Suffering with bloating and constipation?
It could be that your gut microbiome is not at peak performance. There is a diverse population of microbes (in the trillions) living in your gut (the body’s main digestive tract) These microbes aid in digestion and provides the body with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as protecting from disease. The research is now showing that the 1000 ‘s of species of bacteria, yeast and fungi that form the gut microbiota may affect not only gut health by other health issues such as immunity, irritable bowels, heart and kidney disease, and skin conditions. More evidence is emerging that poor gut health can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The more diverse the microbes, the lower the risk of developing serious disease such as diabetes.
The research is still in the early days , but diets may target gut microbes that improve immunity and the health of other organs.
We need to increase plant diversity in the diet, as each plant has different dietary fibres and polyphenols, which provides food for a broad range of microbes. Aim for thirty different plant-based foods a week. This includes nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables. That means, you should try to eat different foods daily and not limit intake to the same foods constantly.
By increasing plant diversity, you also increase fibre. Fibre acts like a pre-biotic , feeding the gut bacteria.
Aim for minimally processed foods . Fresh fruit and vegetables carry microbes from the soil and thereby increase microbial diversity. Ultra processed food may alter the gut lining and weaken the immune system.
Try to incorporate more fermented foods into the diet. Fermented foods are packed with bacteria or yeast. Think yoghurt, kefir ( fermented milk), kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kombucha, and sourdough bread.
Try and choose yoghurts that have live cultures. When reading the label, look for at least 100 million CPU (colony forming units) or added probiotics. There are several brands to choose from (Vaalia, Jalna, Activia).
Avoid non-sugar sweeteners as they disrupt gut health by decreasing the diversity of gut microbes. It is better to have a small amount of sugar instead, but it also depends on your medical history.
The Mediterranean diet meets a lot of gut friendly practices. The Mediterranean style diet is high in fibre, uses lots of vegetables, legumes, extra virgin oil, wholegrains and fruit.
The Japanese diet promotes digestive health through a high intake of fibre-rich plant foods (seaweed, vegetables, soy), fermented products (miso, natto) that provide probiotics, and nutrient-dense ingredients like green tea and fish, which together improve gut microbial diversity, reduce inflammation, and aid digestion.
The Korean diet is centred around fermented foods like kimchi (pickled cabbage) and fermented soy products (like miso or doenjang), which are packed with probiotics. These cuisines are heavy with prebiotics such as garlic, onions, leeks, legumes, wholegrains, and fruit. They are low in saturated fats and sugar.
Can you increase the variety of plant foods to support a healthy gut?
To eat 30 points a week we firstly divide foods into six main plant groups: Vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices. Researchers call this the ‘Super Six”.
They created a points system to tally up the scores over a week. Each plant counts as 1 point and herbs and spices count as ¼. Points are given for each variety of plant. So eating two red apples only counts as 1 point. Count fresh, dried, canned and frozen vegetables and fruits. If you choose fresh apricots and tinned apricots, this counts as 1. The idea is to focus on DIVERSITY. The goal is 30 different types over a week, but more than that would be outstanding. Do you want to play?
Find out more at https://theguthealthdoctor.com/30-plant-points .
Linda