligent control system decides that we need to store fat I am not suggesting that we can think ourselves thin.

We are obviously aware of what is happening in our conscious brain but our conscious brain is only a small part of our intelligence system and is very slow and clunky in comparison with our subconscious brain.

Look at catching a ball. Our conscious brain may decide we want to catch but is just too slow and clunky for us to catch the ball.

Our subconscious brain is much faster, looks at the speed and direction of the ball and works out where our hands must be to catch the ball. This takes the speed of our subconscious brain and a lot of learning and storing of information so it is available in the fraction of a second needed to catch the ball.

Our gut brain

baby swiping phoneWe have even less idea what is happening in our gut brain which is not even us.

We know that there are trillions of cells in our gut and they can communicate with each other to provide intelligence similar to a computer.

But we have no idea of the code that drives this super computer.

Science may be the art of managing truth, understanding how our intelligent control system works needs that art of managing ignorance.

The human brain is very good at that – just watch a baby in a pram swiping away at a mobile phone or electronic toy. They have no idea how it works but they can still have fun playing with it.

Fat and skinny

fat and skinny miceWe have known for a long time that we can make fat mice skinny and skinny mice fat simply by feeding them the pooh from the other mice.

Humans are not in the habit of eating each other pooh but we find the same thing happens with faecal transplants.

Sensors for the irrigation software and us

The irrigation software needs a number of sensors.

It needs a soil moisture sensor to measure the moisture level in the soil. This may give multiple values for different positions in the soil but otherwise is simple.

Our bodies are much more complex, we sense much more than full or empty.

We can sense the level of many different chemicals in our bodies, if we spend time digging in the garden on a hot day we can detect a deficiency in our salt levels so we may have a craving for salted nuts rather than for cheesecake.

The irrigation software also needs measurements of how much water is applied at each irrigation, evaporation and predicted evaporation based on data from the weather forecast, rainfall and predicted rainfall and time of the season or rather the stage of development of the plant.

Our bodies are also receiving a plethora of information about events now and predicted.

Learning and Adaption

The initial trial

When seeds are first planted, the irrigation software has no data about the “crop factor” (the ratio of water use to evaporation). It begins by applying a trial amount of water and observing the results – analogous to taking a sip of unfamiliar food.

Learning begins

The software adjusts its calculations based on the trial, learning the relationship between water applied and soil moisture levels. This is akin to us sampling food to decide if it’s bland and can be eaten with gusto or spicy and requires caution.

Similarly, human babies begin with fat reserves and learn to suckle, sensing fullness and satisfaction. If a baby experiences food insecurity (e.g., no breast appears when hungry), it may develop lifelong food cravings and anxiety.

Understanding and learning

We rarely fully understand the world around us but we manage by a sophisticated process of observation and trial and error.

We may start by making a small change and observe what happens, we then may make a bigger change based on what happened with the small change.

You can see this happening from babies to adults, take a sip to see if the curry it mild or hot, observe the results then take a mouthful or just take a very small serving.

That is the way man made intelligent control system works, we call it predictor-corrector schemes and in our machines, we have developed this to very high levels measuring not only the result, but the rate of change of result and any accumulated errors or offset.

This is the way machine controllers work and is the way our body’s control system work.

Self-Learning and Prediction

I designed the irrigation software to self-correct – predict, apply, observe, and refine. Humans perform this prediction-correction process naturally, from learning to walk to gauging how much to eat.

 

Processors

  • In the irrigation system, there is just one processor. In the human body, we have three:

  • The Conscious Brain
    This allows us to decide what food we eat – fish and chips or a fresh salad. This is a deliberate choice.

  • The Subconscious Brain
    This determines what we want to eat, among many other functions. Some actions, like body temperature regulation and heart rate, are entirely outside our conscious control. Others, like breathing, are partially and temporarily controllable.

  • The Gut
    This contains trillions of microbes capable of communication, providing genuine intelligence. However, the results depend on the species of microbes present, which can create different “answers” – a complication akin to having a computer with conflicting outputs. Having a computer which gives different answers does not make life easy.

