I love a lot of things. I love my family, I love lifting heavy, I love gardening, I love my dog…pretty standard things (except the lifting heavy perhaps??) but some less than average things I love are the vagus nerve, mitochondria and our gut microbiome. Weird, I know. I am just fascinated by these aspects of our body and how these, seemingly independent aspects of our biology act interdependently with each other in a complex network.
Today, I want to share a bit about my fascination with our gut microbiome, probably the most easily modifiable of these three.
In a nutshell, your gut microbiome is a microscopic world within the world of your larger body. There are literally trillions of microorganisms (the same amount of human cells we have!) that live there and they influence many aspects of our health, both within our digestive system and outside of it.
I was going to share with you the roles of the various bacteria within our gut but I thought it would be more impactful if I shared with you what my browsers response was to the question, “What would happen if we had no gut microbiota?”
This was the answer…
In big bold letters the response was “Catastrophic failure in nutrient metabolism.” Yikes. That sounds serious.
It then went on to explain that the absence of a microbiome would be so catastrophic because the human digestive system lacks the necessary enzymes to break down complex carbs like dietary fibre. We also wouldn’t be able to synthesize essential vitamins. Our immune system would be underdeveloped, make the body vulnerable to infections. Additionally, the absence of colonizaiton would leave the body defenseless against invading harmful microbes, making survival impossible.
It literally finished by calling us a ‘non-viable organism.’ without our microbiome.
And so, do you get my fascination? Or should I say respect? Here we are thinking we are this superior species and yet without these tiny little, microscopic organisms we are as good as dead. It’s honestly fodder for a good sci-fi movie or something.
The other interesting thing is that each of these tiny organisms play different roles. Some help digest fibre and produce short chain fatty acids that feed and protect our gut lining (reducing our risk of leaky gut and certain autoimmune diseases).
Some regulate the secretion of gut hormones like ghrelin and GLP-1 (the same peptide as Ozempic and Mounjaro) which influence appetite, stress response and cognitive function.
Some gut bacteria synthesize neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, regulating mood, motivation and emotional balance.
Some researchers even describe the gut microbiome as a “second brain”, explaining the intimate connection between the gut and the brain through a complex network of nerves, hormones and chemical signals. What happens in the gut can influence how we feel, think and behave.
In other words, what happens in our gut, does not stay in our gut.
Our Microbiome and Diet
Among the many factors the influence the gut microbiome, such as stress and lifestyle, diet is perhaps the most powerful. What we eat determines which microbes thrive and which decline.
You won’t be surprised when I tell you that a diet rich in plants support our bacteria, whereas one that is full of sugar and highly processed foods reduce diversity and encourage the growth of less beneficial species.
Fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi contain live microbes that contribute to microbial diversity and other foods such as sourdough provide essential pre-biotics, or food for our bacteria.
What’s important to note is that dietary patterns, rather than single meals have the most significant impact. And so, it isn’t what you do sometimes, it’s what you do most of the time that will have the biggest impact over time.
My Personal Approach
I try to make sure that almost every meal I eat is comprised of some form of plant species, and about 80% of these meals I try to make sure there is something raw in them.
I supplement with psyllium most days to up my fibre intake and I try to get as much diversity in my meals as I can. This may mean when I make a salad I use two different kinds of lettuce and at least 2 or 3 other vegetables. Or, when I put nuts on my breakfast, I don’t just use walnuts, I grab brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts and pecans. Or when I add berries to my yogurt, it isn’t just one kind, it is a few blackberries, a handful of raspberries and some blueberries.
