Gut to know: Gut Microbiota
Did you know the gut contains 100 trillion micro-organisms? Wowee that is a lot of little tiny cells collectively called the microbiome, that lives in the gastrointestinal tract (our intestines).
What does the gut microbiota do? They process the non-digestible food from our diets to make nutrients that our bodies need to function. The gut microbiota provides an environment for the non-digestible food to be broken down via fermentation. With fermentation, particular microbes can grow and improve the state of the gut. So we need to look after our gut microbiome as they can play a huge role in health and disease.
How? Well, our microbiomes are influenced by what we eat (including medications), how old we are and other things like if we have pets and where we live too. CRAZY!
A key to a healthy gut is to have microbiota diversity, in other words having a range of different types of microbiome, and equal amounts of the different types. The jury is still out on what constitutes ‘healthy’ gut microbiota. But, there have been links of a lower microbiota diversity in individuals with metabolic diseases, obesity, and auto-immune diseases. Interesting…
The gut microbiome can be changed, and it can be changed in a matter of days. MIND BLOWN. Did you know the diet can be 1) a source of microbiota and 2) a source of fuel for the microbiota?
So what are the effects of diet on our gut microbiota? The quality of the food we eat can have an impact on the composition and diversity of our gut microbiota. We can create a diverse gut microbiota by consuming a variety of plant-based foods, which are high in dietary fiber.
Dietary fibres from plant-based carbohydrates are not digestible in humans, so the gut microbiome helps to break down the fibers. This action also has other benefits such as increasing absorption of other minerals and can speed up transit times. But remember, too much fiber can cause issues and a quick dash to the toilet. So, don’t go overboard with dietary fibers!
Random thought as I type….we all have varied diversity of microbiota, which will explain why we may react differently to different foods. For example, why does psyllium husk (great form of fibre) work really well for ‘cleansing the gut’ for some, yet others (like me) it does the opposite? Hmmm, clearly I don’t have the right diversity, either type, levels or both, of microbiota to deal with that….Hmmmm. On a side note, I find the research that looks into the effectiveness of poop microbiota transplants on disease. AND the connection between mood and gut microbiome….FASCINATING, but maybe for another time….
Ok, so how can we improve our gut diversity? Using prebiotics and probiotic foods sources could be a great start. The advantages of using foods sources are that they are natural, easy to find, tasty and cheap compared to supplementation.
Probiotics are live bacteria typically found in dairy products such as yoghurts and kefir. But you can also find them in fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut and tempeh. Or, found in supplements.
Prebiotics are used by the gut for a health benefit. Fibrous fruits and vegetables are a great source of prebiotic foods e.g., avocado, berries, kiwifruit, passionfruit, pear, artichoke, beetroot, carrot, collard greens, root vegetables, broccoli.
So feed your gut a variety of good quality pro and prebiotic food sources so you can improve your gut diversity!
Important note! Those of you who are on restrictive diets or who eat the same thing every day may find tummy upsets initially if you are not used to these types of food sources. This is your gut adapting to digesting those types of foods and creating those helpful lovely little microbiomes - so don’t stop there! Just as you train to improve your running, cycling, or strength, the gut needs to adjust too. Little and often will help with this adaptation. Would you go into the gym and straight away lift your deadlift PB?!? HECK NO! This would be the same reaction to your gut if you were to douse it in pre/probiotic foods.
YAY to happy healthy guts!
Sources
Leigh A Frame, Elise Costa, Scott A Jackson, Current explorations of nutrition and the gut microbiome: a comprehensive evaluation of the review literature, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 78, Issue 10, October 2020, Pages 798–812, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuz106
Valdes A M, Walter J, Segal E, Spector T D. Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health BMJ 2018; 361 :k2179 doi:10.1136/bmj.k2179