The good, the bad, the ugly of the Western diet includes fruit and vegetables (good), refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup (bad), and processed foods, and artificial sweeteners (ugly). If your gut is rumbling and roaring and causing you discomfort, one of the first places to look for a cure is your food. If you don’t have bloating and gas but are experiencing fuzzy-brain, restless sleep and a lot of stress, take a look at the food you are eating and remove the bad and ugly to improve your gut health.
Your gut health has a direct impact on your physical and mental health.
The healthy human body has microorganisms inhabiting every spot available on the body. It is in our gut, the gastrointestinal tract, that we can find the most extensive collection of microorganisms. These microorganisms make up our gut microbiota. Combine the microbiota, the products it makes, and the entire environment it lives within, and we have a microbiome. The human microbiome (all of our microbes’ genes) can be considered a counterpart to the human genome (our genes). And it’s much bigger. We have an oral microbiome, skin microbiome, and gut microbiome.
Every human being has a gut microbiota (community of bacteria) that is unique. People who have compromised health most likely have too little or too much of a specific type of gut bacteria, or they may lack a variety of bacteria. This is called dysbiosis, meaning your gut is imbalanced. You can affect the balance of your gut bacteria; one of the ways you can transform its balance is through diet.
If you want to help your gut recover from an imbalance (gut dysbiosis), it would be good to remove the bad and ugly foods from your diet, focus on the good and healthy foods and restore your gut bacteria to a healthy balance. Otherwise, it may not be necessary for you to remove the bad and ugly foods from your diet completely. A sugary treat every once in a while may well be just fine for you.
Consuming the bad and ugly foods in moderation helps with attitude more than anything. No one likes to be told that they cannot do something or that the things we enjoy are entirely off-limits. Just be sure to consume these foods in moderation or rarely (and thoroughly) enjoy them.
To improve your gut health, to help restore balance to the bacteria in your gut that play such an essential role in digestion and overall health, you can avoid or limit the amount you eat of the following foods:
Processed foods: Often packed with sugars, preservatives, additives, coloring, chemicals, and a lot of empty calories that can lead to the unbalanced gut microbiome.
Chlorinated water: Chlorine is often added to tap water to help kill bacteria or harmful substances that are in the water. However, too much chlorine can kill the good bacteria in your gut. Filtering your water either by gravity or reverse osmosis is helpful.
Meat: High levels of meat intake have been linked with increases in higher numbers of less desirable species of gut bacteria. BUT, I want to qualify this by saying if you add clean meat from pasture-raised animals only and eat just a palm-sized amount per meal, you are taking in some important nutrients and is less inflammatory. You can look for delivery services that provide this type of animal protein.
Refined Sugar: A food source for bacteria and yeast, eating too much of it can cause an imbalance in the normal bacterial levels in the gut.
High fructose corn syrup: Found in much of the junk food and beverages we consume today, high fructose corn syrup is linked to diabetes, fatty liver disease, and other inflammatory conditions. And these begin in the gut microbiome.
Artificial sweeteners: Known for causing blood sugar and insulin levels to spike, increasing your risk of insulin resistance and weight gain. They can also damage the gut microbiome.
Gluten: A protein found in wheat, gluten can trigger the production of zonulin, a biochemical that opens up the tight junctions of your intestinal wall. This can lead to leaky gut syndrome and more.
Dairy: A common cause of sensitivity, bloating, and abdominal discomfort, dairy can be responsible for an imbalance of gut flora.
Soy: Often considered a milk and/or meat substitute, soy can be bad for the human gut as it can be extremely difficult to digest. However, if properly prepared and fermented as in Asian cultures, soy may be a tolerable option. Must be organic.
RECIPE
SPRING HUMMUS WRAPS
Ingredients:
- 4 Whole wheat sun-dried tomato wraps (or gluten-free tortillas)
- 1 Cup roasted garlic hummus
- 1 Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 Cup baby spinach
- 1/2 cup organic feta or goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
- Spread ¼ cup of hummus on each wrap, leaving a half-inch border on each side.
- Lay down pieces of red bell pepper, ½ cup of baby spinach, and a few tablespoons of feta cheese to each wrap.
- Roll the wraps from the bottom about halfway and then fold in the sides and continue to roll up until sealed. Cut each wrap in half and secure with a toothpick.
To Your Health,
Patti