Awareness

When I suggest that we store fat because our intelligent control system decides that we need to store fat I am not suggesting that we can think ourselves thin.

We are obviously aware of what is happening in our conscious brain but our conscious brain is only a small part of our intelligence system and is very slow and clunky in comparison with our subconscious brain.

Look at catching a ball. Our conscious brain may decide we want to catch but is just too slow and clunky for us to catch the ball.

Our subconscious brain is much faster, looks at the speed and direction of the ball and works out where our hands must be to catch the ball. This takes the speed of our subconscious brain and a lot of learning and storing of information so it is available in the fraction of a second needed to catch the ball.

Our gut brain

We have even less idea what is happening in our gut brain which is not even us.

We know that there are trillions of cells in our gut and they can communicate with each other to provide intelligence similar to a computer.

But we have no idea of the code that drives this super computer.

Science may be the art of managing truth, understanding how our intelligent control system works needs that art of managing ignorance.

The human brain is very good at that – just watch a baby in a pram swiping away at a mobile phone or electronic toy. They have no idea how it works but they can still have fun playing with it.

Fat and skinny

We have known for a long time that we can make fat mice skinny and skinny mice fat simply by feeding them the pooh from the other mice.

Humans are not in the habit of eating each other pooh but we find the same thing happens with faecal transplants.

Sensors for the irrigation software and us

The irrigation software needs a number of sensors.

It needs a soil moisture sensor to measure the moisture level in the soil. This may give multiple values for different positions in the soil but otherwise is simple.

Our bodies are much more complex, we sense much more than full or empty.

We can sense the level of many different chemicals in our bodies, if we spend time digging in the garden on a hot day we can detect a deficiency in our salt levels so we may have a craving for salted nuts rather than for cheesecake.

The irrigation software also needs measurements of how much water is applied at each irrigation, evaporation and predicted evaporation based on data from the weather forecast, rainfall and predicted rainfall and time of the season or rather the stage of development of the plant.

Our bodies are also receiving a plethora of information about events now and predicted.

Learning and Adaption

The initial trial

When seeds are first planted, the irrigation software has no data about the “crop factor” (the ratio of water use to evaporation). It begins by applying a trial amount of water and observing the results – analogous to taking a sip of unfamiliar food.

Learning begins

The software adjusts its calculations based on the trial, learning the relationship between water applied and soil moisture levels. This is akin to us sampling food to decide if it’s bland and can be eaten with gusto or spicy and requires caution.

Similarly, human babies begin with fat reserves and learn to suckle, sensing fullness and satisfaction. If a baby experiences food insecurity (e.g., no breast appears when hungry), it may develop lifelong food cravings and anxiety.

Understanding and learning

We rarely fully understand the world around us but we manage by a sophisticated process of observation and trial and error.

We may start by making a small change and observe what happens, we then may make a bigger change based on what happened with the small change.

You can see this happening from babies to adults, take a sip to see if the curry it mild or hot, observe the results then take a mouthful or just take a very small serving.

That is the way man made intelligent control system works, we call it predictor-corrector schemes and in our machines, we have developed this to very high levels measuring not only the result, but the rate of change of result and any accumulated errors or offset.

This is the way machine controllers work and is the way our body’s control system work.

Self-Learning and Prediction

I designed the irrigation software to self-correct – predict, apply, observe, and refine. Humans perform this prediction-correction process naturally, from learning to walk to gauging how much to eat.

 

Anticipation

kid on bikeBoth the babies and the plants now have a common situation – they are both starting to grow and need more food or water.

In addition to the predictor-corrector capability the irrigation software also needs an anticipation capability.

This has to operate at several levels. Based on the weather forecast for rainfall and evaporation the software anticipates how much water needs to be applied but that is not enough.

The plants are continuously growing, so basing the water demand on the last irrigation is always going to mean that less water is applied than is actually needed.

This has to be allowed for by building in a method of looking at the rate of change of the crop factor so the amount of water applied is increased to allow for the increased growth of the plants.

If this sounds complicated let me tell you that the human brain is absolutely superb at this.

