This week, I am talking with Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein on why dirt -- yup, that's right, I said DIRT -- is an integral part of good health.

Maya Shetreat-Klein, MD is a pediatric neurologist, herbalist, urban farmer, naturalist and author of The Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids with Food Straight from Soil, which has been translated into ten languages. Dr. Maya’s philosophy is that the health of our inner terrain—our bodies– is a reflection of the health of our outer terrain, the natural world around us. Gut, immune and nervous system—and the many microbes therein—are a direct reflection of the food we eat and where that food comes from, from the soil it’s grown in to the water it swims in to the synthetic chemicals that it’s bathed in. Fresh food, microbes (that’s right, germs) and elements of nature—soil, sunshine, water, and fresh air—make children resilient and prevent or reverse their illness.

Here's a quick snapshot of what you'll learn in this interview:

• How dirt impacts on gut health, immune health, and brain health
• Why we came to believe dirt is bad for us
• How dishwashers is linked to allergies and asthma
• The "hygeine hypothesis" of autoimmune disease
• How dirt and getting dirty relates to the gut, health and energy
• Why what you think you know about "bad” bacteria and "good" bacteria may be wrong
• Why Maya does not like the term ingredients
• What GMOs really are
• How multiple researchers have been exposed in promoting GMOs after being paid to do so
• Why feeding the world is not about more GMO crops, but about food distribution
• The "Cell Danger Response" and how toxins impact the mitochondria