In this fourth and final installment of Microbiome 101, we will look at a few foundational, practical steps you can take to foster a healthy microbiome.
Dietary choices
One of the most beneficial things you can do for your microbiome is to eat more fiber. Fiber is needed by your gut microbes to produce SCFAs. Our ancestors ate significantly more fiber (up to 100g a day) than the average American today, who eats about 12-18g of fiber a day (RDA is 25g/day for women, 38g/day for men, but this is still too low). SCFAs nourish the cells and heal enterocytes (cells that line the colon), and one of the SCFAs, butyrate, plays a critical role in immune function. If butyrate is low, it can result in inflammation in the colon, so you definitely want to be feeding your “good gut bugs” plenty of fiber so they can, in turn provide SCFAs to nourish your enterocytes, support healthy immune function and lower inflammation. If you’re currently eating a low fiber diet, add more fiber to your diet slowly, to allow your digestive system and microbiome a chance adapt. Adding about another 5g of fiber a week is a good way to work up. If you find that adding more fiber to your diet, even slowly, leads to digestive upset (gas/bloating/stool changes/abdominal pain), I suggest that you work with a naturopathic doctor to figure out what might be going on.
Along with increasing fiber in your diet, eating a diverse diet is vital to cultivating a healthy microbiome. Humans today eat a much less diverse diet than our ancestors, which has not been great for the health of our friendly resident microbes. So, mix it up! Don’t eat the same foods every day. Challenge yourself and pick up a different vegetable, fruit, legume, nut, grain or seed each time you are at the grocery store.
As a general rule, it is ideal to opt for organic produce, as well as organic animal products, to avoid herbicides/pesticides and antibiotics, all of which can negatively impact your microbiome. Another thing you should avoid putting in your body is artificial sweeteners, which can disrupt the microbiome and affect your metabolism.
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are foods that feed our microbiome and support healthy diversity and composition. Our body cannot digest prebiotics, so they provide fuel to our resident gut microbes. These include non-digestable fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin. You can supplement with prebiotics, or eat more prebiotic containing foods, such as asparagus, pistachios, bananas, eggplant, endive, broccoli, garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, leeks, legumes, onions, stone fruits, chicory root and radicchio. Prebiotics are sometimes added into probiotic formulations. If prebiotic foods or prebiotic supplements tend to aggravate your digestion, you may have dysbiosis or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and I would recommend working with a naturopathic doctor for further evaluation of your microbiome and gut health.
Probiotics
Probiotics, according to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations and the WHO, are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.” Most probiotics, when taken orally, tend to colonize the gut only transiently (days to weeks) but an individual’s gut microbiome can impact how long/how well the probiotics colonize, and some may colonize for months. The most commonly taken probiotics are lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, but there are others. There is a lot of variety in genus, species and strain of probiotics and many probiotic effects are very strain specific. If you are taking probiotics to support certain health conditions, it is a good idea to work with a provider familiar with probiotics to determine the best strain(s) to take for you (we are constantly learning more and more about the microbiome and there is new research on probiotics all the time!).
Probiotic containing foods include yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, cultured vegetables.
Herbs
Plant medicine can support a healthy microbiome in multiple ways. There are a number of herbs that act as prebiotics. Slippery elm, triphala and licorice root all act as prebiotics to support increased microbial diversity. Turmeric root can increase beneficial bacteria, such as bifidobacteria, lactobacillus and butyrate producers. It also has an effect on reducing potential pathogens. Antimicrobial herbs, such as Oregon Grape Root and Oregano, can also support a healthy microbiome in individuals who have gut dysbiosis. As a general rule, I don’t recommend indiscriminate use of herbal antimicrobials, as using herbal antimicrobials when they are not needed, or over-using them, can be problematic because they can contribute to microbiome imbalances. It’s always a good idea to have further microbiome testing to determine if/when herbal antimicrobials (or even antibiotics or antiparasitic medications) are needed. My go-to stool test for evaluating microbiome health is the GI-MAP test.
Because stress can impact the health of your microbiome, other herbs such as adaptogens and nervines, can also have a beneficial effect on the health of your gut microbiota.
Stress Management and Movement
Increased stress increases stress hormones and certain neurotransmitters in the body (such as cortisol and norepinephrine), which can impact your microbiome. We cannot avoid occasional stressors, but it is important to find ways to manage chronic stress, as it can negatively impact the microbiome in the long term in multiple ways, including lowering beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacilli. Meditation can help to regulate the stress response and support a healthy microbiome. Exercise also can help manage stress and also has an impact on microbiome composition, so it’s a good idea to get movement in on a daily basis.
Nature Cure
As if you needed another reason to spend more time in nature (I know I don’t!), spending time in nature does wonderful things for your microbiota. Spending too much time in overly sanitized indoor environments leads to significantly lower exposure to microbes you would encounter spending time outdoors. Our ancestor hunter-gatherers spent a lot more time in nature, in more direct contact with the soil. Not only are we not getting our hands dirty as much as we used to, but much of the soil we are exposed to these days is depleted of biodiversity due to agricultural practices that favor single crops and utilize abundant pesticides and herbicides. Since the soil microbiome contributes to the human gut microbiome, even inoculating it with beneficial microbes, it’s a good idea to get dirty from time to time. So, when you can, opt for organic and don’t be overly meticulous about over-washing your organic produce. Better yet, grow your own food and get your hands dirty in the process!
7 simple ways to support your microbiome
If you takeaway nothing else from this Microbiome 101 series, I suggest focusing on the following 7 action steps to support and nourish your microbiome so it can thrive, allowing you to do the same.
Eat more fiber. Work up slowly (get to 50 grams a day if you can)
Opt for organic
Include prebiotic and probiotic foods in your diet
Increase overall diversity in your diet
Avoid artificial sweeteners, and avoid medications and chemicals that damage the microbiome when there are safe alternatives
Manage your stress
Spend more time in connection with nature
If you need more support, or are dealing with health conditions, digestive or otherwise, work with a naturopathic doctor to help you get to the root of it and start taking steps to start feeling back to your best self.