Giddy for Gut Health
6 Ways to Promote Beneficial Bacteria
By Michelle Tierney, RD
Typically, people fear bacteria- after all, bad bacteria can cause sickness and a slew of other health problems. However, did you know that over 40 trillion bacteria reside in your gut? This beneficial bacteria is collectively referred to as the gut biome, which has gained heavy traction as a hot topic thanks to its correlation with optimized health.
In fact, nearly every disease and sickness can be traced back to the health of your gut. Conversely, the absence of disease is highly associated with optimal gut health. For this reason, it’s wise for everyone in any walk of life to bolster and support gut health through lifestyle factors.
While numerous lifestyle habits will promote good gut health, the most potent treatment is through- you guessed it- food!
Certain foods, herbs, spices and supplements feed the already-present good bacteria, allowing them to proliferate into a diversified ecosystem that ultimately supports metabolic functioning. Everything from immunity to weight to hormone production is deeply affected by the state of your gut.
So without further ado, here are the 6 best ways to invigorate your gut to good health!
Optimizing Gut Health
Fiber, Fiber, Fiber
Although we hear about fiber often in the wellness space, many people don’t fully understand its impact on the gut.
Fiber is a non-digestible carbohydrate only found in plant foods. It helps form the cell walls of plant foods and passes through the intestines until it reaches the large intestine, aka the colon, where beneficial bacteria consume it as fuel.
This process stimulates the growth of more good bacteria and helps create a more diverse microbiome that better fends off sickness, decreases inflammation and oxidation and promotes stellar cellular health.
Not to mention, fiber doesn’t technically provide calories and promotes satiation/fullness feeling, which supports weight loss efforts and can loosen or harden stools to relieve constipation and/or diarrhea.
The highest fiber foods include fruits with skin or seeds, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes and nuts and seeds. Specifically, the most concentrated fiber foods are:
● Chia seeds
● Almonds
● Oats
● Beans and Legumes
● Avocado
● Artichokes
● Cruciferous Veggies (brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale)
● Berries
● Leafy Greens
● Apples and Pears
Aim for at least 25-35 grams of fiber per day; however, achieving 50 or more grams per day will provide more than triple the benefit! Just make sure to start out slow and add 5-10 grams per week as tolerated. And the more colors of food you eat, the more diverse types of fiber you will obtain!
2. Fermented Foods
Similar to fiber, you’ve probably heard of fermented foods before, but may not completely understand their power on the gut.
Fermented foods undergo a process called fermentation, an ancient technique utilized to preserve foods and drinks. During fermentation, bacteria and yeast break down the sugars the food or drink contains into acids or alcohol via microbial growth and enzyme production.
Due to their probiotic effect thanks to the bacteria in the fermentation process, fermented foods can restore the balance of gut bacteria, support digestion and absorption of nutrients and help relieve digestive upset like bloating and gas.
In addition, fermented foods improve the bioavailability of nutrients and promote better blood sugar balance.
Potent fermented foods include:
● Plain, unsweetened greek yogurt
● SauerKraut
● Kimchi
● Kefir
● Tempeh
● Natto
● Kombucha
● Miso
● Some pickles
Aim to eat 1-2 servings per day.
3. Pre and Probiotic Whole Foods
Probiotic supplements are quite popular nowadays, but natural pre and probiotic foods are less so. Both contribute to gut health, but they actually exert different functions.
Probiotics are live cultures of bacteria whereas prebiotics serve as fuel for probiotics in the form of fiber found in fruits, vegetables and legumes. Because prebiotics are a form of fiber, the human body can’t digest them, and instead the beneficial bacteria in the colon feed on them for energy to then confer their actions.
Additionally, the synergistic relationship of pre and probiotics is necessary for the production of vitamin K and the short chain fatty acid (SCFA), butyrate.
Vitamin K is a natural antioxidant that is critical for proper blood clotting, bone maintenance and the reduction of risk for cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Butyrate and other SCFAs are the main source of fuel for the cells lining the colon, help reduce systemic inflammation and promote a strong gut barrier as well as reduce the risk of various cancers.
Prebiotic Foods include:
● Beans and legumes
● Onions, garlic and leeks
● Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus
● Berries and bananas
● Oats
● Resistant starch (from cooked and cooled potatoes and plantains)
Probiotic Foods include:
● All the fermented foods listed above!
4. Plenty of Polyphenols
Think of polyphenols as a fancy phrase for a group of powerful and beneficial plant compounds. They fight systemic inflammation and serve as antioxidants to scavenge free radicals.
