Your Food and Your Microbiome – The Microbiome Diet
It is a well-documented finding that what you eat changes the composition of your microbiome in as little as 24 hours. In turn, your microbiome influences how your body extracts nutrients and stores fat. Research has also shown that the microbiome, digestion, body weight, and metabolism are all connected. Importantly, we are able to manipulate the balance of our microbiome by paying attention to what we eat. This allows us to address underlying health disorders through dietary intervention – a microbiome diet. Specifically, we know that inflammation is at the root of many diseases. Here are foods you can eat that can lower inflammation:
Microbiome Diet
- Fresh Vegetables
- Whole Fruits
- Herbs, spices, and teas
- Probiotics (low sugar fermented foods)
- Wild caught fish, cage free eggs, and grass-fed/pasture raised meat
- Healthy fats (nuts/seeds, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil)
- Ancient grains, legumes, and beans
- Red wine and dark chocolate in moderation
And here are foods that increase inflammation and should be avoided:
- Refined vegetable oils (canola, corn, and soybean oils)
- Pasteurized dairy products
- Refined carbohydrates
- Conventional meat, poultry, and eggs
- Added sugars
- Trans fats and hydrogenated fats
You can find more information in our patient Nutrition Packet.
More than cliché: You are what you eat
We have all heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” This phrase was popularized in the English language and imagination with the publication of Victor Lindhar’s book entitled You Are What You Eat in 1942. Lindhar strongly believed that your health and vigor were inextricably tied to the food you consumed. This book came out as a response to the rise in processed foods. Following two world wars and a great depression, food offering convenience and stability won its way into American kitchens. By the 1950s, processed foods were staples paving the way for many health problems we are dealing with and learning about today.
Before Lindhar, French lawyer Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are,” in 1826 and in Concerning Spiritualism and Materialism, Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach wrote “Man is what he eats,” in 1863.
The knowledge that our food is inextricably connected with who we are, our connection to the world, and our bodily composition and function is old wisdom. With the continued rise of health problems in the modern world, it is important that we revisit what we are putting into our bodies, and what we are becoming. Schedule an appointment with our Clinical Nutritionist Porter Koury if you are interested in learning more about how to support your health journey through your diet.
References:
The Human Microbiome: How It Works + a Diet for Gut Health
