Sticking With Your Gut Feeling

Do your current food and Lifestyle choices nurture your microbiome, protect your physical and mental health and enhance your overall vitality?

One of the most exciting medical discoveries in recent years has been the ‘microbiome.’ This is the medical term given to the community of bugs, bacteria and micro-organisms that live (normally healthily and happily) in your body, mainly in your gut. We are talking serious numbers here, not just millions or billions but literally trillions of micro-organisms. Some estimates put this at between 10 and 50 trillion. 

Bugs outnumber human cells in your body by a ratio of 10:1 and their DNA outnumbers yours by a whopping 150:1. Some people have even suggested that you are a collection of micro-organisms colonised by human DNA rather than the other way round! 

The microbiome you have is partly inherited from your mother at birth, and contributed to by your lifestyle. In recent times, the medical profession has begun to better understand the particular role the microbiome may play in your health and wellbeing. 

Thought to be as unique as your fingerprint, there are hundreds of different species of bugs and the precise composition varies from person to person. Your microbiome may be intricately involved in many biological processes and pathways in your body, playing a key role in your health and wellbeing. These include effects on your mood, metabolism, weight, immune system as well as absorption of key minerals such as calcium and magnesium. 

Why the microbiome matters.

? Breakdown and digestion of food.

? Effects on your appetite, metabolism and weight.

? Immune system.

? Involved in the production of vitamins such as vitamin B and vitamin K.

? Absorption of calcium and other important minerals such as magnesium (important for bone development).

? Chemicals and hormones that impact how you think, feel, act and behave. 

There's no doubt that the modern western diet with its high sugar and high processed food content is toxic to the needs of a healthy microbiome. 

Other causes of this imbalance being researched include lack of sleep, stress (particularly being unable to destress), lack of exercise and the role of environmental toxins. Research has found that when mice eat a high carbohydrate/high fat diet at random intervals throughout the day and night, their gut microbiome breaks down with only a small variety of bacteria remaining. This results in obesity in the mice and the same process is thought to affect humans. In other words, without the right composition of bacteria, the microbiome is unable to properly digest food with the remainder stored as fat. 

An imbalance of your microbiome can lead to many problems including feeling more tired, stressed and anxious, weight gain, low mood, memory problems 'brain fog' and inflammation. 

Symptoms of microbiome imbalance 

? Feeling more tired or fatigued.

? Feeling more stressed and anxious.

? Memory problems ‘brain fog.’

? Low mood.

?Anxiety.

? Weight gain.

? Allergies.

?Inflammation.

Poor sleep, jet lag and shift work also affect the microbiome in a manner that can trigger obesity. As an example, fascinating research whereby faecal matter from jet lagged individuals is placed in the guts of healthy mice, the mice become obese, whereas faecal matter from healthy individuals (not jet lagged or doing shift work) had no impact on the mice. 

Clostridium difficile (C. Diff) is a severe hospital acquired infection that can have fatal consequences. Research in the USA has found that transferring faecal material from healthy individuals into the rectum of patients with C. diff by a process known as faecal microbiotal transfer can be curative. All of this research highlights a growing understanding of the pivotal role your microbiome plays in maintaining good health. 

Factors affecting imbalance of the microbiome

? Lack of sleep.

? Toxic Stress (particularly being unable to destress).

? Lack of exercise.

? Jetlag.

?Shiftwork.

? Environmental toxins.

? Diet - high sugar, high processed foods (lack of vegetables, wholegrains, fruits, probiotics).

Microbiome and Mood 

The bugs in your gut interact with the foods you eat and produce a range of chemicals and hormones that impact on feelings of positivity and calm or feelings of anxiety, panic and depression. The microbiome influences the brain neurotransmitters to keep the brain perfectly balanced and functioning properly. Examples include dopamine, acetylcholine and GABA. 

They are now recognised to produce a large percentage of the bodies serotonin which is the happy hormone involved in feelings of positivity, self-confidence, mental sharpness and mood. Formerly thought to be produced exclusively in the brain, this opens up new understanding of the term gut-brain connection, with a more holistic understanding of how food and lifestyle habits impact on mood and behaviour. 

How to rebalance the microbiome

As mentioned earlier the microbiome is adversely affected by many factors including lack of exercise, poor sleep patterns and negative stress. Which is another key reason why healthy lifestyle habits are so important. 

Hippocrates put it very well thousands of years ago when he said ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food’. Here are some key dietary pointers to rebalance your microbiome for optimal health and vitality. 

Eat lots of prebiotics.

Prebiotics are essentially fibre rich foods that the bugs and bacteria in your microbiome feed on. You are unable to digest fibre because you lack the enzymes required to break it down. The bugs in your microbiome are able to break down and digest this fibre so make sure you include lots of fibre rich foods like oatmeal, bananas and apples as well as green vegetables and other rich sources of  prebiotics including garlic, onion, asparagus, tomatoes, carrots and leeks. Make sure to consider prebiotic ‘super spices’including turmeric and cinnamon. 

Probiotics

Eat lots of natural probiotics which put friendly bacteria back into the gut. Include foods like yogurts, fermented foods like kiefer, kimchi, sauerkraut and pickled vegetables, apple cider vinegar and a delicious lemonade called kombucha. 

Minimise your intake of prescription antibiotics.

 While antibiotics can be lifesaving for severe bacterial infections, antibiotic resistance due to their over usage is an increasing cause of concern. Remember that antibiotics will not only knock out harmful bacteria, they will also knock out good bacteria in your microbiome as well. Furthermore many upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses for which antibiotics are completely ineffective. If you do need to take an antibiotic as prescribed by your doctor then make sure that you take plenty of prebiotics and probiotics to mitigate against the adverse impact of the antibiotic on your microbiome. 

Eat real food for real health

Be more mindful in your food choices. Minimise processed foods and non-fibre based sources of sugar. One of the best ways to maintain a healthy microbiome is to eat a diet with a diverse source of nutrition. The good bacteria in your gut like to feed on the dietary fibre found in complex carbohydrates (wholegrains), fruits and vegetables. If your diet is lacking in these, then your bugs will feed on the mucosal lining of your gut instead, leading to inflammation and potential illness.

Food for thought - do your current food and lifestyle choices nurture your micro biome, protect your physical and mental health and enhance your overall vitality?

Appreciating this critical importance of your microbiome can enable you to make better lifestyle choices that can gift you the benefit of sustainable improvements in your long term health and wellbeing.