Changing the gut microbiota through diet
We are entering a new era in nutrition science where we are beginning to understand how to modify health through food, and measure the effects through our gut microbes and metabolites.
The gut microbiome is a hot topic at the moment, and with good reason. Thanks to metagenomic (DNA) sequencing and research into the gut microbiome we now know that our gut bacteria play a key role in many aspects of human health including the immune and metabolic systems, brain function, neuro-behavioural traits, appetite and bodyweight. Gut bacteria are also involved in the production of some vitamins, hormones and neurotransmitters.
The gut microbiome is the sum total of >100 trillion micro-organisms and their collective genomes that humans have inside the gastrointestinal tract. Most of these microbes are bacteria, but they can also include viruses, fungi and parasites.
Given the key role of the microbiome in human health, it makes sense that a healthy and diverse gut microbiota (the community of micro-organisms themselves) would confer the greatest benefits to health, and potentially help reduce inflammation, illness and disease. A growing body of research investigating the role of the gut microbiome in human health supports this.
There are specific foods we can incorporate into our diet that act like a ‘fertiliser’ for good gut bacteria, feeding them and helping them flourish and ‘crowd out’ the bad, inflammatory, toxic microbes that contribute to poor health and disease.
Gut bacteria that promote good health prefer, and depend on, a diet that is rich in a diverse range of prebiotic foods and dietary fibre. Through our dietary choices, we can create a nasty, unhealthy gut ecosystem full of pro-inflammatory, toxic and potentially pathogenic bacteria that can cause poor health and disease. Or, we can create a healthy gut ecosystem that takes care of us, fights inflammation and disease, and helps keeps us healthy.
Whilst there are other factors that influence the gut microbiota (e.g. medication, age, stress, environmental toxins, genetics) the good news is that diet plays a major role. Changes in the gut microbiota can occur within days of altering diet, making it the most modifiable influence on the composition and health of the gut microbiota.
Interest and research into gut health and the gut microbiome are rapidly expanding areas right now, so watch this space!
If you’d like to learn more about your gut microbiome, how to feed it and keep it (and you) healthy, please email julie@digest.health or book an appointment via the ‘bookings’ tab.
