Look after your gut!
“Scientists now believe that humanity’s most ancient cultivated plants are not grains and vegetables but rather microscopic organisms –moulds, yeast and bacteria – that cause foods to ferment. Modern research is just beginning to realise the incredible healing power of fermented foods.”
-John Bellane American Miso Company
We have all heard of probiotics otherwise known as friendly bacteria or ‘good flora’ the gut microbiome is a constellation or a whole eco culture of bacteria that we were born with and live in our gut. As agreed by many, you have more bacteria in your gut than you have cells in your entire body.
From the Greek word meaning 'for life' -probiotic is an umbrella term for beneficial bacteria present in fermented foods and our gut microbiome. Our digestive systems contain a wide range of beneficial bacteria, the majority of which are found in the colon. In fact, our colon contains ten times more bacteria than there are cells in the rest of the body.
It is widely accepted that most (approximately 70%) of the immune system resides in the gut and a balanced microbiome with the right ph initiates the assimilation of nutrients from our food, hence why it’s so important to cultivate and nurture your friendly flora population.
Probiotics are vitally important for maintaining good health and without them we cannot obtain optimal gut health which in turn affects our energy levels, our mental clarity, moods, metabolism and our overall well being
More than 400 various species weighing in at 1kg with positive and negative affects on our health.
A number of these species colonise the gut while others are transient, but they are effectively competing for space with pathogens such as Candida.
✤ The most well known of the probiotic bacteria are lactobacilli ( casei ,
acidophilus, plantarum, fermentum, reuteri are lactobacillus species)
found mainly in the small intestine and bifibacteria ( longum, lactose
infantis is are bifibacterium species) found mainly in the colon, both of
which are examples of colonising bacteria. Lactobacillus Bulgaricus is an example of a transient probiotic.
A variety of bacteria can metabolise the non digestible oligosaccharides. However two groups - the probiotic bifibacteria and lactobacilli seem to thrive on these prebiotics.
✤ In experiments where people have consumed prebiotic oligosaccharides the composition of their gut flora changed. The number of bifibacteria and lactobacilli increase at the expense of pathogenic bacteria like E.Coli
The major advantages of a favourable collection of bowel flora are:
✤ Generation of acid in the large intestine
✤ Exclusion to some extent of unfavourable bacteria
✤ Good conditions for mineral absorption
✤ Production and absorption of vitamins
✤ Protection against pathogenic (ie disease producing) organisms
✤ Good (soft and bulky) physical conditions of bowel contents, leading to a
'clean wall' Situation in the colon
✤ Relative freedom from congealed masses of material sticking to the walls.
✤ Reduction in the problem of toxins arising from putrefactive bacteria.
Studies have found the link to poor gut flora to diabetes, obesity, mental health issues and osteoporosis and heart disease. So taking care of the microbiome is your future health insurance.
The best path to choose is in the form of a supplement and fermented foods that offer transient probiotics that reach much further down the digestive tract.
You can obtain transient probiotics daily in the form of fermented foods and drink such as kefir, kombucha, natto, kimchee and sauerkraut.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are substances which provide a good food source for the beneficial bacteria in the gut, aiding the propagation of flora and improving the gut bacteria balance; these include inulin and oligosaccharides.
✤ Found in onions, garlic, leeks, chicory, artichokes, asparagus,
seaweed and in lesser amounts in, yams, sweet potatoes & to some degree bananas - although bananas feed both friendly bacteria and pathogens and being a tropical fruit; they are not ideal in Winter as they are too cooling.
Prebiotics are the food that your good flora prefer to thrive, and can be incorporated into your diet on a daily basis very easily.
For example try these:
Chicory Root.
Jerusalem artichoke.
Dandelion Greens.
Garlic.
Leeks.
Onions
Asparagus.
Root vegetables.
Apples (cooked ideally)
Green Bananas, not too ripe,
Plantain not too ripe
Sea vegetables. (Seagreens are ideal) see my other article about the magic of sea vegetables.
Sweet potatoes- all varieties are good especially Jamaican and Brazilian.
Try EcoDophilus from Bionutri to supplement your guthealth with an all in one pro-biotic!
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