Why the Gut Microbiome is So Damn Important.

The gut microbiome is the community of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms that exist primarily inside the intestines and on skin. Did you know that there are in fact more bacterial cells in your body than human cells? 40 trillion bacterial cells > 30 trillion human cells. Gut microbes can help with everything from digestion of materials like fiber to building your immunity to protection against pathogens. To get specific, a healthy gut microbiome can:

• digest fiber

• absorb protein

• strengthen the immune system

• produce 1000s of metabolites important for bodily functions

• stop growth of pathogens (through direct competition)

Same way that diet can strongly impact the gut microbiome, low diversity of this microbiome can also be linked to obesity, diabetes, psoriatric arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

The traditional American diet can especially be harmful for the diversity of the gut microbiome because of constant exposure to large amounts of sugar, high fat content foods, and refinement processes which reduce nutrients in foods. Here are some tips to boost the health of your microbiome through health:

1) Eat plant-based diet HIGH in fiber —> According to Harvard Health, minimally processed plant foods help the gut microbiome thrive and “decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, metabolic disease, and obesity.”

2) Take a probiotic you’ve done due diligience on —> Probiotics can help bring balance to a gut microbiome that has unhealthy levels of certain bacteria. Effective probiotics contain the beneficial bacteria that keep the body healthy and working well.

3) Eat fermented foods —> Fermentation is the process of breaking down sugar by bacteria and yeast. Here’s a list of fermented foods & drinks to consider to supplement your diet: kefir (cultured dairy product), kombucha (bubbly, effervescent tea), miso (fermenting soybeans), and kimchi (fermented vegetables such as cabbage).

4) Limit sugar & overuse antibiotics —> High sugar levels disrupt the intestine’s exterior borders which can lead to “leaky gut” and disturbance in the gut microbiome. The pro-inflammatory properties can lead to lack of epithelial integrity & chronic low grade inflammation. Overuse of antibiotics can lead to reduced diversity of species, alteration in metabolic activity, and more resistance to the medication over time.

Start working on OPTIMIZING your gut health today and let me know how it goes for you!