Each of us has approximately 100
trillion microbes in our guts. Our gut flora, also known as our gut microbiome,
is a living community of bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and other microbes.
Until recently, most people thought
of bacteria—or "germs"—as enemies that needed to be eradicated, but
as scientists learn more about our gut flora, we're gradually realizing how
critical it is to protect it.
We know that our microbiome helps
us stay healthy by producing vitamins and fighting infections. It may even aid
in the activation of drugs (Source: NCBI). Anything that upsets the microbiome
balance in our gut has the potential to cause disease.
Unfortunately for our gut bugs,
modern life is brutal. Antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, and they
don't share our fondness for processed foods. Add to that our fear of dirt and
our sanitized, sedentary indoor lives, and you have a very different
environment than the one in which our microbiomes co-evolved with us.
What was the end result? A scarcity of variety. That means that while we all have roughly the same total number of microbes in our guts, many of us have fewer species of them. That is not ideal because each species has different properties and functions related to different aspects of human health.
Is it possible to reinstate gut
balance?
14 simple steps to restoring healthy gut flora
A fiber-rich, nutrient-dense diet
is the most effective way to restore gut harmony.
The good news is that you can start
changing your gut flora right away with your next meal. According to research,
our gut bacteria are very responsive to what we eat, and communities begin to
shift almost immediately after we change our diets (Source: NCBI).
However, scientists have discovered
that when the gut is significantly damaged by repeated courses of antibiotics,
some bacterial communities disappear and are unlikely to return.
It's difficult to tell if you've restored your microbiome
because it's nearly impossible to define what a healthy one looks like.
People's gut flora varies greatly across the globe and throughout our lives.
Babies' guts, for example, are typically dominated by bifidobacteria (Source:
NCBI). until they begin to eat solid foods When compared to an adult
microbiome, this lack of diversity is exactly what they require to get the most
out of their specific diet: milk!
One thing that research has repeatedly confirmed is the
importance of diversity. The more bacteria families you have in your gut, the
healthier you are likely to be.
There are stool tests that can provide insight into your
digestive system. These reveal the presence of certain parasites, yeasts, and
levels of inflammation, as well as the levels of specific families of bacteria, thought by scientists to help or harm your health.
So, while you can’t ‘restore' your gut microbiome, you can
definitely improve it. Here's how to do it:
1. Fill your plate with
polyphenol-rich foods.
Polyphenols are plant-based compounds that are not completely
absorbed in the small intestine. That is, they become food for the microbes in
our colon (Source: NCBI), who convert them into substances with prebiotic,
anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-microbial
properties.
2. Keep a standard
sleeping schedule.
The last five years of microbiome research have revealed that
our gut's microbial residents have their own sleep cycle. According to one
study, people with jet lag had higher numbers of bacteria associated with
obesity and metabolic disease in their gut flora (Source: NCBI). Other studies
have discovered that a diverse gut microbiome promotes better sleep.
3. Completely eradicate
the standard Western diet.
The evidence for the detrimental effect of a processed,
high-sugar, low-fiber modern diet on our health is growing. According to one
recent study, our modern diets are “an evolutionarily unique selection ground
for microbes that can promote diverse forms of inflammatory disease” (Source:
NCBI). This means that the bad bacteria in our guts appear to enjoy our poor
diets, while the important good bacteria are less enthusiastic.
4. Get some exercise,
but don't overdo it.
Over the last decade, science has moved at a breakneck pace.
We now understand that exercise has a direct effect on our gut bacteria, which
improves our tissue metabolism, cardiorespiratory fitness, and insulin resistance.
However, our bodies perceive too much heavy exercise as a threat, which
triggers the stress response, reducing the diversity of our gut flora.
5. Increase your fiber
intake twofold.
Fiber isn't really food for us because, unlike horses,
elephants, and cows, we can't extract nutrients from it. Our gut flora, on the
other hand, thrives on it. The evidence supporting the benefits of a high-fiber
diet is overwhelming. According to one study, a low-fiber diet can cause a significant
decrease in the diversity of our gut flora, increasing the risk of metabolic
syndrome and obesity-related disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis,
liver disease, and colorectal cancer.
6. Eliminate all added
sugars from your diet.
Sugar acts as rocket fuel for your microbiome. That sounds
like a good thing, but it appears to encourage specific families of bacteria to
"take over," crowding out others and tipping a healthy gut into
dysbiosis. In one study, mice fed high-sugar diets lost gut microbial diversity
and developed leakier guts, with tight junctions in their gut walls opening
wider due to inflammation caused by high sugar intake.
7. Initiate fermenting
For thousands of years, humans have fermented their food and
beverages. Immunoglobulins, antibacterial peptides, antimicrobial proteins,
oligosaccharides, lipids, and short amino acid sequences are all activated
during the fermentation process (depending on the particular food). These
appear to have antioxidant, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, and other
bioactive effects when combined.
8. Have fun with your
pet.
Most of us have been told that after playing with our pets,
we should wash our hands. However, it appears that having a pet—and sharing
their germs—could be beneficial to our microbiomes, lowering the risk of
allergies and obesity.
9. Get your hands dirty
Growing up in microbe-rich environments, such as on a farm,
has been shown in studies to protect children from chronic disease as they get
older.
10. Get rid of your
artificial sweeteners.
Artificial sweeteners aren't good for you. Some studies have
concluded that they are not harmful, but a recent study discovered that they
cause glucose intolerance in certain groups of people by altering the gut
microbiome.
11. Quit cleaning so
much (yes, really)
Bacterial aversion is big business. We're given an endless
supply of antibacterial cleaning products to saturate ourselves and our homes
with. While it is not advisable to eat your dinner from a filthy kitchen floor,
it is also not necessary to disinfect your hands or work surface every five
minutes.
