Keeping your gut working in tip top shape is beneficial for many reasons. Your gut helps to process the food which you eat and when it works at its best it allows you to metabolise food well and remove waste products optimally. In addition to this, having a healthy gut means keeping your gut microbiome healthy. This means supporting the needs of the health promoting microbes in your gut which help support the health and function of every organ in your body from your brain to your bones.
There are many parts of your life that can affect the health of your gut from the medications you may take, sleep quality, physical activity levels, stress, and diet. One component of your diet which promotes optimal gut health is wholegrains.
Do not be one of the many who fall into the fad diet trick of thinking that all carbohydrates are the same. Wholegrains do not live in the same food category as donuts or refined grains. Wholegrains offer a matrix of health benefits which promote the health of your gut including prebiotic fibre, vitamins and minerals and polyphenols.
A recent study of fifty overweight adults who had an increased metabolic risk and high daily intake of wholegrains at around sixty-nine grams a day were selected. These individuals underwent a randomised cross-over study with two weeks of dietary intervention periods. The first was a diet which included seventy-five grams of more a day of wholegrains. A washout period then occurred of six weeks or more. The second diet phase the individuals ate a diet of less than ten grams of refined grains without wholegrains. Researchers investigated the effects of these two diets on colonic fermentation as well as stool transit time.
Researchers found that the diet which included refined grains had a lower stool frequency compared to the wholegrain diet. Healthy stool frequency is important to help to remove waste as well as reduce the risk of uncomfortable symptoms such as constipation.
The health promoting microbes in your gut produce short chain fatty acids which send signals all throughout your body to promote your health and optimal functioning of body parts. One type of short chain fatty acid is called butyrate. Researchers found that when the individuals in the study followed a diet of wholegrains more of the butyrate producing microbes such as Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, Butyriciococcus were present.
To give you some guidance on how to achieve your wholegrain needs. Based off the Oldways Whole Grains Council recommendations, a serve of wholegrains is measured at sixteen grams of wholegrains. This can be:
- ½ cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain
- ½ cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta
- ½ cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal
- 1-ounce uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain
- 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
- 1 small (1 oz.) 100% whole grain muffin
- 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal
The study included a larger amount of wholegrains, but this is not necessarily needed to reap the health benefits. To promote your gut health and wellbeing, three serves of wholegrains each day is a strategy which can fit into most eating patterns.
Take home message: For a healthy gut, the best approach is a whole lifestyle approach. One of the components of a healthy gut is your diet and one component of your diet which promotes optimal gut function and health is wholegrains.
References:
- Zaiss MM, Jones RM, Schett G, Pacifici R. The gut-bone axis: how bacterial metabolites bridge the distance. J Clin Invest. 2019 Jul 15;129(8):3018-3028. doi: 10.1172/JCI128521. PMID: 31305265; PMCID: PMC6668676.
- Agirman G, Yu KB, Hsiao EY. Signaling inflammation across the gut-brain axis. Science. 2021 Nov 26;374(6571):1087-1092. doi: 10.1126/science.abi6087. Epub 2021 Nov 25. PMID: 34822299.
- Procházková N, Venlet N, Hansen ML, Lieberoth CB, Dragsted LO, Bahl MI, Licht TR, Kleerebezem M, Lauritzen L, Roager HM. Effects of a wholegrain-rich diet on markers of colonic fermentation and bowel function and their associations with the gut microbiome: a randomised controlled cross-over trial. Front Nutr. 2023 Jun 1;10:1187165. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1187165. PMID: 37324737; PMCID: PMC10267323.
- What Counts As A Serving. OldWay Whole Grains Council. https://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/how-much-enough/what-counts-serving
