Our gut is a rich ecosystem comprising trillions of bacteria - both good and bad - that live inside our digestive tract. Collectively, these micro-organisms are the gut microbiota.
Beneficial bacteria are key not only in digestion of foods and absorption (and production) of nutrients, but also in enforcing our immunity, supporting our mood and cognition (via the gut-brain-axis), hormonal and metabolic regulation, and a host of functions.
A healthy microbiome is driven by rich micro-diversity. It’s not just about having more “good” than “bad” bacteria – diversity of strains is key to confer optimal benefit. There are up to 1,000 different types of bacteria in the human gut, with most playing important, individual roles in health. Our microbiome is hugely impacted by the foods we eat, namely those containing prebiotics and probiotics, which helps maintain equilibrium and micro-diversity.
Prebiotics are non-digestible, fibrous foods which fuel our existing beneficial microflora – since your body can’t digest them, they pass through to the lower digestive tract and are utilised as food by good bacteria. They’re the fertiliser which supports the growth and proper functioning of the microbiota already residing in our gut. Research suggests we should be consuming 30-40g fibrous foods, daily. This is easy to do without need for supplements such as inulin or fibre blends, by consuming a varied diet, especially when including pre-biotic-rich foods such as wholegrains and legumes, garlic, onions, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, shitake mushrooms, asparagus, oats, apples and bananas.
Whilst prebiotics provide the fuel, probiotics are themselves health-promoting bacteria, found mainly in fermented foods such as dairy (hard cheeses, kefir, natural yoghurt), tempeh, kimchi and sauerkraut. If you’re eating varied probiotic foods, you’ll not only populate your gut with beneficial bacteria (helpful after antibiotics), but also promote good micro-diversity amongst strains for optimal benefit. Supplemental probiotics can also be helpful, especially for an added boost during and after periods of illness, but not all probiotic supplements are equal. Look for not only number of live bacteria (billions of Colony Forming Units / CFUs - 10-billion CFUs minimum, with some very effective formulation containing 50-100 billion), but also for diversity of strains (5 strains plus ideally).
(6) West, C., Renz, H., Jenmalm, M et al. (2015). The gut microbiota and inflammatory noncommunicable diseases: Associations and potentials for gut microbiota therapies. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 135 (1).
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