Ecological Medicine: Stewardship of Your Internal Biome

The human being is a living ecosystem that sustains thousands of species of microbes working in symbiosis. What we eat and how we live have enormous impacts on the health of this internal ecosystem, and improper nutrition and lifestyle choices can predispose us to disease and faulty immunity. Learn how proper nutrition through eating organic, local, probiotic, and traditional foods can sustain health, as well as prevent and address the Western world’s most prevalent diseases. Come join in this discussion and learn how the preparation of bitter digestive tinctures and fermented vegetables and grains can help us heal. This class will be led by Mika and Kenzie McDonald. Mika is an environmental activist, health researcher, and writer particularly interested in fusing ecological concepts, traditional healing, and modern medicine into a holistic framework to treat and prevent disease. Kenzie farms, wildcrafts, forages, and makes herbal medicine in Marshfield, VT. She has experienced a diversity of local food systems and community development in the Middle East, West Africa, California, and Latin America. Both sisters are currently enrolled in Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism.