You might not know the answer to this question yet, but by the time you finish reading this blog, you’ll have a firm understanding of how to support and feed your microbiome. It’s not just about taking probiotics and calling it a day—there’s much more to it. Ready to dive in?
What Is a Microbiome?
The microbiome is a collection of trillions of tiny microorganisms (including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea) that reside on and inside your body. These organisms aren’t just freeloaders; they perform critical functions to keep you healthy.
Now, this might surprise you: your body contains more microbial cells than human cells. That’s right! Microbial cells outnumber human cells by about 10:1 (Sender et al., 2016). So technically, you’re more microbial than human!
The good news? The vast majority of these microbes are beneficial—or at least harmless—and they live in harmony with your body. Today, we’ll focus on the gut microbiome and its impact on health, weight, digestion, and even your mood.
The Bio-Individuality of Your Gut Microbiome
Everyone’s microbiome is unique, like a fingerprint. It’s shaped by factors like genetics, diet, age, and even the environment in which you live (Valdes et al., 2018). The composition of your gut microbiome is constantly evolving throughout your life, and that’s a good thing because it means you have control over its health.
For example, your microbiome will shift based on the foods you eat. It adapts to the environment you provide—whether that’s a diet filled with processed junk or one rich in fiber and fermented foods. As you age, your microbiome changes, too, reflecting the body’s shifting needs. This is a living, breathing system, constantly responding to what you put into it.
Why Is Your Gut Microbiome So Important?
Your gut microbiome is an essential player in your overall health. Think of it as the command center for many key bodily functions. Here’s why it’s so important:
- Controls Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Levels: The bacteria in your gut help regulate metabolic functions, including maintaining healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels (Kootte et al., 2017).
- Fights Infections: Beneficial bacteria act as a defense system, crowding out harmful bacteria and preventing infections (Buffie & Pamer, 2013).
- Boosts the Immune System: Your gut bacteria and immune cells communicate closely, and a healthy gut microbiome supports a stronger immune system (Belkaid & Hand, 2014).
- Aids in Digestion and Absorption of Nutrients: A well-balanced microbiome enhances digestion, aids in nutrient absorption, and produces essential vitamins like B12 and K2 (Rook et al., 2017).
- Influences Weight, Mood, and Appetite: Gut bacteria play a significant role in regulating weight by influencing metabolism and fat storage. They also produce neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which influence mood and emotional well-being (Dinan & Cryan, 2017).
The bottom line is, if your gut microbiome is happy and diverse, your overall health will reflect that.
When the Gut Microbiome Falls Out of Balance: Dysbiosis
If your microbiome becomes unbalanced, leading to an overgrowth of “bad” bacteria, this condition is known as dysbiosis. Dysbiosis has been linked to a variety of health issues, including:
- Digestive issues like diarrhea, constipation, and bloating
- Difficulty losing or maintaining weight
- Mood disorders such as anxiety and depression
- Chronic ear infections, nail fungus, and yeast infections
- Hormonal imbalances
Left unchecked, dysbiosis can contribute to serious health conditions such as:
- Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (Cryan & Dinan, 2015)
- Atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases (Koren et al., 2011)
- Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease (Frank et al., 2007)
- Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance (Qin et al., 2012)
- Obesity and metabolic disorders (Ley et al., 2006)
- Chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases (Kelly et al., 2016)
The connection between gut health and chronic diseases is undeniable. Addressing gut health should be a primary focus when looking to optimize overall well-being.
Factors That Impact Your Microbiome
Many factors affect the balance of your gut microbiome. While some are out of your control, others are well within your grasp. Here are the most significant influencers:
- Genetics: Your genetic makeup can influence how diverse and resilient your microbiome is.
- Diet: The types of food you consume play a massive role in shaping your gut health.
- Stress: Chronic stress can lead to gut inflammation and compromise your microbiome (Moloney et al., 2014).
- Environmental Toxins: Pollution, chemicals, and pesticides can harm the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
- Pharmaceuticals: Antibiotics and other medications can wipe out both harmful and beneficial bacteria.
- Illnesses: Infections, viruses, and conditions like Lyme disease or COVID-19 can disrupt the microbiome’s delicate balance.
While some of these factors, like genetics and illness, are beyond your control, you can make deliberate choices to support a healthy microbiome, starting with your diet.
How to Support Your Microbiome: The Seed, Feed, Weed Approach
Now that you understand how crucial your microbiome is, the next step is learning how to nurture it. This is where the Seed, Feed, Weed approach comes in:
1. Seed: Introduce Beneficial Bacteria
The first step in building a healthy microbiome is seeding it with good bacteria by consuming probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that support gut health (Hill et al., 2014). These friendly bacteria compete with harmful bacteria and help restore balance in your gut.
You can add probiotics to your diet through fermented foods like:
- Sauerkraut and kimchi
- Yogurt (preferably organic and raw)
- Kefir
- Kombucha
- Pickles (fermented, not brined)
- Tempeh and miso
If you’re not getting enough probiotics from food, you can opt for a high-quality supplement, such as Microbiome Lab’s MegaSporeBiotic or HU58.
2. Feed: Nourish Your Gut Microbiome
After you’ve seeded your gut with beneficial bacteria, it’s time to feed those bacteria with prebiotics. Prebiotics are fibers and carbohydrates that your body can’t digest, but your gut bacteria can! Feeding your gut bacteria ensures they thrive and continue to support your overall health.
Foods rich in prebiotics include:
- Garlic and onions
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Bananas and plantains
- Leafy greens
- Cooked and cooled rice and potatoes
- Whole grains like oats and barley
A diverse diet is key to feeding a diverse microbiome. The more variety you include in your diet, the more likely you are to support a thriving ecosystem of beneficial gut bugs.
