Your Gut Microbiome PART 3
In order to keep our microbiome healthy, we have to feed it food that will help proliferate the good bacteria and let the bad bacteria wither and die. Bad bacteria feed and proliferate on the items listed below, creating an overgrowth, which can create a whole chain of health issues that were described in Parts 1 and 2. Let’s look at what can affect our microbiome:
What to Avoid
Artificial sweeteners - aspartame, sucralose, high fructose corn syrup, and saccharin not only affects the gut microbiome in a negative way, but may cause metabolic changes, such as weight gain and sugar cravings. Ironic!
Sugar - Too much sugar can create an imbalance within the gut microbiome by feeding the bad bacteria, which can lead to food cravings further damaging the gut lining, and creating inflammation.
Processed foods - If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the label, it’s not good for you or your gut. Stick with whole foods. Make the time to prepare your own food as much as possible. Shop around the perimeter of a supermarket. Use instant or quick cooking foods in an emergency only, not on an everyday basis.
Allergens: Gluten (a protein found in grains, such as wheat, barley and rye) is a big one. It can eat away at the one cell thick lining of the gut, creating something called “leaky gut”. That lining is the barrier of protection to the bloodstream. Now you have foreign particles entering the bloodstream creating an immune response, inflammation. Allergens may also include soy, corn, dairy, sugar, and legumes.
Stress- Can lead to inflammation, which is never good.
Lack of sleep and exercise - Exercise can enhance the number of beneficial microbial species and that the microbiota is responsive to the homeostatic and physiological variations due to exercise. Sleep leads to microbiome diversity.
Antibacterial soaps- It seems good at the time, but we are also taking away the good with the bad. Regular soap and water will do!
Antibiotics and cheap feed given to animals we eat, eggs, milk - We are what we eat. Animals are given cheap feed such as soy and corn (also called “vegetarian feed”), which are not their natural diet. It fattens up the animal for more taste, but leaves the animal unhealthy in the process, leading to increased infections including e coli. Here comes the antibiotics to fix that! Now you are eating their antibiotics, plus the allergens corn and soy diet. Grass Fed or Pasture raised meat, eggs, and dairy is best, since it is their natural diet, and their body can digest it, and it’s better for the environment. I am obsessed with grass fed butter and will post about it soon.
Prescribed Antibiotics - An important invention of Western Medicine and has saved so many lives, but has been prescribed too liberally. Not only does it destroy our microbiome by taking the good with the bad, but can permanently alter the delicate balance of the microbiota and create resistant bacteria. Short term use of probiotics is promising, but there is controversy as to whether they are effective or create an overgrowth of a certain strain, creating more imbalance in the biodiversity. You can have too much of a good thing. This research is ongoing.
Let's Talk Prebiotics and Probiotics
Taking pills and not changing your diet will not be enough to alter the good bacteria. Once again, you have to stop feeding the bad bacteria by trying to cut out or greatly reducing the items mentioned above. Probiotics in pill form is an unregulated market and there is mixed research about it’s benefits. It’s also unknown how much of which strain to take. We don’t yet know what the “ideal” amount of daily prebiotic or probiotic intake is, and there’s no map of exactly which strains of probiotic bacteria use which kinds of prebiotics. Talk about a mouthful!
Prebiotics is a fiber that is not able to break down by stomach acid or digestive enzymes. Instead, prebiotics travel to our lower gastrointestinal tract where they’re fermented by probiotic bacteria. Prebiotic include:
Fructooligosaccharide (FOS), found in onions, chicory, garlic, asparagus, and Jerusalem artichokes
Galactooligosaccharide (GOS), from breast milk and cruciferous vegetables
Xylooligosaccharides (XOS), found in raw honey, xylitol, and bamboo shoots
Inulin, found in bananas, chicory, and jerusalem artichoke
Resistant starch, found in potato starch, cooked and cooled rice, green banana and other sources *
.In a nutshell, prebiotics are what feed probiotics and probiotics are microorganisms that are beneficial for our health. Here are some of the different strains of probiotics.
Lactobaccilus plantarum: Found in kimchi, sauerkraut, and other cultured vegetables, this bug is one of the most beneficial bacteria in your body.
Lactobaccilus acidophilus: L. acidophilus is the darling of fermented dairy products, including yogurt. It keeps the balance of good vs. bad bacteria in check and in doing so, aids your immune system. In women, it helps to curb the growth of Candida albicans, a fungus that can cause yeast infections
Lactobaccilus brevis: Sauerkraut and pickles owe a lot of their benefits to this bug, which improves immune function by increasing cellular immunity and even enhancing killer T cell activity.
Bifidobacterium lactis (also called B. animalis): Fermented milk products like yogurt contain this gem, which is well documented to have a powerful effect on preventing digestive ills and boosting immunity.
Bifidobacterium longum: Just one of the 32 species that belong to the genus bifidobacterium, this is one of the first bugs that colonize our bodies at birth.
Read more about probiotics here.
Make Your Own Probiotic Rich Food!
By the time you read this, I will be eating my own yogurt made from scratch! I received my order of a mild starter culture from Cultures of Health. I used grass fed milk, and will experiment with raw milk as well. Many yogurts come disguised with enough sugar content to be a candy bar, so I am happy to be able to control that and my source of milk with minimal ingredients. You can also make non dairy yogurt from their starters- their website is a wonder! Or skip the starter if you have an insta pot with a yogurt setting. You just need milk and a bit of already purchased yogurt with active cultures to make a batch. I have also purchased Kefir starter grains so I can try fermented water. I have posted in the past about making Sauerkraut, but you can make any fermented veggies this way. It’s very easy and adds a zingy crunch to your salads. Sounds like a microbiome party in my kitchen! Am I enticing anyone over for dinner??
If you are going to try these into your diet, be aware of how your body responds. Probiotics in the form of pills, fermented foods, and dairy may make you feel bloated or foggy and that’s not beneficial for you. Every body will respond differently, it's your job to figure out what’s best for you!
My suggestion is to eat a healthy diet, try to avoid the foods listed at the top of this page. When your gut is happy, your system will be. The benefits of a healthy biome will pay it forward to all the systems in your body!
* Source: www.Bulletproof.com
**Source: https://www.drperlmutter.com