PROJECT GREEN BEARD

SHARED STORIES

Health and fitness mean something different in our lives. Here are people in our communities who share some things in common: their power to persevere through hardships, and their pursuit of better overall health. 

This is: Project Green Beard 

WHEN PERSONAL GOALS TAKE SHAPE AS THE HEALTH OF A COMMUNITY

Lenore Estrada grew up in Stockton and has navigated obstacles to start Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco after graduating from Yale and a stint in tech. She now operates the business while helping uplift other small businesses through the non-profit, SF New Deal. Her idea of healthy involves food and a more equitable community.
Photo by Jessica Chou

HAVING FUN IS THE KEY TO A HEALTHY LIFE, BUT IT'S NOT ALL THAT SIMPLE

Emily, founder of TayloredFit Solutions, is a sports diversity advocate and world class coach doing work in our community. What's her take on health?
Photo by Michael Estrada

TRAVERSING ENVIRONMENTALISM AND FIGHTING RACISM REQUIRE PROACTIVE LEADERSHIP

The outdoors are for everyone. Morgan is an Environmental Activism Associate with Patagonia. We explore how her passion in sports and her competitive spirit has driven her to help bring an indisputable right to nature to underrepresented communities.
Sample of off/pre-season training regimen for field sports included!
Photo courtesy of Morgan Greenwood

HEALTH WITH ROOTS IN FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY

She gardens, volunteers with Brown Girls Surf, plays rugby, studies and works passionately, all while finding a path to her own definition of healthy.
Check out why we're inspired by her and the workout that we tailored for her.

Photo courtesy of Shannon Brown

EVERYDAY MOVEMENTS: START OR END BY WIGGLING YOUR BIG TOE

Waiting for her favorite forest trails to reopen, Syd shares how she found her calling, and how small simple everyday practices helps them arrive at a new calm while they empowers others. Holistic, integrative therapies and daily movement can effectively alleviate pain and allow the body function more optimally--maybe starting from your big toe.
Photo courtesy of Syd Fleischer

NOGGINS IN NATURE

Linnea Delucchi is in the woods, teaching a group of kids away from cityscapes and bustling streets; in her free time, she’s going on trail-runs through nature. She describes her best career decision to be the moment she chose to work in adaptive skiing--opening her up to opportunities to work with disadvantaged groups while still being outside, her favorite place to be. To be outside and helping people overcome personal barriers, is 100% what she wants to do.
Photo Courtesy of Linnea Delucchi

FINDING MOVEMENT

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SPILL YOUR GUTS: THE JUICY DETAILS ABOUT THE MICROBIOME

JOSIE X PGB

Everyone already knows how the old saying goes -- we are what we eat -- but really we are what our microbiome digests. So let’s begin our digestion of what we know about the microbiome. 

WHO has a microbiome? Everyone. 

WHAT influences the microbiome? Everything: from age, diet, medications, pets, friends, family and roommates.

WHEN is the microbiome working? All the time. Like ourselves, the microbiome works by a biological clock, and dominant bacteria and functions fluctuate throughout the day. 

WHERE is the microbiome located? Our microbiome is present wherever our bodies meet the environment: our skin, lungs, and even the gut. (Really the gut? Yes, our guts are technically a tube within us that encloses the food from the outside to keep it outside).

WHY should we care about our microbiome? Because it’s a huge part of our health! In specific places, the microbiome’s role can change. For example, the skin microbiome contributes to external health (like dermatitis) while lung + gut microbiomes contribute to internal health (pulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases, respectively). 

So if everyone has a microbiome that is influenced by everything we eat, touch, do (or not do), and the microbiome contributes to both internal and external health, why are we just now hearing about it? The aweing answer is: technology. 

If the DNA for a person’s genome is a book, it’d be over 6 million characters, longer than the world record for the longest novel (9 million characters). The key method that tells the story of our microbiome is called High-Throughput Sequencing: we are ‘sequencing’ the genetics at a ‘high-throughput’ pace for better cost effectiveness. Compared to a human, computers are speedy hares at reading the unabridged novel of each individual. Thank you High-Throughput Sequencing. The more reads per sample, the more accurate the method (ie: reducing the noise from contamination, by products, etc)... which also means the more data generated. 

This new technology is only useful if the reads are translatable, and the abundance of data generated from sequencing makes line graphs and pie charts look like child’s play when reading results. Only those who can read the results can interpret the data and furthermore, determine for themselves if the study is sound or just sounds like (pun intended)... bullshit. It’s easy to forget that experts are also human, and their subconscious views (like politics) can influence the outcome of the study (aka bias). 

Everyone has a microbiome that is influenced by everything we eat, touch, do (or not do), and the microbiome contributes to both internal and external health, but data and graphs are like cigarette advertisements -- sexy, flashy, and full of misleading messages. 

That’s why it’s important for humanity to work together: the more perspectives, the less biases. 

It’s important for individuals to take accountability for their own actions, reading, and health.

That’s why Project Green Beard exists: to build a greater sense of community. 

That’s why we at PGB want to share with you how to dissect data for a greater collective knowledge like our microbiome digests food for thought.