3. Weed: Limit Harmful Foods
Finally, it’s time to weed out the foods that can harm your microbiome. This means cutting back on sugar, highly processed foods, and artificial sweeteners, which feed the bad bacteria in your gut and contribute to dysbiosis (Cani et al., 2012).
Avoid foods like:
- Refined sugars (e.g., candy, cookies, soda)
- Processed foods (e.g., chips, white bread, fast food)
- Artificial sweeteners (e.g., aspartame, sucralose)
By weeding these out of your diet, you create a healthier environment for your good bacteria to thrive.
Why Fiber Is Essential for Gut Health
One of the easiest ways to support your microbiome is by eating plenty of fiber. Fiber is essential because it’s the primary fuel for your beneficial gut bacteria. It’s broken down into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which have numerous health benefits, including:
- Strengthening the gut barrier and preventing pathogens from entering the bloodstream
- Supporting immune function
- Limiting the growth of harmful bacteria, reducing the risk of chronic diseases (Macfarlane & Macfarlane, 2012)
Aim for 25-30 grams of fiber per day by including foods like:
- Fruits (apples, pears, berries)
- Vegetables (broccoli, spinach, carrots)
- Nuts and seeds
- Whole grains and legumes
Fiber-rich foods not only keep you regular, but they also help you maintain a diverse and healthy microbiome.
Prebiotics vs. Probiotics: What’s the Difference?
It’s essential to understand the difference between prebiotics and probiotics:
- Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria themselves. They are found in fermented foods and supplements.
- Prebiotics are the food that your beneficial bacteria need to survive and thrive. They’re primarily found in fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
You need both prebiotics and probiotics to maintain a healthy gut microbiome.
Gut Health Impacts Overall Health
Now that we’ve explored the importance of feeding and nurturing your microbiome, let’s circle back to the original question: Have you fed your microbiome today?
If the answer is no, fear not! The great news is that it only takes two days to start shifting your microbiome towards a healthier balance (David et al., 2014). By focusing on a diet rich in probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber while cutting out harmful processed foods and sugars, you can nurture a thriving microbiome that supports your overall health.
The health of your gut doesn’t just affect digestion—it impacts nearly every aspect of your life. From how you feel emotionally to how your immune system responds to pathogens, a healthy gut is key to optimal well-being.
So, what are you waiting for? Start feeding your microbiome today, and watch your health transform from the inside out.
Download the list of probiotic & prebiotic foods HERE.
If you would like to learn more about the microbiome watch the Food-for-Thought Friday episode: MICROBIOME where Mary Stein-Rosales (www.ideservehealth.com) and I discuss all things microbiome.
References
Belkaid, Y., & Hand, T. W. (2014). Role of the microbiota in immunity and inflammation. Cell, 157(1), 121-141.
Buffie, C. G., & Pamer, E. G. (2013). Microbiota-mediated colonization resistance against intestinal pathogens. Nature Reviews Immunology, 13(11), 790-801.
Cani, P. D., Osto, M., Geurts, L., & Everard, A. (2012). Involvement of gut microbiota in the development of low-grade inflammation and type 2 diabetes associated with obesity. Gut Microbes, 3(4), 279-288.
Cryan, J. F., & Dinan, T. G. (2015). Gut microbiota: Microbiota and neuroimmune crosstalk. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 12(9), 500-511.
David, L. A., Maurice, C. F., Carmody, R. N., Gootenberg, D. B., Button, J. E., Wolfe, B. E., & Turnbaugh, P. J. (2014). Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature, 505(7484), 559-563.
Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). Gut-brain axis in 2016: Brain-gut-microbiota axis—mood, metabolism and behaviour. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 14(2), 69-70.
Frank, D. N., St Amand, A. L., Feldman, R. A., Boedeker, E. C., Harpaz, N., & Pace, N. R. (2007). Molecular-phylogenetic characterization of microbial community imbalances in human inflammatory bowel diseases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(34), 13780-13785.
Hill, C., Guarner, F., Reid, G., Gibson, G. R., Merenstein, D. J., Pot, B., & Sanders, M. E. (2014). Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 11(8), 506-514.
Kootte, R. S., Levin, E., Salojärvi, J., Smits, L. P., Hartstra, A. V., Udayappan, S. D., & Stroes, E. S. (2017). Improvement of insulin sensitivity after lean donor feces in metabolic syndrome is driven by baseline intestinal microbiota composition. Cell Metabolism, 26(4), 611-619.
Ley, R. E., Turnbaugh, P. J., Klein, S., & Gordon, J. I. (2006). Microbial ecology: Human gut microbes associated with obesity. Nature, 444(7122), 1022-1023.
Macfarlane, G. T., & Macfarlane, S. (2012). Bacteria, colonic fermentation, and gastrointestinal health. Journal of AOAC International, 95(1), 50-60.
Moloney, R. D., Desbonnet, L., Clarke, G., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2014). The microbiome: Stress, health and disease. Mucosal Immunology, 7(5), 851-862.
Qin, J., Li, Y., Cai, Z., Li, S., Zhu, J., Zhang, F., & Li, R. (2012). A metagenome-wide association study of gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes. Nature, 490(7418), 55-60.
Rook, G. A. W., Raison, C. L., & Lowry, C. A. (2017). Microbiota, immunoregulatory old friends and psychiatric disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 81(4), 320-330.
Sender, R., Fuchs, S., & Milo, R. (2016). Are we really vastly outnumbered? Revisiting the ratio of bacterial to host cells in humans. Cell, 164(3), 337-340.
Valdes, A. M., Walter, J., Segal, E., & Spector, T. D. (2018). Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health. BMJ, 361, k2179.