Want Healthy Bacteria in Your Gut? Diet Is the Key

Researchers are continuously working to discover the benefits of gut bacteria and how important it is for our health. There are trillions of microbes that live inside our gut and learning about their benefits can be helpful in boosting the growth of healthy gut bacteria, which is good for our health. However, some gut bacteria have been associated with inflammation and various digestive disorders. Thus, it is important to have healthy bacteria in our gut, as they can help in strengthening our immune system and also contribute to maintain healthy weight.

Expert nutritionist Kimberly Snyder says that the nutritional value of the food we eat is dependent on gut bacteria. This is because proper digestion is helpful in the absorption of nutrients in food. Thus, if we have healthy gut bacteria, they can help improve digestion and thus can improve the nutritional intake of the body. Bad gut bacteria can cause inflammation. Also, a study has even suggested that bad gut bacteria in mother can cause autism in children.

But how can we maintain healthy gut bacteria? Kimberly highlights on how you can maintain healthy bacteria in your gut. She advises to avoid meat, go for a plant-based diet and increase the consumption of soil-based organisms (SBOs). She further explained how doing these things can help in having healthy gut bacteria:

1. Avoid Meat in Your Diet

Want-Healthy-Bacteria-in-Your-Gut-Diet Is the keyWhen we consume meat-based diet, it affects the production of bile, a digestive juice produced by the liver which helps in the digestion of fat. When we consume meat, the body produces more bile to digest animal fats. Increased bile in the gut provides a perfect environment for the growth of a bad bacteria called Bilophila.

In a report published in the journal Nature ^[1] , the scientists from Harvard University reported that a meat-based diet can badly affect the gut microbiome.

Kimberly adds that consuming meat can affect the growth of healthy bacteria inside the gut and can lead to the growth of bad bacteria that are harmful for our body. Also, another study showed that bad bacteria caused inflammation and colitis in mice. Moreover, inflammation can cause many health problems.

Thus, it is necessary to maintain healthy gut bacteria to remain healthy. You need to stop eating meat to prevent the growth of bad bacteria so that you don’t face any digestive problems.

2. Go for a Plant-Based Diet

Meat-based diet can be replaced with plant-based diet which provides essential amount of fiber to the body required for the growth of good gut bacteria. Fiber works as a prebiotic and promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms that can contribute to the health of the digestive system.

Kimberly mentions that a plant-based diet can alter the intestinal microbiota. It can provide sufficient fiber to the body, that can increase the production of short chain fatty acids, thus helps in maintaining the pH of the intestines. An optimum pH level inhibits the growth of harmful pathogens like E. coli.

Also, a plant-rich can provide can provide complex carbohydrates that are essential for increasing good bacteria in the gut, while reducing bad bacteria. Thus, consuming a plant-based diet takes you one step forward towards a health gut and healthy life.

3. Consume a Diet Rich in Soil-Based Organisms (SBOs)

Soil-based products are very beneficial for our health. Soil can provide different strains of extremely beneficial bacteria, i.e., soil-based probiotics or soil-based organisms. These beneficial bacteria enter our body when we consume plants or fruits. However, the modern conventional farming has affected soil and depleted the valuable microbes in it.

Soil-based organisms can help in improving digestion and making the immunity system stronger. They also play an important role in the absorption of nutrients in the body, boost energy levels, support mood and promote mental health.

But, the modern farming techniques involve growing food by using microbe-killing chemicals, and washing off the bacteria that result in the loss of SBOs. Thus, when these foods are consumed, our body doesn’t get enough useful microorganisms.

However, soil-based probiotics are available in market in supplemental forms. Thus, a routine use of them can help in promoting the growth of healthy gut bacteria and promote our overall health.