Just watch a three year old kid on a bike. They have absolutely no understanding of gyroscopic couples and stability factors. They learn that they have to steer in the direction they feel the bike is falling, which is inherent with gyroscopic couples and they don’t fall off.

By the time they have reached adulthood, they have acquired an incredible range of anticipatory skills. Catching a ball is a classic, you put your hands where you anticipate the balls will be when it get near you.

Observing our intelligent control system

Understanding our intelligent control system should be central to combating chronic diseases. Despite advances in computing, artificial intelligence, and biochemistry, research into this system remains sparse. This neglect may stem from its perceived complexity.

Yet, even without sophisticated tools, we can observe patterns. For example, after gardening on a hot day, I crave salty foods, not sweets – evidence that my control system senses deficiencies and responds accordingly.

Maybe it has been put in the too hard basket, but we don’t have to completely understand it, we can do what artificial intelligence does, which has no understanding – look for patterns.

That is what I do as I try and work out how my intelligent control system works. It does not take any sophisticated scientific equipment, I don’t need any complex scientific equipment to tell if I am hungry, I can tell if I am hungry or satisfied or if I am craving some specific food.

Blood Sugar Regulation

If I spend time digging away in my garden on a hot summer day I come inside craving for some salty food.

That tells me that my intelligent control system does more than tell me if I am full or hungry but can sense deficiencies in my body, has learned over time which foods remedy that deficiency and send out signals so I want to get stuck into a packet of salty nut and not a slice of sugary cheesecake, which I normally gobble up at speed.

Just by digging in my garden, I have already learned a lot about my intelligent control system.

Continuous blood sugar monitoring

I do wear a continuous blood sugar monitor ancontinuous blood sugar monitord compare this with what I eat and other events.

We know that when we eat food it is first processed in our gut and then enters the blood, largely as sugars to power our muscles and our bodies.

That will create a blood sugar spike which our intelligent control system treats as an error in a predictor-corrector system.

Our intelligent control system can detect blood sugar levels and as soon as they start to rise beyond an acceptable level will send out messages to convert these sugars into fats which are then hopefully stored where fat should be stored, in our bums.

Again our intelligent control system senses when our blood sugar levels drop and will send out messages to turn some of that fat back into sugars to power our muscles.

Using a continuous blood sugar monitor I can watch this process of my intelligent control system shunting sugars and fat backwards and forwards so I don’t drop dead from lack of energy or make my blood so viscous with excess sugars that it can no longer flow into the fine capillaries throughout my body.

 

My intelligent control system is continuously learning

But I see much more – every morning just as I am waking up my blood sugar rises. I have not eaten anything so I know that my intelligent control system can learn and I have taught it, without thinking, that I go for a walk before breakfast so will need extra energy.

As I walk, or ride my bike, I might expect that my blood sugar levels may drop as I am burning up energy, but that is not what happens, it maintains or increases the level.

Intelligent Control Software

When I used to write software for intelligent control systems I looked at graphs which would tell me how well (or otherwise) my software was working.

The responses I see from my blood sugar graphs bear an uncanny resemblance to the graphs I used to see from the machines.

But there are even more surprises in store.

I expected to see the graphs fluctuate up and down as it tried to balance the energy coming in from the food I ate, basically in three pulses a day at the main meal times and the energy I was using from my morning walk, my sitting at my terminal reading all those emails and the sporadic energy burst as I worked in my garden or lugged out the rubbish bins.

That is what I saw and it was working pretty well with relatively minor fluctuations as you would expect from a well functioning control system that was under control.

Expect the unexpected

What I did not expect is that there would be much larger variations which I could not relate to any food or energy load.

Mostly there were high peaks soon after I had eaten with the graph often going above the allowable range for a short period indicating that my intelligent irrigation system is working as expected.

Unexpected lows

It is natural to expect that eating food will lead to a blood sugar spike, it makes common sense.

However, I do many experiments trying to understand the link between food and blood sugars.

I was therefore very surprised to see my blood sugar levels dropping below the minimum bar when I drank a green smoothie made from selected vegetables.

