Focus on This to Improve Gut Health & Why Monotony is Not Your Friend

If a good mood, better gut, glowing skin and a happier mood are of interest to you,  listening to today's episode is worth the 14 minutes. 

We're getting right into it today, and talking about a KEY shift that can have a ripple effect on your over all health.

We're covering:

• why the microbiome is so important
• are bacteria the ones controlling us?
• a key marker of a healthy microbiome 
• what's wrecked our gut's diversity
• strategies to increase variety (including ones you  might have not considered before)
• the reason red foods matter and the new HOT shot bacteria on the block
• are fermented foods actually good? 

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions - feel free to email me at info@kylebuchanan.ca

Transcript

Feelgoodery is recorded in front of a live studio dog 

Hello and welcome to the show, it’s a very grey day here so I hope it’s sunny where you are. I haven’t set the scene in a little so i’ll set the scene, I’m sitting in my office, I’ve got Sam the live studio dog siting in the blue chair sort of snoring so I hope it doesn’t pick it up on the mic, its’ the sort of snore that could also pass for a fart so if you hear a faint fart noise please know it’s not from me. Or at least that’s what I’ll say. I’ve got a big glass of water with some biosteele electrolytes in it because it’s filtered water so you want to take steps to add some minerals back in for proper hydration, that’s one of the reasons I recommend a pinch of salt in your water and i’m wearing my yellow blue blocker glasses making me look like a giant tool. BUT  i don’t have eye strain so that’s a win. And if you DO deal with headaches after looking at a computer screen all day, I would recommend picking up a pair of blue blockers because honestly, it can make a big impact. 

Today,  I wanted to address something really important when it comes to our health, and the health of our gut. And that is variety. So there is a lot of information today, in a short period of time - so I hope you have your thinking caps on, and can take one or two things into practice after today - if you want. Because as always with what I say on this show, take what YOU need, and leave the rest. 

Let’s get into it, and why variety is more important than you might think when it comes to your health . . .  

A major player when it comes to our  health, and how we feel, is our microbiome, which is becoming more mainstream, we’re hearing more about it. 

But our gut microbiome is this collective universe we have within us, filled with bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. We’re more bacteria than we are human, bacteria outnuimber human cells 10 to 1. (And there is a line of thinking that we’re actually just vessels for our bacteria, they’re in the drivers seat. But that’s besides the point. )

And our gut microbiome influences our entire body, from our:

Digestion: helping us break down food and producing substances that nourish the lining of our gut. To our

• Metabolism (our bacteria impact the conversion of thyroid hormones, which regulate our metabolism).

• Immune System Function: 70 % percent of our immune system resides in the gut, and the bacteria in our gut help to train our immune system. To

• Mental Health:
  • There is a growing body of research suggesting a link between the gut microbiome and mental health - 

• The composition of our gut bacteria impact our inflammaroy load and inflammation levels, certain harmful bacteria are known to increase inflammation and contribute to autoimmune disease.
  
  And then there are factors that we might not even consider as relating to our bacteria. Like,  
• Our Hearts
• Our bones (Certain bacteria may affect the absorption of minerals essential for bone strength.)
• Our Sleep (Microbial metabolites may influence circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles.)
  And our Skin - but there’s actually something called the Gut-Skin Axis, but if you have conditions like eczema, or acne - that can largey attributed to what’s going on in the gut. 
• And finally our longevity! And I’ll get into that part in a second. 

The more we learn, the more it’s clear that our microbes play a primary, pivotal and fundamental role in that.  

The more importance we place on supporting our microbiome, the better we’ll be. 

So let’s talk about WHAT a healthy microbiome looks like. 

Now, we all have a unique signature when it comes to our microbiome,  (we’re all biological snowflakes) one is not like the other and there is a lot of nuance when it comes to this.

But besides some staple things - like having a good number of beneficial bacteria, as well as a lower number of potentially harmful more opportunistic bacteria and other organisms, there is ONE market of a healthy microbiome that I really want to highlight today. 

And that is DIVERSITY. While we’re still learning, it seems that the more diverse someone’s microbiome is, the healthier the person. 

We want to have a whole bunch of different bacteria and microorganisms living down there. If our bacteria were cereal - we want it to be something like muesli, and not plain cheerios. We want a whole nice party going on down there. 

On the other side, low microbiome diversity has been associated with a wide spectrum of health issues, ranging from Type 2 Diabetes and obesity, to inflammation and allergies, to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and depression. 

And when it comes to healthy aging and frailty, diversity also plays a part.  A study of Chinese centenarians, individuals aged 100 years or older, revealed that their microbiomes exhibited higher diversity compared to younger counterparts (Aging, frailty and inflammation are also linked to decreased microbiome diversity.). Now there’s a lot more that can help a person live long - but this is an interesting point to note. 

So with all of this  . . if diversity is so important, what causes a decline in bacterial  diversity? 

