It probably does not surprise you to read that your body does not work in isolation. Each component of your body can affect another and the health of each component of your body is largely linked to the nutrition you are providing it with. One system which is hugely affected by the nutrition you provide it with is your gut.
Your gut is a complex system which include over 2kg of gut microbiota which play a key role in keeping the organs of your body healthy. This microbiota lives throughout your gastrointestinal (GI) tract and send out signals as short chain fatty acids which can be healthful or harmful to your body.
If you are not convinced of the importance of your gut to the health of your body, over 70% of the immune cells in your body are found in your gut. There is also a central signally pathway to your brain called the vagus nerve. This means if your gut is not happy the central control organ being your brain knows immediately.
One key organ the gut plays a role in keeping functional and healthy is your heart. Having an imbalance of more bad to good bacteria in your gut has been linked to poorer heart health and cardiovascular disease. If there are more bad bacteria this can negatively affect the permeability in your gut, this allows the release of toxins into your blood which has a downstream negative affect on the health of your heart. Your heart will start to produce excess inflammatory markers such as LPS which after a cascade of events cause damage to your heart.
The damage to your heart can due because with this inflammatory response how your body metabolizes nutrients changes increasing your risk of obesity. Secondly, insulin resistance increases which is linked to increased heart disease risk. It can also increase the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol which is linked to heart disease in your body.
One source of sugar which has been shown to have a negative effect on the gut and consequently the heart is excess fructose. Fructose is found naturally in fruit and this food is not to be restricted as the food matrix or benefits found in the whole food are beneficial to both gut and heart health. It is the excess fructose found from ultra-processed foods which use fructose as an added sugar. Such as refined cereal products, cakes, and sweets. These are the type of fructose you want to reduce.
If you want one diet to follow which promotes a healthy heart and gut it is the Mediterranean Diet. Full of foods which are abundant in phytonutrients. Also, fibre and resistant starch which feed the health of the good bacteria in your gut. The good bacteria in your gut can then transform the polyphenols to be even more powerful in protecting your body from the negative effect of free radical damage.
Fasting for 12 hours in between dinner and breakfast has also been shown to have positive affects on the health of your gut. The quality of the window you do eat does matter though and eating mostly sometimes foods and drinks during your eating window will out way the potential positive effects of the fasting period.
Take home message: Make sure your diet is looking after the health of your gut. If you are not sure what this looks like send me a message and I can help you to look after the health of your entire body.
