Pure Honey - A Natural Prebiotic
The gut and the gullet!
The flashing lights in the rear view mirror come from out of nowhere. How long has it been? Five, no, four hours since you had that glass of Chardonnay. Your stomach starts to twist and turn as you watch her walk up with a blinding flashlight to your side of the car. We have all experienced a gut-wrenching experience: a painful labor (which one is not?) and giving birth, the phone call at 3 am from your teenager (who you thought was in their bedroom), or watching a loved one choke on a hot dog. You may have thought, “was that all in my head?” The guru of intestinal intelligence, Michael Gershon, professor and chair of pathology and cell biology at Columbia, says, “the gut can work independently of any control by the brain in your head-it’s functioning as a second brain.” The gut’s brain or the enteric nervous system (ENS), as it is now known, has 100 million neurons, and can control the movement and absorption of food throughout the intestine, without any input from the brain. The ENS directs signals to the brain that affect feelings of stress or sadness, even influence learning, decision making and memory. It manufactures many of the same neurotransmitters as the brain, such as serotonin. ‘Comfort foods’ affect our emotions and mood, but we now understand how this relationship developed. Some believed that the chocolate chip cookies’ Prozac affect comes from remembering them from Grammy’s house. Researchers have found that, “specific components of the food exert a direct effect on neurohormones in the gut that signal the brain’’. Even without the toy, McDonald’s fat laden French fries have the power to elevate our emotional state. During times of intense stress, the gut tells the brain to choose the mac ‘n’ cheese over the banana. It does so by stimulating the production of Ghrelin, a hunger hormone made in the gut, which boost the appeal of the high-fat foods, most likely via the dopamine pathways. This neurotransmitter is known to help control the brain’s pleasure and reward center and helps regulate movement and emotional responses; so we not only see the reward, but we must take action-to gobble up that deep fried Twinkie. Plus, the mere taste of a fatty food drives us to desire the succulence again.
Ghrelin levels increase just prior to the start of a meal, suggesting a role in meal initiation and correlate with hunger scores.
100 trillion bacteria reside in the human GI tract, and are referred to as the gut microbiota, and play a role in gut-brain axis. The good bacteria are beneficial and necessary for us to extract the nutrients from our foods and affect energy regulation. The bad bacteria messes with immunity, metabolism and digestion. Probiotics are the good bacteria (lactobacillus and bifidiobacteria ) and hence contribute to intestinal health and protect against the harmful bacteria, and are influenced by our diet. Probiotics are found in foods such as yogurt, kefir, cheeses, pickles, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods, Prebiotics are non-digestible oligosaccharides (a type of carbohydrate) that serve as fertilizer or to ferment these valuable microbes and hence promote their growth. They may also alter gut hormones, lipid metabolism and weight in a positive manner. Prebiotics are found in foods such as artichokes, honey, onions, garlic, resistant starches, leeks, whole grains, wheat, barley, rye, and bananas. Fermentable and dietary fiber as short chain fatty acids can be supplemented in foods to induce satiety and reduce obesity. These organisms have extraintestinal effects on the brain, liver, and adipose tissue, and hence can modulate energy metabolism and body composition. Probiotics suppress H. Pylori in the stomach and hence helps prevent gastric ulcers and gastritis. The results of a study assessing the impact of a probiotic yogurt along with a low calorie diet, compared to both alone, showed that the combo significantly reduced BMI and body fat percentage over an eight-week time period. There were similar results in a study that used both prebiotics and probiotics. Most recent evidence states that the gut microbes are involved in the control of energy hemostasis, weight control, and inflammation and hence obesity. Yogurt with added probiotics, such as bifidobacteria, appear to preserve the probiotic better than supplements. High fat and low fiber diets negatively affect the gut microbes, and increase low-grade inflammation which ultimately contributes to diabetes and obesity.
Prebiotics reduce calorie intake, and have a favorable effect on appetite sensations, glucose tolerance, hypertension, the immune system and obesity. A person who has an unhealthy ratio of bad to good bacteria will extract and store more of their food intake- so two people eating the same 100 calorie snack may absorb a different number of calories; Sally with the unhealthy bacteria may absorb all 100 and Tamika, only 80. One study concluded that pre and probiotics modified the gut microbiota and increased bifidobacteria, which usually accompanied weight loss and improvement of the constraints related to obesity, such as inflammation.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD, is a common complication of obesity. Probiotics enhance liver health and decrease the progression from NAFLD to cirrhosis.
Favorable alterations in intestinal bacteria positively affect glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, food intake, satiety and weight. In one study, obese women given a prebiotic plus probiotic formula lost twice as much weight in 24 weeks as the placebo group.
The gut biome and the brain are continually communicating with each other. Together the probiotic agents and the gut microbiota can alter cytokines, which can have marked influence on brain function. The hypothalamus portion of the brain receives some signals from the GI tract, serum nutrient levels and from adipocytes (fat cells). These messages stimulate a person’s drive to eat or not to eat, and may decrease cravings and induce satiety (the feeling of fullness). It is believed that the gut and brain chemistry team up to counteract a person’s effort to lose weight with dietary restrictions.
Casein, a complete protein, commonly found in cow’s milk, and can be added as a powder to your foods, or protein shakes is slow to be digested and hence stabilizes blood glucose. Low GI-fiber rich foods take the entire length of the small intestine to absorb and High GI foods are absorbed in the first part of the intestine. Thus, the blood sugar spikes more with the latter.
Sauerkraut a pickled cabbage is packed w probiotics and only contain 30 calories a cup.
Red wine's polyphenols may improve gut microbes. It's well known that red wine in moderation is good for the heart.
Http://DrBeckysHealthDoneRight.com for recipes and beverages, including alcoholic beverages, that are beneficial to the gut microbes. Bon Appetite!