Your body has more bacteria than cells and they function all over your body to contribute to your overall health. Your gut microbiome is where many of these bacteria live. They help you break down food and turn nutrients into something that is useful for your body. Your gut microbiome should ideally be in equilibrium with bad and good bacteria.
Too much bad bacteria and you’re more likely to have Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and IBS. There are also studies to show that too much bad bacteria in your gut can lead to cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer.
However, the good news is that you can completely change your gut microbiome in just a few days.
Here’s how:
Eat a diverse range of foods
The more whole foods you eat, the more bacteria, nutrients and vitamins you will be providing your gut. Each of these bacteria offers a particular role to the body and so it’s important to eat as many plant-based whole foods in your diet as possible. Generally speaking, the Western diet is not very diverse and is mostly made up of fats, sugars and processed carbohydrates. Studies have shown that rural areas of Africa and South America have greater gut health than people from urban areas of Europe and the United States.Eat plenty of fibre
It seems nutrition advice always mentions fibre, but we don’t really ever seem to know what it does. However, fibre is deeply important in our digestive system. While we can’t digest fibre ourselves, bacteria can. So feeding your gut bacteria with plenty of fibre will help stimulate their growth. Fibre-rich superfoods include:- Raspberries
- Artichokes
- Green peas
- Broccoli
- Chickpeas
- Lentils
- Beans
- Whole grains
- Bananas
- Apples
Eat fermented foods
Fermented foods are food that has undergone the process of fermentation, meaning the sugars they contain have been broken down by yeast or bacteria. Eating these foods provides your body with huge amounts of good bacteria, so eating them every day can help repopulate your gut. You can easily make some fermented foods at home, so it's an affordable way to stay healthy. Fermented foods include:- Kombucha (fermented tea - make sure to choose one with no added sugar)
- Kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables)
- Kefir (fermented milk)
- Tempeh (fermented soybeans)