Did you know that we are made up of 10 trillion human cells and 100 trillion microbial cells, with the average adult carrying 1.5 kilos of microbes? As a result we are actually 10 times more micro-organisms than cells? This makes us the ultimate hotel and in fact an incredibly diverse eco-system. There are incredibly more bacteria inside one persons large intestine than there has ever been people on the planet! And our microbiome is one of the largest organs in the body, being roughly the weight of our brain. The majority of our microbes (or our micobiome) live in our digestive system with between 500-1100 species of microbes in the gut alone. Present even in the stomach where they are resistant to strong stomach acid, numbers in the small intestine grow to an amazing one million bacteria per ml of intestinal fluid. Microbes really thrive in the large intestine with an incredible 90 % of all the cells in the human body being the microbes here. The lactobacillus and bifidobacteria species are the two main genuses of bacteria that exist in our digestive system. We inherit them from our mother during gestation, birth and breastfeeding and also from close contact with our immediate family during first few years of life. From recent studies we know that within 838 days after birth (approx 2 ¼ years) we have created our own unique set of microbes that turn into our adult microbiota. Our microbiomes grow to be very variable, very complex , very individual and very important and it is vital that we look after them!
So how do we feed our good bacteria?
Our gut bacteria digest all food that we eat. You will have all heard the saying, “we are what we eat”, and this saying applies to the microbiome and gut bacteria too. We must feed it the right foods for it to work effectively! As well as the probiotics, or good bacteria being vital, prebiotics, such as oats, legumes, bananas, raw leeks, garlic, onion, asparagus, artichokes, turmeric, cinnamon, tomatoes, carrots are just as important, as they stimulate and feed our populations of good bacteria. As a practitioner, I run specific stool tests, which test for good and bad bacteria levels, parasites, enzymes, mucous levels, undigested food particles etc (these tests are amazing, I highly recommend if you have digestive issues as the information gathered is so valuable and removes the guesswork behind treatments!). When levels of specific good bacteria are low we need to both supplement with a specific probiotic strain, to replace good bacteria but also provide a fantastic fuel source, such as a prebiotic fibre supplement, which literally grows the good bacteria. These often contain substances such as inulin, resistant maltodextrin or arabinogalactans. These supplements supercharge your good bacteria growth, which in urn prevents bad bacteria or parasites from proliferating.
If you think of the gut like a lawn, then the bad bacteria are the weeds, probiotics are like planting extra healthy good grass and prebiotics are the fertilizer, which feeds and improves the whole lawn.
Ultimately we need to get a good mix of plant based foods in the diet, containing plenty of fibre. There has been a substantial drop in our fibre intake in recent years due to our higher consumption of processed foods. As humans, we evolved consuming much more dietary fibre then we do now and we need do so to have good gut bacteria as the food for our microbes is only provided by plant based foods. The easy solution is to eat plenty of high-fibre foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, chickpeas, beans, lentils and wholegrains, including oats and brown rice, many of these are also prebiotic foods- win win!
So when you are having a meal, look at it and ask yourself- what in this meal is for me and my appetite and what is in it for my gut bacteria?
Want to test YOUR gut bacteria? Then contact me here at victoriamartinnaturopathics@gmail.com
Want to learn how to integrate more delicious raw and cooked fruit and veggies into your diet? Then check out my Easy Spring Detox here, packed with recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, smoothies and juices!
In good health,
Victoria xoxox
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