The Gut Microbiome - Your internal garden

Did you know that you have over 100 trillion bacteria living inside you right now, who rely on you every minute of every day to survive and thrive.  Their role is to keep you healthy, while your role is to keep them healthy, a symbiotic relationship of the greatest proportions.

They help us to:

• Digest and metabolise our food
• Absorb essential nutrients into the blood stream
• Produce a variety of vitamins like K2, B12, folate and other anti inflammatory SCFAs
• regulate the mucosal immune system
• maintain integrity of the gut lining

In addition, it is believed that 70% of our immune system cells live within the gut which makes the microbiome very important when talking about ways to support our immune system health.

What alters our gut microbiota?

• ​Processed foods, fats, excessive sugar which are all damaging to the gut lining, they may also feed unfriendly bacteria and lead to dysbiosis
• Diet low in plant based fibres which starves the bacteria who rely on these important fibres
  
• Alcohol which slows digestive activity, promotes intestinal inflammation, lowers white blood cell count and overworks the liver
  
• Chronic levels of Stress alters the balance of microbiota, down regulates the immune system,

           slows digestion and adrenals use up excess nutrients

• Lack of exercise shows a direct link to a greater diversity of gut bacteria
  
• Antibiotics/Medications may lead to a loss in diversity (anti - LIFE (biotics))

So what can we do to ensure that we are supporting our gut microbiota?

There are a few ways in which we can support a wide diversity of bacteria within our gut including:

• Eating a variety of plant based, fibre rich foods (colours of the rainbow - prebiotic foods and resistant starches such as onions, garlic, asparagus, chicory, raw oats, potato starch, Jerusalem artichokes)
• Eating slowly to allow for efficient digestion of nutrients
• Incorporating fermented foods which provide the body with a variety of bacteria (each one having their own unique strains) that then help to populate the gut and give it more diversity.  These include: fermented vegetables, kimchi, raw sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, kvass, miso paste, tempeh and tofu
• Including bone broths/collagen to help with healing of the gut lining which helps to keep the environment healthy and to help prevent inflammation
• Eat healing fats like coconut oil (caprylic acid) and ghee (butryic acid) that both have their own roles in keeping the gut healthy
• Also including a variety of anti inflammatory foods like: ginger, garlic, turmeric, leafy greens, berries, green tea, ginseng, red grapes, honey, cinnamon and any other plant based food that will provide a whole range of compounds to protect your long term health.

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FERMENTED CARROTS

Take around 500g of carrots, peel them and then cut them into thin sticks

Then add them to a jar that you can cover with water with at least 1cm above the top of the carrots.

Add in some cumin seeds, and finely sliced ginger and some sea salt.  Then cover the carrots with a lid and leave in a cool dark place for a week.

Every 1-2 days release the gas that has built up. After the week store them in the fridge and enjoy ❤

Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash

Let's look at a very simple way that we can make fermented vegetables, with a household staple, in minutes to support our gut microbiome. 

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Try and rotate through different types of fermented foods throughout the month.  As mentioned each one will provide you with different types of bacteria that will be beneficial for your long term health.

Wishing you a week filled with happiness and health,

Debbie Vanderboom ❤