Polyphenols specifically target good gut health by balancing blood sugar, preventing blood clots, lowering risk of heart disease, protecting against cancer, improving digestion and absorption and enhancing brain function. This serves as a full circle moment because the same factors/foods that improve gut health also promote systemic vitality and longevity!
Researchers have identified over 8,000 polyphenols which can further be classified into:
● Flavonoids- quercetin, kaempferol, catechins, and anthocyanins
○ Apples, onions, red cabbage, dark chocolate
● Phenolic Acids- stilbenes and lignans
○ Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds
● Polyphenolic amides- capsaicinoids and avenanthramides
○ Chili peppers and oats
● Other polyphenols - resveratrol, ellagic acid, curcumin and lignans
○ Red wine, berries, turmeric, flax seed, sesame seed, whole grains
However, nearly all plant foods contain some level of polyphenols.
5. Probiotic Supplement
Nearly everyone can benefit from taking or cycling a probiotic supplement, but not all probiotic supplements are created equal.
Probiotics are named by their genus, species and alphanumeric strain designation and may also include a subspecies. CFU stands for colony-forming-unit, which is the measurement tool used for probiotics.
Keep in mind that manufacturers are only required to list the total weight of the microorganisms including dead ones, as probiotic strains are extremely sensitive to temperatures and storage time. Solid probiotics will still contain a high number of CFUs towards the end of their shelf life and should not need to be refrigerated.
With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to discern which one will help best target your unique goals.
Luckily, there are a few factors that an effective probiotic should contain and/or accomplish.
1. Need a minimum of 1,000,000 (1 million) viable CFUs/gram to survive digestion and confer gut benefits (but more is even better)
2. Minimum recommended effective dose per day is 100,000,000 (1 billion) cells
3. Shelf stable and doesn’t require refrigeration
4. Strain and disease-specific
a. Certain strains specifically treat specific symptoms and/or diseases
b. Ex- lactobacillus relieves diarrhea and IBS symptoms
5. Contain multiple of the following strains: Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Saccharomyces, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Escherichia, and Bacillus
*Read section on pre and probiotics for the health benefits of probiotics*
6. Limit Processed and Refined Food Products
Finally, as important as it is to incorporate the above five good gut health habits into your life, it’s equally important to avoid or limit inflammatory foods otherwise known as processed, refined, packaged or junk food.
Added and processed sugars along with refined fats are the most inflammatory of all. This includes the simple, refined sugar in a white bagel or those Sunday morning pancakes as well as hydrogenated vegetables oils and trans fat in packaged/man made foods.
Inflammatory food (which is really anything that isn’t a real, whole food; even protein bars and keto cereal, etc.) wreaks havoc within the gut. Like the name suggests, these kinds of food and drink cause systemic inflammation that decrease cellular function and hinder metabolism.
They contribute to risk of chronic disease, worsen mood, depression and anxiety, increase autoimmunity, and ultimately decrease vitality and longevity.
Eating them in sparse moderation (like one or less time per day!) is wise for not only gut health, but overall wellbeing too. Some people may need to work with a professional like a therapist or coach to reduce their emotional reliance on processed foods, and this is totally OK!
The Takeaway
Gut health isn’t only a fascinating topic, it’s an important one too. The state of your gut highly impacts the overall state of your health.
Plenty of scientific studies show that good gut health drastically reduces risk of disease whereas poor gut health is associated with nearly every chronic disease from obesity to diabetes to certain types of cancer and even autoimmune conditions.
Less discussed is how gut health can impact you on a daily basis. Not only does beneficial gut bacteria help your body naturally maintain a healthy weight and prevent the common cold, it also helps you feel energized, clear-minded, focused and generally improves mood and well being.
While various other lifestyle factors such as consistent exercise and stress management also bolster beneficial gut bacteria, certain foods feed it best. In summary, the following food and supplement groups will leave your gut feeling giddy:
● Fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts and seeds (Plant foods!)
● Pre and Probiotic foods like artichoke, asparagus, kefir and SauerKraut
● Polyphenols found in green tea, dark chocolate, blueberries and almonds
● Fermented Foods such as greek yogurt, kimchi, kombucha and tempeh
● Probiotic Supplement spore based with billions of CFUs
Resources
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-probiotic-supplement#our-picks
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/polyphenols#benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-gut-bacteria#TOC_TITLE_HDR_11
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-offermenting
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/probiotics-and-prebiotics#probiotic-foods
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/22-high-fiber-foods#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7
