Top tips for GUT HEALTH
live well, indulge where desired, and thrive, all at the same time.
More than a product offering, The Gut Co offer a considered approach to wellness, through lifestyle. Products that are second to none in efficacy, quality and footprint, definitively beautiful to encourage connection and repetition of your healthy habits, with a commitment to sustainability that resonates.
Suffice to say we’re avid fans and adore the founder Pernille’s realistic approach, advocating for a healthy and balanced lifestyle and education on how best to support yourself in this busy Modern World, to live well, indulge where desired, and thrive, all at the same time.
We asked The Gut Co to share some of their insights with us, specifically why gut health is so important and offer ways to take care of the gut and in turn our overall health and wellbeing.
OUR APPROACH TO SUPPORTING GUT HEALTH
At The Gut Co, our focus is very much food first in support of a healthy and thriving gut ecosystem. If you can, eating a nourishing diet, full of a variety of plants as your foundation, preferably organic due to the overuse of pesticides and herbicides used in conventional farming today, which can have a negative impact on your gut. Research also shows, that organic or similar growing methods, produce food with a higher nutrient profile than conventional produce, so whilst the investment can be higher, the value is higher too.
Plants provide a range of gut friendly micro-nutrients, antioxidants and fibre and help support your body to operate at it’s best. It’s also really important to get out in nature, get your hands dirty, swim in the ocean and walk in the forrest and let yourself be supported by healthy microbes that support your body to thrive, pets are another great way of interacting with health supporting microbes. In our culture of cleanliness, we can miss out on the benefits of healthy bacteria by being too over sanitised.
WHAT IS THE GUT MICROBIOME The billions of bacteria that live in the gut make up what’s called the microbiome or microbiota. The microbiome is an internal ecosystem that benefits us in numerous ways, including facilitating the absorption of nutrients, regulating our appetite, producing neurotransmitters, regulating our mood and immune system. The health of your gut determines your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from the food you eat and the supplements that you take and a poor functioning gut will have a reduced ability to assimilate the nutrients you ingest leading to nutrient deficiencies, a major component in poor immunity. The microbiome is beneficial to the immune system as it’s able to mobilise an attack on invading pathogens and prevent the infection from taking hold, it also has a beneficial impact on the gut lining where the immune system resides.
HOW DO WE SUPPORT OUR MICROBIOME?The best strategy for achieving and maintaining a healthy gut microbiota is to ensure that the ratio between the good and the bad bacteria is a healthy one. Achieving this golden ratio of good to bad bacteria is obtained by feeding the good bacteria and starving the bad. The good bacteria like eating prebiotics which are found in fibrous foods such as garlic, leek, onion, artichoke, asparagus, unripe bananas and chicory root. Bad bacteria enjoy sugar and processed foods. Other factors such as stress, alcohol, gluten, medication and lack of sleep can have an adverse effect on the microbiome too. The best way to minimise the impact that modern life has on the gut is to include a daily prebiotic to your routine and possibly also a probiotic.
WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?
Probiotics are living microorganisms that boost health when consumed in adequate amounts and can be obtained from foods and supplements.
Some examples of probiotics from food are miso, some cheeses, yoghurt (both dairy + dairy alternatives like coconut, almond, soy), sourdough bread, kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir.
You can also supplement with specific types of probiotic supplements. Probiotics can be very useful, especially in addressing specific conditions and some can also help to increase the diversity of the microbiome. However, prebiotics are actually the go to when trying to enhance overall diversity of your gut microbiome.
WHAT IS A PREBIOTIC?
Prebiotics are a type of soluble fibre that feeds the good bacteria in the gut, they are like an insurance policy, similar to taking a multivitamin; if you don’t live the perfect healthy life (who does!) taking prebiotics regularly will ensure the bacteria are receiving enough food for them to grow and keep the bad guys at bay.
e.g. onion, garlic, asparagus, leeks, Jerusalem artichoke, the skin of apples (pectin), chicory root, beans, red and black rice and leafy greens.
Getting enough prebiotics from food can be a challenge, especially if fibrous foods give you gas and bloating. Supplements can be beneficial, however they can also cause bloating and gas in people with sensitive stomachs, hence I only recommend using prebiotics that are FODMAP safe and won’t cause bloating and gas. My top two prebiotics are Acacia gum and Partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG) as they have shown to increase the production of beneficial bacteria, alleviate constipation, relieve diarrhea and suppress appetite, therefore, supporting weight loss.
WHAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE MICROBIOME & REDUCES GOOD BACTERIA AND DIVERSITY?Modern living is not kind to our gut environment because we are living in a world where processed foods are part of our diet and stress is very common. Below is a list of the worst offenders:
Stress
processed foods
GMO produce
Alcohol
Pesticides (non-organic produce)
Medications especially antibiotics
Gluten
It's worth mentioning that antibiotics have a noticeable, lasting effect on the composition of the microbiome, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. If you have to take antibiotics make sure you rebuild you microbiome using pre and probiotics.
Most of us are putting our gut microbiome at risk every day, but we can mitigate this by regularly feeding the good bacteria in the gut with prebiotics. It takes a lot of the above foods to achieve the required effect and these foods should be consumed on a daily basis, which most people are unable to do. Therefore, including a daily prebiotic supplement is the best way to ensure your good bacteria are looked after, so they can look after your immune system.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SUPPORT OUR GUT MICROBIOME? The gut is linked to everything, from mood to mental health, to skin, the health of your hormones, your immunity and even your weight. There is not one system that isn’t impacted by the health of your gut and in fact, it seems that a healthy gut microbiome is the key driver in the healthy functioning of most other systems.
The gut-brain axis or connection, for example is very important as a large percentage (about 95%) of serotonin receptors are found in the lining of the gut. Serotonin is a hormone that stabilises your mood and promotes good sleep, it is also called the happy hormone. Research is examining the potential of probiotics for treating both anxiety and depression.
70-80% of your immune system resides in the gut lining. A poor functioning gut can to lead to a suboptimal immune system, meaning you will be more susceptible to getting a cold or the flu, and these infections may be more severe for you than for someone with a strong immune system.
The gut bacteria play a role in fighting viruses and bacteria by directly interacting with the pathogens and indirectly by influencing the part of the immune system that resides in the gut lining. The more abundant and diverse the microbiota is the stronger the immune system.
ARTICLE BY PERNILLE JENSEN, FOUNDER OF THE GUT CO. NATUROPATH, NUTRITIONIST AND HERBALIST.