From Rocks to Soil
About a billion years ago, microbiology began breaking down rock, releasing mineral sand forming soil. Plants grew, provided energy to microbes, and died back to create nutrient-rich earth. This was the foundation of all future food systems.
Early Pre-Human Diet
Around a million years ago, pre-human creatures ate a wide variety of wild plants. These plants contained minerals, vitamins and what we now call phytonutrients. Their diets were rich in nutrients but low in energy. They spent much of their time chewing, but they developed strong gut biology and strong immune systems.
The earliest diets were nutrient-dense and gut-supportive, but low in energy.
Cooking and Brain Development
A few hundred thousand years ago, early humans learned to manage fire and cook food. Cooking released more nutrition from plants and allowed us to eat animals that ate plants. This provided more energy and supported the development of larger, more capable brains.
Agriculture and Settled Communities
About ten thousand years ago, agriculture emerged. We grew crops and raised animals, gaining reliable access to energy-rich foods.
Soil was still mineral-rich, and gardens provided nutrient diversity. However, living in groups meant infectious disease spread more easily, and our gut biology and immune systems began to weaken.
Industrial Farming and Chemical Inputs
Fifty years ago, soils began losing essential minerals. Chemical fertilisers increased yields but produced high-energy, low-nutrient food. Antibiotics helped control infectious disease, and lifespan rose. But weakened gut biology led to modern chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and dementia.
High-energy, low-nutrient food weakened the gut biology that regulates appetite and immunity.
Supplements and the Search for Solutions
Twenty years ago, we realised nutrients and trace minerals were critical, so supplement industries grew. But pills did not restore gut biology or immune strength. Some people recognised that simply growing food in nutrient-rich living soil could restore gut function — but many found these foods required more chewing and had stronger flavours.
Recent Shift in Awareness
Recently, global events reminded us how important gut biology and immune resilience are. This led some to take those same nutrient-dense plants, blend them with spices and herbs to make them taste good, and drink them as smoothies.
The Gbiota smoothie is simply nutrient-rich plants from living soil, made enjoyable enough to eat every day.
