Gut health is a rather a new topic in research and we’re only just beginning to understand more about it.
What we are starting to realize is that gut health is involved in so many (if not all) other processes in our body
– blood sugar control, metabolism, immune system, mental health…
Because of that the hip new buzzword is ‘gut microbiome’. But what is that really?
Inside your colon lives said microbiome.
This bacterial ecosystem accounts for the majority of cells in your body, there are 10 bacteria cells to every 1 human cell.
Disruptions in the microbiome are linked to cognitive disorders such as anxiety, depression and autism (3). If you want to read up on current studies check out the Human Microbiome Project to dive into numerous recent studies.
In order for you get a clearer picture how YOU can make sure YOUR microbiome is keeping you feeling and performing well, let’s take a closer look at how your food actually ends up there.
Its Function:
These are microorganisms introduced into gut flora, aka good bacteria.
Many times these strains are just more of the bacteria already living in your gut.
You can supplement with probiotics to keep your ecosystem flourishing, diverse, alive and well. BUT, if you do so, make sure your probiotics are of high quality, which means they need to be refrigerated, contain over 30 strains and 80 million live culture and support your large and small intestines with both lactobacillus and bifidobacterium strains.
However, you can also simply ensure you consume a good amount of probiotic foods, such as natural (not sweetened, not even with artificial sweeteners!) yoghurt, sauerkraut or kimchi (needs to be of the kind that has to be refrigerated, otherwise it won’t contain live cultures), kombucha (same is the case here), nato…
This is a nondigestible food ingredient that promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms. Feeding your healthy gut prebiotics reduces the ability of disease-causing microorganisms (or bad bacteria like Candida or Yeast, Albicans or Fungi) to populate the colon and feeds your good bacteria (so the probiotics you just consumed).
Types of prebiotics include:
Prebiotics really don’t need to be supplemented as this beneficial fiber exists in nature in abundance, for example (2):
There are many other ways to improve your gut microbiome, including:
Then bottom line, your gut microbiome is made up of trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes. The gut microbiome plays a very important role in your health by helping control digestion and benefiting your immune system and many other aspects of health. An imbalance of unhealthy and healthy microbes in the intestines may contribute to weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and other disorders.
To help support the growth of healthy microbes in your gut, eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fermented foods.