Basically, we have trillions of bacteria (flora) in our gut, reportedly 10 times more than the number of cells in our body (although now that number is in question – but it is still a lot!), comprised of over 400 species – some of which are good, some bad.

The Health Of Our Gut, Or Of Our Microbiome, Which Houses All This Bacteria, Is Influenced By:

• What and how we eat and drink
• The health of our digestion
• Environmental toxins we are exposed to
• Medications, especially antibiotics which kill off our good bacteria along with the bad
• Infections – e.g. yeast infections, parasites
• Stress, and how we cope with it

 The Level Of Our Good Bacteria Affects:

• Our digestion – how we assimilate and eliminate our food
• Our immunity – how we cope in resisting illness and infection
• Our mood – our outlook and mental health
• Our hormones – e.g., insulin (regulates sugar), cortisol (stress hormone)

Genetics and our parents’ health, pre- and during pregnancy, have an influence on our microbiome. As we fight our way through the birth canal, our microbiome is primed – hence the rise in popularity of seeding (or swabbing) for c-section babies to improve the health of their microbiome (for an article on this, see theguardian.com¹). From there, breastfeeding, the environment, early weaning foods, diet, infections, and medications all affect the balance of bacteria in our gut.

We start to digest food in our mouth; it then goes through many processes within our body until it is eliminated when we ‘poop’. Within this tract, from our mouth to our rear end, food is broken down, nutrients are absorbed and sent to our trillions of cells, and the waste is then eliminated.

Sometimes this digestive tract becomes permeable, or leaky – this is known as ‘leaky gut’. Our gut lining becomes damaged for a number of reasons – poor diet, medication, infections, overexposure to toxins, stress, or perhaps due to the underlying condition known as ‘dysbiosis’. This is an imbalance within our microbiome, whereby it consists of too much bad bacteria rather than good.

With a leaky gut, our intestinal walls are more permeable, meaning larger food particles can leak into the bloodstream. This can lead to food allergies, skin disorders, poor immunity, fatigue, ‘brain-fog’, weight gain, and autoimmune diseases. As protein molecules (e.g. gluten) enter the blood stream, the body sees them as foreign objects and starts to attack them, often resulting in an autoimmune response.

So overall we feel bad, our immunity is low, we feel sluggish and perhaps bloated and constipated. It becomes a vicious circle as with a leaky gut fewer nutrients are absorbed, so we go on a downward spiral.

In healing a leaky gut, or to keep it healthy, we must address the underlying causes – including the balance of good flora, or good bacteria.

You may also have heard that our gut is our second brain – this is why we often feel unwell physically (sick in our gut) if we’re under a lot of stress. When under stress, our gut bacteria balance can get out of whack. Likewise, if we’re suffering from leaky gut or imbalance, we can get that ‘brain-fog’ feeling – and don’t feel as alert or as contented as we normally should.

So In Addressing Your Gut Health There Are A Number Of Things We Can Do:

• Clean up your diet (see nutrition articles on this website)
• Improve the quality of your diet with quality nutrients
• Remove toxins and other exposure to chemicals
• Reduce use of medications, and any known allergens
• Reduce stress

To then help repair and build up your gut bacteria, consume more ‘live’ (sprouted) and fermented food. That said, there’s little point in consuming these food, or taking the best of probiotics supplements, if your diet and environment is not first addressed.

Fermentation is the process whereby food substances are broken down into a more simple form, making foods easier to digest. Inherent sugars in the food feed natural bacteria, which is converted into energy-providing nutrients, enzymes and good bacteria. Historically many cultures have fermented food not only to preserve them, but to attain benefits from their natural probiotics.

Fermented Food:

• Aids in digestion
• Supports gut health
• Improves absorption of nutrients
• Is low in sugar (sugars are turned to energy)
• Is rich in vitamins A, B, C, E
• Stabilises blood sugar, which helps with food cravings aid in weight loss
• Improves overall wellness

Some examples of fermented food going back many centuries are sauerkraut in eastern Europe, kimchi in Korea, chutneys in India, natto in Japan. Other popular fermented food are raw yogurts, buttermilks, kefir, and kombucha.

Known mainly for their nutrients and containing natural probiotics, fermented food are also good chelators, which means that they can draw toxins (e.g. mercury and other heavy metals) from our body. Therefore, fermented food plays a key role in detoxification.

A catalyst such as a yeast or good bacteria is often used in order to speed up the fermentation process, and to get a broader range of good bacteria. This can be in the form of a specific starter kit, the contents of a probiotic supplement, or a small amount of the ferment retained to ferment future batches, e.g. kefir grains, or a ‘scoby’ (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) for kombucha. The other, and more traditional option, is to do a ‘wild ferment’ whereby only salt is used; this process takes longer.

Whereas we have tended to focus on the ‘millions’ of bacteria available in a supplement, it’s important to get a wide range of bacteria strains – many of which we are no longer exposed to due to over sanitization, not being in nature, or not getting our hands dirty once in a while. Fermenting your own food allows for a wider range of strains, and again, by enjoying a variety of different forms, you get the benefit of more strains of healthy gut bacteria.

Do also enjoy prebiotic food which comes from soluble fibers in vegetables primarily, but also some fruits and other plant foodsThese encourage the growth, and preserve our good bacteria in our gut – examples are artichokes, carrots, cabbage, asparagus, apples, and berries.

Low-carb, high-fat LCHF diets such as the Paleo diet and GAPS  (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet, particularly the latter, focus on healing, with an emphasis on fermented food. It is worth exploring these diets further if you suffer from allergies, autoimmune conditions, or emotional imbalances.

We all know people who’ve had tremendous success with these diets, or through cleaning up their own diet and environment, and incorporating fermented food. However, you need to decide what changes your are comfortable with, and at what pace. If in doubt, please feel free to contact me.

Should you be interested in learning more about fermented food, and how to make your own at home, I host Raw and Fermented workshops with Sharon Galiston of Rawlicious.

To our health!