• Antibiotic use: While antibiotics serve their place, they’re known to reduce bacterial diversity in the gut by as much as 30% after one round of antibiotics. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4709861/
• Excessive Stress: Stress can alter the composition of microbial communities, potentially leading to a decline in diversity and a less resilient microbiome.
• Lack of Physical Activity: Regular physical activity is believed to support microbial diversity, and a lack of exercise may contribute to a less varied microbiome.\
• Lack of Fibre in the diet: fibre helps to feed our bacteria!
• Lack of Variety in the diet

SO THIS ALL BRINGS ME TO TODAYS POINT. 

Add variety to the diet to increase microbial diversity, which leads to a happier, more feelgood you. 

It’s 2024. We eat VERY differently than we did a hundred years ago. And one hallmark of our current way of eating, is that we eat a very monotonous diet, and the abundance of highly processed foods is higher than ever before. Food diversity is down. In fact On a global scale, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that our food diversity has dropped 75% in the last 100 years. (https://www.fao.org/3/i2043e/i2043e02a.pdf). 

And this lack of variety is resulting in a decline in microbial diversity, which is dragging us down. 

So we want to increase variety in our diets, and we largely do this by increase the variety of plant foods we consume. How many? The ideal is about 30 different plants a week. Researchers at the American Gut Project found that people who ate more than 30 different plants foods per week had a more diverse gut microbiome compared to those who ate 10 or fewers. (https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msystems.00031-18)

I know that number can seem daunting, but I don’t want it to be. There are ways to increase your variety in subtle, strategic ways. Let’s go over some of them. 

• First - of course - Expand your veggie and fruit palate. (This one seems obvious, but try out new veggies and fruits, if you always buy broccoli, try cauliflower instead, if you always go the blueberry route, next time buy blackberries, or raspberries. Aim for a new veggie and fruit a week and expand your palate).
  
  
  
• Vary your favourite staples: variety within the same category counts! The nutritional profile and antioxidant profile can vary within the same category. (example, if you normally buy red delicious apples, next time try Fujis).
  
  
  
• Spices count! Spices are a great source of polyphenols, which are plant chemicals that feed your bacteria. Cinnamon to your coffee, dill on your eggs, turmeric to your stirfries. This could easily add up to 10 new variety additions to your week. 
  
  
  
• Shop at different stores (if you can). Different stores source from different locations, which can alter the nutrition profile the foods you eat. 
  
  
  
• Eat the Rainbow. It’s really  easy to eat brown and green .Brown for meats and green because have a salad. But the more colour you have in your diet, the more polyphenols you’re feeding your bacteria. And different colours feed different bacteria. White, Blue, Purple and of course .   . . we have reds.
  
  And I want to hone in on reds. There’s a very important keystone bacteria called Akkermansia Muciniphila that was just discover in 2010. This is something you will be hearing more about in the years to come so you can say you heard it first. But akkermansia lives in the mucous of our gut, feeds on our mucous and produces substances that help encourage the growth of other good bacteria. It helps protect the lining of our gut and is also associated with a reduced risk of obesity. 

Helping this keystone bacteria grow can help us in numerous ways. Fibre intake is one way to help grow this bacteria, but that will naturally happen when you increase variety. But it turns out that Akkermansia  love RED POLYPHENOLS. Which we don't’ get a ton of in our atypical diets. So pay special attention to include more reds in your diet from foods like pomegranates, grapes, beets and raspberries. We want to show our love for red! 

• Lastly, add in fermented foods - both for variety sake, and diversity’s sake. Fermented foods are one of the best foods you can eat, and help encourage microbial diversity. In fact,  there’s encouraging evidence that fermented foods are able to increase microbial diversity even mores o than fibre alone (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34256014/). So having a forkful or two, or spoonful or two, of fermented foods daily can really do more good than you think.

Now I know that was a lot of ways to increase variety. But you do NOT have to do it all at once. 

The point with this shift, should you choose to try this one - it putting more intention behind your choices, and adding variety whenever possible. Whether that’s adding in a red food to your day, buying sauerkraut next time your at the store, or finally using those spices that have been sitting so patiently in your cupboard waiting for you to use them more than once. 

As always, if you go something out of today’s episode, or any episode, it would mean a lot if you take a second to leave the show a 5 star rating or review, and please feel free to share this episode to someone who could benefit from it. 

At the end of the day - variety helps us in SO many ways. Having a variety of friends is great. Having a variety of shows to watch. And when it comes to our food and what we consume - when you increase variety - not only will you increase your fibre and antioxidant intake, but you’ll also  encourage the growth of that diversity which will have a ripple effect on your entire system - and lead to a feelgood you. And I don’t know if anyones told you yet, but you deserve to feel good. Every, single day. Thank you for takin the time to be with me today, and I will see you next time on feelgoodery. 

And now for the legal stuff. The information provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please always consult with your health care provider.