5 Ways to Support a Healthy Microbiome

Gut Health

Jun 14

The gut microbiome is a collection of microorganisms (like bacteria, virus', yeast, protozoa and archea) that live in symbiosis with us (the host), in our gut. The majority of our gut microbiome lives within our colon, AKA the large intestine.

The gut microbiome plays MANY important roles when it comes to our overall health and wellbeing. Some important roles that these lil' bugs play are:

They manufacture neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that play a role in our mood, movement, heart rate, among many other functions. What's interesting is that 80-90% serotonin (our happy chemical) is made in our gut. GABA and dopamine are also made in the gut. These are neurotransmitters that impact our mood, drive, and chill. You can imagine how this can impact your psychology 🧠

They help to digest food (that we can't)

The bugs in our gut can help us breakdown undigestable fibers that we get through plant foods, creating super healing byproducts in the process

They protect against infection

Upwards of ~70% of our immune system resides in the gut. The gut microbiota plays a key role here, as it can regulate both the immune system that is local to the digestive tract, AND more widespread, systemic immune function.

They impact our metabolism

Cells in the mucosal lining of the gut release hormones that regulate various aspects of our metabolism. The gut microbiota influences how these hormones are released!

They produce some vitamins

Some of these little buggers actually MAKE certain vitamins, namely vitamin K and certain B vitamins 😎

They create healing SCFA's

Short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, acetate, and propionate are created as byproducts when gut bugs metabolize indigestible fibers in the gut. SCFA's are super healing for the intestinal lining, can cross the blood-brain barrier, have anti-inflammatory properties, assist in blood sugar management, & more.

While that is a non-exhaustive list of all the roles the gut microbiome plays — you can begin to understand just from these 5, that the microbiome is a pretty important part of us!

That being said, the following are 5 ways you can support a healthy, thriving microbiome:

1. Eat the rainbow

You may have heard this one before — and it's for a good reason. Eating the rainbow ensure that you're consuming a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols. Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds that actually give plant foods their colour.

Some polyphenols that you might be familiar with are flavonoids such as anthocyanins (anthocyanins are responsible for the deep bluish-purple colour found in blueberries, blackberries, purple cabbage, etc.). Some other polyphenols are quercetin, phenolic acids, and lignans.

Polyphenols can actually have an impact on the composition of our gut microbiome, by supporting growth and diversity, contributing to healthy balance within the kingdom that lives in our colon. These polyphenols are actually metabolized by our gut bugs, producing health-promoting byproducts as a result.

**2. Eat with diversity in mind (especially in plant foods)**

Diversity — especially in plant foods — is hands-down one of the best ways to support a thriving, healthy microbiome. Plant foods contain fiber. Our gut bugs LOVE fiber.

There are two main types of fiber that you can find in plant foods: soluble and insoluble fibers. There are also resistance starches, and "prebiotic" fibers, which are subtypes of soluble fibers. Soluble fibers dissolve in water and feed the microbiome. Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water and are great at bulking stool for healthy bowel movements. All types of fiber are important for digestive health, microbiome health, and overall health and wellbeing.

Getting a diversity in plant foods is a great way to ensure you're getting a variety of nutrients AND fiber. Different foods contain different amounts of soluble vs. insoluble fibers, thus present different benefits for us as consumers.

A tip I love giving clients and my community is this: every time you go to the grocery store, pick up a plant food you either 1) have never seen nor had before, or 2) haven't had in the last ~2 weeks.

This is an easy and FUN way to incorporate more plant diversity into your nutrition!

3. Incorporate prebiotic foods

As mentioned above, prebiotic foods are those that contain prebiotic fibers. These are a type of fiber that is “a selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microflora that confers benefits upon host well-being and health."

Basically — prebiotic fibers are known to be fermented by our friendly bugs, which create healing byproducts as a result, which are super beneficial for us!

As mentioned above, certain microorganisms ferment these prebiotic fibers and create these byproducts called "short-chain fatty acids." These SCFA's are both healing for the gut locally, as well as systemically.

Some specific prebiotic fibers that you can start to incorporate into your every day are:

onions
garlic
leeks
chicory root
oats
sunchokes
green banana
plantain flour
apple pectin

4. Incorporate fermented foods

Fermented foods have been very much in the spotlight these days. Which is amazing! But probably not for the reason you're thinking.

Fermented foods contain live microorganisms themselves; species like lactobacillus are often found in ferments.

These live microorganisms have been shown in studies to actually provide us with health benefits, as they've been shown to actually survive transit and act in the colon. Byproducts of the fermentation process to create these foods can actually offer us health benefits as well, such as in the case of lactic acid, which is known to have effects in reducing inflammation and act as an antioxidant in the gut.

Because of the fermentation process, certain nutrients become more bio-available: things like peptides and polyphenols in our food become more bio-active due to the fermentation process.

(fiber fueled)

Some ferments that you might want to incorporate are:

sauerkraut
kimchi
miso
tempeh
natto
beet kvass
fermented vegetables

5. Minimize foods that can negatively impact your microbiome + gut health

Unfortunately, there are certain food products that tend to have an undesirable effect on our precious microbiome.

While I don't believe in restriction with food and try to err on the side of anti-diet culture, there are "foods" (non-foods, really), that can wreak havoc on the gut.

It's my recommendation that you avoid or limit these foods, as much as possible.

Certain foods that can have negative impacts on the microbiome are as follows:

highly processed and refined oils (like vegetable, canola, linseed, etc)
sugars and highly-refined carbohydrates (think white sugar and white flour-based products)
artificial sweeteners (like aspartame, sucralose, sugar alcohols, etc)
trans fats and excess amounts of saturated fats
alcohol in excess

These "foods" can reduce diversity in the microbiome, increase intestinal inflammation and contribute to intestinal hyperpermeability.

While this isn't to say that you can't enjoy foods that contain these ingredients or have a nice glass of wine, it's important to be aware of how these products can impact the health of both our microbiome and our body as a whole.

So, by now you've learned both WHY the microbiome is important for our overall health and wellbeing (and some of it's many important roles), PLUS five ways that you can get started right now with supporting a healthy microbiome.

To recap, the five ways you can support a healthy microbiome are:

eating the rainbow (remember, polyphenols!!)
eating a diversity in foods — and especially in plants (think: beans, legumes, grains, tubers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc.)
incorporate prebiotic foods every day
incorporate fermented (probiotic) foods every day
limit your exposure to microbiome-disrupting "foods"

Supporting your microbiome with these 5 tools is a great way to get started, but it's one piece.

If you're reading this because you're struggling with any sort of digestive issue, be it IBS, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, upper GI symptoms like acid reflux, indigestion, burping, etc. — and you incorporate these 5 things but still aren't finding relief in your symptoms, then I'd love for you to check out my 1:1 program The Gut Restore Method.

It's a 12 week 1:1 program where we can dive DEEP into your digestive health (including the state of your microbiome), to see where you could use some support to bring things back into balance!

You can learn more about The Gut Restore Method here.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705355/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30746536/

Bulsiewicz, W. (2020). Fiber fueled: The plant-based gut health program for losing weight, restoring your health, and optimizing your microbiome. New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House.