Did you know that you can change the makeup of the good bacteria in your gut within a week?! Now that I have your attention the importance of your gut’s health for your overall health is becoming a well-known fact. The probiotics in your gut play many roles to improve your health such as:
- Producing metabolites which help your immune system function optimally.
- Release the feel-good hormone serotonin to keep your mind happy.
- Produce anti-inflammatory factors which help reduce inflammation in your body.
You want your good bacteria aka probiotics to be happy to keep your whole body in balance. You may not be aware that, just like a garden, many flowers or in this case probiotics makes a healthier you.
To get this optimal environment you need to introduce the probiotics into your system, which is best done through fermented foods. If you think this is the end of the process you will be sadly mistaken as you must feed your probiotics just like any pet. This is done by including prebiotics fibre called soluble fibre and resistance starch. These types of fibre are found in plant foods.
Unlike a lot of the popular media will want you to believe there is no one ‘super food’ but many superfoods. Each plant has a different matrix of fibre and as a result is the preferred food for a different type of probiotic strain.
One of the largest studies of its kind, using 11,336 participants found that for optimal gut health 30 different plant foods a week is key to maintain your healthiest gut health. If this amount of plant foods blows your mind there is no need to panic. Small changes to get your gut and body to optimal health is always the best way forward. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Swap a red meat meal for a vegetarian protein option. This can be beans (yes baked beans count), tofu or some nuts in a stir fry or even 100% nut butter.
- Make room on your plate at dinner and lunch for some plant matter. This means if you are a vegemite sandwich person at lunch try adding some avocado instead of butter to the bread or add a side salad.
- Breakfast can be plant based too! Try selecting whole grain choices like oats or Weetbix over Frostie Fruits. Another good choice is adding a serve of fruit to your cereal like a banana or some berries. If you are a sourdough toast with eggs person why not add a side of cooked mushrooms, tomato and spinach too!
- Skip the chips and chocolate snack in the afternoon and opt for a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit or a few whole grain crackers with some hummus and some veggie sticks.
Take home message: Put your best gut forward by giving it the food it needs to give you your best health for life!
Reference:
- McDonald D, Hyde E, Debelius JW, Morton JT, Gonzalez A, Ackermann G, et al. American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research. mSystems. 2018;3(3).
