All disease begins in the gut (paraphrasing Hippocrates). I think of maintenance of a healthy and wealthy microbiome as health insurance.
“People with relatively less complex microbiomes have higher overall body adiposity and more inflammation associated characteristics, indicating that they are at higher risk of metabolic disease than people with a greater gut-bacterial richness.”
— Fang, S and Evans, R. Wealth management and the gut. Nature 2013: 500:538-539
For example, recent research on the pathogenesis of diabetes points to an important role of the health status of the microbiome. We can all be healthy, wealthy and wise by supporting a diverse microbiome with key strains that build and maintain the gut barrier.
Being “Friendly” to Gut Microbes Pays Off!
Here are some things you can do to support a diverse and balanced gut microbiome:
- Eat an anti-inflammatory diet rich in fruits and vegetables, beans and lentils, roots and tubers. These foods provide great sustanance (pre-biotics) for bacterial species that we want to “live” in our gut to help keep us healthy.
- Supplement with a clinically tested probiotic. I use Megasporebiotic probiotic to help build microbial diversity and support beneficial keystone bacterial strains in the gut; a healthy gut microbiome are the maintainers of a healthy gut lining. Saccharomyces Boulardi is another option.
- Eat foods that are sources of healthy microbes. Foods with like yogurt and kefir and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and pickles are sources of natural probiotics.
- Don’t eat animal products (like beef, chicken, eggs, dairy, etc.) from animals that have been raised with antibiotics.
- Play outdoors more. Did you know that playing outdoors, getting back to nature and having pets is another way to enrich your gut microbiome?
- And, only use anti-microbial wipes, cleaning supplies and soaps when absolutely necessary. Our skin has a microbiome too! It’s all connected.
- Take antibiotics only when your doctor feels it is absolutely necessary.
Gut Bacterial Richness
When it comes to the gut microbiome…it’s all about the healthy competition between hundreds (if not thousands) of strains of microbes.
Add wealth to your health through your gut, with the riches of a diverse and balanced gut microbiome. It’s a new type of “health insurance” that pays off.
