Nourishing The Gut

Which probiotic should I take? Do I really need to drink that nasty kombucha stuff? Talk to me about fermented foods, what's all the hype? Can normal yogurt help me after a course of antibiotics? These are all great questions.... let's back up a bit though.

I could go on listing the myriad of questions that come up on a daily basis with clients. Gut health is quickly gaining attention both from the public and health professionals, AND WELL IT SHOULD.  There is proven links between the health of our gut (and it's many millions of inhabitants) and risk of cardiovascular disease, immune health, obesity, food sensitivities, and even mental health. You read that right, studies are now showing that there is an increased risk of anxiety, depression, and mood instability with certain changes in gut health.

To be honest, there is more we do not know about our microbiome and gut function (particularly when it is not functioning well) than what we do know. If you ask 5 different Dietitians, Naturopaths, MD's or Yogis how much kombucha you should be drinking, we would all give you a different answer. Some health professionals recommend probiotics, however most don't. The majority will just cite the benefits of yogurt and turn a blind eye to the insane amount of high fructose corn syrup in most of the conventional yogurts found in your grocery store shelves. It is difficult to find a consensus on many of these points. 

In my clinical opinion, we are not doing enough to support healthy guts. We are not nourishing our guts or most times even thinking that we should be. We talk about heart health, eating to prevent cancer, and food allergies, and we spend a lot of effort trying to get skinny in America. As some education reaches the masses, people are spending a lot of money jumping on these new trends of probiotics, fermented foods and drinks, without really understanding what it is that is going on inside of them.

We have a constant battle taking place in our bellies. We have millions of inhabitants that are all competing for resources. What is that resource you ask? FIBER. Now, I know you are thinking to yourself, fiber? Geez, that isn't sexy, or expensive, or trendy. I know! But, we are spending (in some cases) $40-$100 per month supplementing the bugs that already have found a home in our bellies in the form of pills, foods and drinks we are being told this will help us increase our gut health. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however, if you are starving your helpful, microbial friends of the food they need to survive and proliferate, then it doesn't matter how many of them you shove down the ole' pipe... they won't stand a good enough chance of survival. 

Why is fiber SO important, yes we want these little buggers to survive, but what else is going on here? These bugs have the ability to turn that fiber into short-chain fatty acids, which have been linked to improved immune function, decreased inflammation and protection against obesity. You don't want these guys fiber famished.  What's even worse, is not the die off of friendly bacteria, but when they don't have enough food to eat, they will compete for what is left in their environment that is edible: YOU. When fermentable fiber becomes scarce, studies have shown some microbes will turn to the mucus lining of the gut for food, penetrating a crucial FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST PATHOGENS. This opens an individual up to a host of potential infections and increased risk of inflammation. 

Now I'm not saying probiotics, yogurt, kombucha, fermented foods, or other gut promoting efforts are bad, in fact many I employ on myself, my family and in my practice to help individuals. But, if we are not doing the very crucial step of providing the necessary nutrients for our gut community, we are approaching this backwards. So you may be asking yourself, how do I get more fiber? Oh, well I'm glad you asked.

​FRUIT, VEGETABLES, GRAINS (I KNOW), LEGUMES, NUTS, SEEDS. It is great if you can make sure at every meal you are incorporating a few of these items. I promise your gut will thank you.

I find this to be of particular importance with communities that shun grains at this point in time, if you choose not to eat grains, that is fine, however make sure you are upping your fruit and vegetables to compensate for the highly beneficial sources of fiber found in whole grains.

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