Mary Ruddick | Tribal Wisdom in Modernity: How Birthing + Gut Microbiome Impact Your Entire LIFE

Wellness + Wisdom | Episode 690

How does tribal wisdom inspire modern practices to nurture health and well-being in ourselves and our children?

Mary Ruddick | Tribal Wisdom in Modernity: How Birthing + Gut Microbiome Impact Your Entire LIFEMary Ruddick, Researcher + Ancestral Nutritionist, joins Josh Trent on the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast, episode 690, to explore the correlation between chronic illnesses and the modern lifestyle, how traditional tribal practices foster resilience and wellbeing, and why C-sections disrupt essential bacterial transfer crucial for a baby’s gut and immune health.

“The places that I go are very traditional. They have not been colonized. They're not wearing T-shirts. They are not dire. They're not hungry. They are the highest version of us. There aren't divorces or cheating. I haven't seen drug abuse or alcoholism. They're quite happy units.” – Mary Ruddick


In This Episode, Mary Ruddick Uncovers:

[01:30] Chronic Diseases Are Misunderstood

  • Mary Ruddick
  • Life is about the experience of being alive.
  • How Mary's work is based on caring and understanding.
  • Why people with chronic illness are misunderstood.
  • Many people feel like their disease is their fault.

[08:05] Tribal Culture

  • What Mary has learned from the tribes she's visited.
  • Why people who live in tribes feel greater safety and happiness.
  • How the tribal ways of taking care of children should be an inspiration for us.
  • Why the Mayans have 3-year-old children participate in temazcal ceremonies.

[15:10] Raising Children with Love + Safety

  • 300 (2006)
  • Why in the Amazon children go hunting naked and barefoot.
  • How Mary feels safe in tribal communities because everyone else feels safe.
  • Why tribal parenting is more loving than parenting in the modern world.

[19:00] Tribalism in The West

[24:50] Traditional Ways of Birthing + Raising Children

  • What affects infant bonding and gut microbiome.
  • The difference between female and male bonding with an infant.
  • Why children should grow up surrounded by extended family.
  • How traditional birthing practices changed in the 70s.
  • Why we need specific bacteria from our mother to be physically and mentally well.

[33:30] How to Heal C-Section Born Babies

  • How parents can course-correct the consequences of C-section.
  • Why parents should be a similar height to prevent C-sections.
  • How the antibiotics used during C-sections negatively affect nursing.
  • Why probiotics and supplements can't replace the bacteria children get through birth.

[41:40] Gut Microbiome Health

  • How dental health is connected to the gut microbiome.
  • Why Mary wasn't as healthy as she is now when she was younger.
  • How our microbiome doesn't have time to adjust to new environments when we travel.
  • Why she healed from a tropical infection through a microbiome-focused diet.
  • How she healed after 12 years from a chronic disease that most people don't heal from.

[49:55] Moving Through Chronic Illness

  • Why Mary felt like a burden when her family was taking care of her when she was ill.
  • How imagining her death and funeral helped her see life differently.
  • Why resistance makes our suffering last longer.
  • How surrender helps us grow.

[56:50] The Hero's Journey

  • The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell
  • Why the hero and the villain have the same backstory.
  • What happens when we're able to hold both the dark and the light.
  • The purpose of mystery and curiosity in our lives.
  • Why wellness is rooted in flexibility.
  • How focusing on the present moment removes the fear of the future.

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Power Quotes From The Show

C-Section Birth Can Ruin a Baby's Gut Microbiome

“In many places, there is a 50% or higher rate of births through C-section and those are usually from women that have already had antibiotics. But even if they hadn't, they're going to have IV antibiotics during the C-section. So when they nurse, the children are not going to get the same microbes that they would have if the mother didn't take antibiotics.”Mary Ruddick

Traditional VS Modern Tribalism

“Tribalism in the traditional context is what we all want. It is a deep breath of life. Whereas tribalism in our cultures here in the West tends to be the opposite. It tends to be judgmental, exclusionary, reason for violence and aggression. And I really think a lot of it comes down to the ill health of the individuals building up that society.”Mary Ruddick

Children In Tribes Are Raised With Confidence

“People in tribes have true confidence. And they have it from competence. They're taught competence from a very young age. They're given the tools where they can face danger, but at the same time in a place where they're watched. And so the children grow up with this sense of confidence that's very rational. It's not this self-esteem movement.”Mary Ruddick



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About Mary Ruddick

Mary Ruddick | Tribal Wisdom in Modernity: How Birthing + Gut Microbiome Impact Your Entire LIFEDubbed the “Sherlock Holmes of Health” for her unique ability to expeditiously assess and remediate rare neuromuscular conditions that others have deemed impossible, Mary Ruddick is a seasoned researcher, educator, medical nutritionist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

She can regularly be found endangering herself in the untouched corners of the world to learn from and distill the wisdom from the last remaining traditional cultures.

When not immersing herself from the Arctic to the Amazon, she can be found sharing her findings and knowledge via her sought-after keynote speeches, 100+ podcast appearances, and her work both in front and behind the camera.

Mary can be found on countless international TV and film productions (watch for the 2023 Netflix documentary, “Food Lies” for her next appearance). Behind the scenes, she leads film crews to otherwise inaccessible tribal regions thanks in large part to her well-established friendships amongst the indigenous.

Her writing has been published in medical journals and her own inspirational healing story can be found within Palmer Kippola’s best-selling book, “Beat Autoimmune.”


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About Josh Trent

Josh Trent lives in Austin, Texas with his love Carrie Michelle, son Novah, daughter Nayah + a cat named Cleo. He is the host of the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast and the creator of the BREATHE: Breath + Wellness Program. Josh has spent the past 20+ years as a trainer, researcher + facilitator discovering the physical and emotional intelligence for humans to thrive in our modern world. Helping humans LIBERATE their mental, emotional, physical, spiritual + financial self through podcasts, programs + global community that believe in optimizing our potential to live life well.

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