My explanation is that it takes a certain amount of energy to digest food. Drinking a smoothie made from vegetables with no fruit takes more energy than is readily available from the vegetables to my blood sugar levels drop.

An even bigger surprise

I was looking for connections between food and blood sugar levels. It was no surprise that stress also caused a significant increase in blood sugar although the extent was surprising.

We live in a high stress society but it may well be that our high stress lifestyle is having a big impact on the chronic disease epidemic as the highly processed food industry.

Watching videos with music and dancing

dancingSometimes I get tired and just want to relax so watch videos with music and youngsters dancing.

I am not doing anything, just sitting and watching so it would be reasonable to expect my blood sugars to be at equilibrium levels.

But that is not what happens, and what happens is what happens, regardless of what the theory says.

My blood sugar levels rise, presumably because my intelligent control system, with its build in anticipation effect that is essential to all intelligent control systems, is anticipating that I will jump and start leaping around in that crazy gyroscopics I delude myself is dancing.

You just cannot seperate body and mind.

The punch line

Chronic diseases are now the greatest health issue across the globe. We need to move on from thinking that this can be cured by the simplistic calorie balance theory and even our high levels of sophistication in biochemistry – that is just the “how” and start thinking about the “why” which means understanding how our intelligent control system works.

 

Action plan

 

  1. Shift the Paradigm
    Move from focusing on calorie imbalance to understanding and optimising our intelligent control system.
  2. Focus on Gut Biota
    Support appropriate gut microbes, as emphasized in Gbiota technology. This is the aim of the Gbiota technology which is well described in the following articles.
  3. Train the Control System
    Develop a sense of food security to reduce lifelong cravings and stress-related eating habits. We must learn how to train our intelligent control system, particularly focusing on creating a feeling of security.
  4. Foster a Supportive Society
    Address societal stressors contributing to chronic disease and mental health crises, such as suicide among vulnerable populations. The epidemic of chronic disease is bad enough but we also need to recognise that suicide among young girls and middle aged men is the commonest cause of death.

 

 

 

Summary – Rediscovering Gut Health

highly processed foodNot so long ago, our gut health thrived naturally.

Beneficial microbes from the soil entered our food, replenishing our gut biota effortlessly as we consumed fresh plants. These microscopic allies worked together like a supercomputer within us, communicating and releasing hormones to regulate hunger and maintain balance.

It is very simple, our intelligent control system, a subconscious brain formed from our head and gut-brain decides how much sugar we need in our blood and how much fat we need to store in our bodies.

This is subconscious, it decides based on the current situation and learning from the first suck on mum’s breast to that last slice of cheesecake you scoffed.

It sends out signals to regulate our blood sugar and fat levels. We can’t stop these signals – we have no control over our subconscious brain.

But we can restrict our food intake which certainly can work in the short-term but may make matters worse in the long term.

It is only by understanding how this intelligent control system works that we have any hope of preventing the epidemic of chronic disease.

Back then, overeating was rare, and while infectious diseases were a concern, chronic conditions were virtually unheard of.

Medical science has since made remarkable strides in combating infectious diseases.

However, modern food systems – while more hygienic – have inadvertently stripped away the essential microbes our bodies depend on.

The result? A global surge in chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and dementia, far outweighing the threat of communicable illnesses.

Introducing Gbiota Technology: Nurturing Gut-Brain Health

Gbiota technology breeds beneficial microbes in the soil under carefully controlled conditions avoiding the harmful microbes, leading to a healthy and intelligent gut-brain so we feel full and naturally satisfied and no longer want to overeat.

Simple, Affordable, and Life-Changing

This is gaining momentum among health-conscious individuals who are ready to grow their food in microbe-rich, living soil.

But to make a real dent in the chronic disease epidemic, we need visionaries – people and businesses committed to bringing this solution to their communities.

Join the Movement

Whether you’re looking to improve your own health as a home grower or interested in building a profitable business that benefits the community Gbiota is your opportunity to make a difference.

Let’s work together to create healthier communities and a brighter future.

Reach out to us today at colin@gbiota.com. Your health – and your community – will thank you!

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