12. Make your life
easier.
Isn't it amazing how emotion can influence the living
things in our bodies? When we are stressed, our bodies produce a cocktail of
hormones that prepare us to fight, flee, or freeze, which has an impact on our
microbiome. Stress is useful for fleeing lions, but it is detrimental to our
gut flora in the long run.
13. Day fast
It may seem strange that we can help our gut flora by not
eating and thus starving them, but one study in mice discovered that fasting
was associated with increases in gut mucus (a good thing), numbers of goblet
cells (the cells that produce mucus), and length of villi (the finger-like
structures on the lining of your gut that help absorbs nutrients). Fasting is likely
to have a similar effect in humans.
14. Determine whether
you have any infections or imbalances and treat them.
Worms, parasites, and single-celled pathogens can all infect
our intestines. They can cause no symptoms at times, but they can also cause a
lot of trouble at other times. For example, a protozoon known as Giardia has
been found to have a significant impact on our gut flora (Source: NCBI). More
information on parasitic infection can be found here.
SIBO is a bacterial overgrowth in your small intestine (where
bacteria levels should be very low), which can disrupt the balance of bacteria
in your large intestine. If you believe you have SIBO, you can learn more about
the symptoms, testing, and treatment options here.
7-day plan to begin
restoring gut health
The keyword here is
‘begin.'
As
previously stated, gut bacteria respond quickly to dietary changes, but total
gut flora restoration is a) difficult to define and b) even more difficult to
prove.
Ideally, we should all have the microbiomes of our ancestors'
hunter-gatherer societies. That is most likely impossible in the Western world.
But don't give up! With a few changes, we can begin to restore healthy bacteria
in our guts.
The Day 1
Begin
fermenting. Sourdough bread is easier to make than you think, and sauerkraut
(traditional German pickled cabbage) provides the benefits of a cruciferous
vegetable as well as fiber and polyphenols. Many people claim that fermenting
their own food is therapeutic, so restoring gut bacteria may be a good way to
unwind as well!
Day 2
Roast a large number of vegetables, store them in the
fridge and consume them over the next few days. Maximum fiber and polyphenol
impact with the least amount of effort. Cook cauliflower, broccoli, red onion,
and beets in olive oil.
Day 3
Grow your
own vegetables or herbs. OK, you won't be able to eat them for a while, but
just getting our hands in the dirt is good for our guts.
We know that contact with soil is beneficial to our
skin microbiome (yes, your skin has a microbiome) (Source: NCBI). We also know
that contact with the earth and soil was a major factor in the evolution of our
ancestors' gut microbiomes, and research has shown that people who live
traditional rural lives have more diverse gut flora as a result.
Day 4
Replace any white, refined grains in your diet with whole, brown grains. Brown rice, whole grain bread, and pasta contain far more fiber than white rice, bread, and pasta. If you soak your brown rice for 24 hours before cooking it, it will be easier to digest and the nutrients will be more available (Source: NCBI).
Try naturally gluten-free whole grains like quinoa,
buckwheat, millet, or amaranth. The importance of variety in gut health cannot
be overstated. If you can find it and tolerate gluten, brown or rye sourdough bread
is great for your gut because the slow fermentation process uses probiotic
bacteria instead of yeast to make the bread rise.
Day 5
Go outside and
enjoy nature. We've already learned that stress is bad for your gut bacteria,
and one of the simplest and most effective ways to de-stress is to simply go
outside. A recent study discovered that visitors to a natural environment
reported significantly lower levels of stress — as well as lower levels of the
stress hormone cortisol — than their counterparts who visited a more urbanized
outdoor setting.
Day 6
Consider taking a probiotic supplement. While
fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, and
traditionally-made pickles are probiotic foods (good bacteria are used in the
fermentation process), probiotics are also available as supplements in the form
of pills, powders, and liquids. Some of them have been thoroughly researched
and have a large body of evidence to back up their positive effects.
Probiotic supplements have been shown to ‘remodel' the
gut after antibiotic treatment (Source: NCBI), and ‘Mutaflor,' which contains a
beneficial strain of E. coli bacteria, has put people with Ulcerative Colitis
into remission.
Day 7
Prebiotics are worth a shot. Prebiotics are not to be
confused with probiotics, though they do enjoy each other's company. They are
available in both food and supplement form.
Prebiotics are food for bacteria because they pass
through our small intestines without being digested and end up as food for
bacteria in our large intestine. In the case of prebiotic foods, some parts of
the food will be digestible: for example, a banana contains simple sugars that
we can digest as well as oligosaccharides that we cannot digest (but our
bacteria can).
Prebiotic supplements are typically far more effective
than prebiotic foods. Returning to the banana, it contains 0.21 grams of
fructooligosaccharides (FOS), while most supplement manufacturers recommend a
starting dose of 5 grams per day. Although studies have found it to help diversify
the microbiome (Source: NCBI), lower cholesterol (Source: NCBI), and alleviate
constipation (Source: NCBI), if you have IBS, use FOS with caution as it can
exacerbate diarrhea and gas.
Takeaways
While we don't know if we can completely restore our
gut flora—or even what that would entail (what point in our lives or ancestral
past are we aiming to restore it to?—we can certainly help it along.
We already know that when we change our diet, our gut
flora changes. So far, research has indicated that it can occur quickly.
If you want to restore your microbiome, your best bet
is to feed it high-fiber whole foods, establish a good sleep routine, get out
in nature, and simplify your day-to-day life. Prebiotic and probiotic
supplements could also be beneficial.
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