Cultivating a healthy gut microbiome: Lessons from nature
At the start of September, I gave a talk at Ecofest 2023 called ‘Cultivating a healthy gut microbiome: Lessons from nature’, in which I explored the fascinating parallels between our ‘inner ecosystem’ and the natural world around us.
In this blog, I share with you the highlights of the talk so you too can discover the number one piece of advice I shared for supporting gut health, and some potential benefits of my recommendations for the health of the planet too.
Of course, in our busy lives priorities will differ, and our relationships with food are unique and can be complex. Therefore, I am keen to point out that environmental consciousness and its role and emphasis in an individual’s approach to food and nutrition differ vastly too, and I respect this completely in my private practice.
What is the Gut Microbiome?
Let’s begin with the gut microbiome. Think of it as a vibrant and complex ecosystem residing within you, primarily in the large intestine. It's a world inhabited by trillions of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, whose collective weight is thought to be around 1 to 3 kilograms. In fact, there are approximately ten times more microbial cells in your body than human cells. But don't be alarmed by this - the majority of these bacteria work in harmony with your body, supporting your health in various ways.
Why is it Important to Have a Healthy Gut Microbiome?
Scientific understanding of the gut microbiome has expanded exponentially in the past few decades and whilst we are still learning, it is understood to play a pivotal role in overall health and wellness, impacting digestion, nutrient absorption, vitamin synthesis, and even the immune system. A balanced gut microbiome is associated with a reduced risk of numerous health conditions, and is thought to influence mood, brain function and metabolic regulation.
What Does a Healthy, Happy Gut Microbiome Look Like?
Imagine for a moment a lush rainforest teeming with diverse plant species… Now, picture this biodiversity mirrored within your gut, where over a thousand different strains of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms thrive together. Just as a rainforest's stability relies on its diversity, so does your gut. A diverse microbiome helps foster resilience against and aids recovery from changes caused by antibiotics, illness, or stress. Symbiotic relationships between different species in nature are mirrored in your gut, where certain bacteria aid digestion, produce vitamins, and support your immune system.
What Affects the Balance of Flora in the Gut Microbiome?
There are many factors influencing your gut's diversity and resilience. Firstly, mode of delivery at birth and method of infant feeding will initially impact your gut microbiota's establishment. Hydration, dietary patterns, chronic stress, sleep patterns, antibiotics, and other medications can all impact microbial balance during your lifetime, and environmental factors, such as geographic regions and toxin exposure, will also contribute to microbial diversity.
Dealing With an Unhappy Gut
If you're grappling with gut-related health concerns, you're not alone. Many individuals face digestive issues, and other symptoms linked to compromised gut health, but having worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade, I know that that finding relief and even resolution is possible.
Seeking personalised support from a registered nutritional therapist may be helpful to your journey because we are trained to help you better understand your body and your gut function, and can help you enhance your nutrition, eating habits, and self-care. Clinical tests, like comprehensive stool analysis, are useful as they provide insights into gastrointestinal function, microbial balance, and inflammatory markers, helping us to identify areas of imbalance and further personalise our approach.
Nurturing Our Inner Ecosystem Through Food - WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS
While there are many factors influencing the balance and resilience of our gut microbiomes, arguably our daily diets are one of the most influential. What I’ve learned is that there is potential benefit to our gut bugs of consuming a diverse diet, that is predominant in plant foods - encompassing vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, whole grains, herbs, and spices.
Why would regularly eating a diverse array of plant foods make a difference? There are a few reasons. Firstly, some plant fibres act as prebiotics that essentially nourish our beneficial microbes. Colourful plants also provide a wealth of phytonutrients that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, as well as delivering antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Plus, a diverse diet delivers a range of micronutrients that helps support every function in our bodies, healing and repair, immune, and metabolic health.
My clinical experience echos the research, suggesting that people who consume a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and other plants, tend to have better microbial diversity in their stool results.
How to Know If You're Getting Enough
Are you stuck in food ruts, often reaching for the same types of food on repeat? Do your find your meals often lack colour and vibrancy on the plate?
If so, how would you feel about experimenting with new some foods and recipes to discover exciting ways to diversify your diet and broaden the flavours too?
Or, how would you feel about challenging yourself to set a goal for a week of eating 30 or even 50 different plants? It may sound ambitious, but when you consider that different types of nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, whole grains, herbs, and spices all count in this diversity, you may just find it more achievable than you think.
Eating for the Planet
The modern human diet not only impacts our health, but carries undeniable risks to the health of the environment. Large-scale agriculture, the main threat to many species, has a huge environmental footprint. The loss of biodiversity affects ecosystems, soil health, pollination, and food security. There are also issues with pesticide use.
But here's the good news - we can all make a difference. Some key ways to do this are by incorporating more plants in our daily diets, eating seasonally, and supporting our local farmers. Through these approaches we can not only reduce our environmental footprint but we vote with our pounds too, encouraging the farming of more diverse, sustainably-produced, local foods.
I can’t make all those changes, I hear you say. And I get it - I can’t do it all perfectly either, and nor do I expect my clients to. Even if we see the value in these concepts, I know other priorities will take over in daily lives, and I appreciate how easy it is to slip into an ‘all or nothing’ approach to making changes.
However, I’m a bit advocate for the power of small changes. So, each time you make a decision to pop a new vegetable in your trolley; pop down to your local farm shop; or try out a seasonal recipe, remember there may be a small but powerful ripple effect.
MY Conclusions
My work at Gut Reaction centres around individual health and wellbeing, and I’m entirely nonjudgemental about where the environment aspect of eating sits in my clients’ values and priorities.
However, it is an area of escalating importance to myself, and some of my clients. And my message is a simple one: Eating more plants is universally beneficial for both human health and the planet. Your gut microbiome is a microcosm of larger ecosystems, and through some positive dietary adjustments, it is possible promote more harmony in both.
Next Steps
Are you feeling out of control around food? Do you have challenges with your energy, gut health or digestion? Are you looking for a fresh approach to nutrition that values your physical and emotional wellbeing?
My personalised support brings together Nutritional Therapy with Intuitive Eating, empowering you to live a healthier life in harmony with food and your body.
If you would you benefit from this type of support, then please check out my private programmes here, or contact me for an exploratory chat to find out more.
