I am in the middle of studying Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s book Fiber Fueled and wish I could compel you to read the whole book for our weekly challenge. I honestly don’t know of another book that would bless your health and well being more.
Dr. B. shares that gut health is essential to weight management, overall health, and general well-being. Research shows that gut health, has a significant impact on mood, energy levels, and immunity. Fiber is the basis of good health. Dr. B is a renowned gastroenterologist, and through years of research and experience, he maintains that optimal health relies on a healthy gut. And, the solution that he offers is simple; eat more fiber.
What Are Microbes and How Do They Impact Gut Health?
Dr. B shares that there are an astonishing thirty-nine trillion micro-organisms that take up residence in our colons. These bacteria are often what makes us the most healthy and when in balance, the bacteria in our bodies have incredible healing power. They help digestion, and strengthen our immune system. On the other hand, when your gut biome is unbalanced, this can cause weight gain, increased blood sugar and cholesterol levels and a long list of disease states from allergies to cancer, heart disease and auto-immune diseases.
Many of us could be in a situation where we may eat enough, but our healthy microbes could be starving. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 32% of our calorie intake comes from animal foods, 57% from processed plant foods, and only 11% from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
Diets that are high in animal protein and processed foods, tend to feed the inflammatory-producing bacteria, while starving the good, health-promoting bacteria of our gut.
We should all know that processed foods such as white bread, rice, pasta, and sugar-laden cereals, are highly refined and low in fiber. One of the significant problems with this is that they're rapidly absorbed into the small intestine, instead of being slowly digested. This quick absorption reduces our gut microbial diversity. Inflammatory bacteria thrive on the sugar that's produced from simple carbohydrates.
On the other hand plant protein, fuels anti-inflammatory microbes and suppresses the destructive microbes. This bonus helps us to ward off many diseases. The need to nourish our healthy gut microbes is paramount.
The role of fiber in gut health is diverse, and we shouldn't neglect it. Unsurprisingly, plants have a total monopoly on this nutrient. Fiber is part of a plant's cellular structure. If you want to get fiber naturally, the only way to do it, is via plants.
Complex carbohydrates remain unchanged as they pass from our mouths to our stomachs, and even down the fifteen to twenty feet of your small intestine. So, once in the colon, the healthy bacteria metabolize the fiber. This stage is when the magic happens.
What are Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Why Do We Need Them?
The breakdown of fiber by gut bacteria unleashes the most healing nutrient in nature: short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids are the dominant drivers of gut health, and benefit the entire body and are the dominant energy source for our colon.
They also help healthy microbes grow, they repair the leaky gut, and they are vital regarding reducing the release of bad bacteria and harmful toxins into our systems. In short, they're the superheroes that ease gut dysbiosis. They reduce gas, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome. Furthermore, they help regulate the immune system, prevent cancer, heart disease, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes.
But, as with all things there's a bit of a catch. To get the benefits of short-chain fatty acids, we need to eat more prebiotics, and thus more fiber. To do that, we need to ramp up our plant consumption.
Interestingly Dr. B. Says that it is not the Keto, v
Vegan, Weight Watchers, Paleo or Vegetarian diets that will most benefit our health and well being. Instead it all boils down to the volume and variety of plants you eat.
One of the most extensive studies on microbes, published by Dr. Knight in 2017, shows that the single most significant predictor of a healthy gut microbiome, is incorporating a diverse range of plants into our diets. Research suggests that we should be eating thirty or more different plants per week, to support a healthy microbiome. Every plant type we introduce into our diet, provides a unique microbe community, that helps our gut thrive. So the more varied our plant intake is, the more diverse our microbiomes become.There are over three hundred thousand edible plants on the planet. However, most Americans don't eat more than twenty-five. Think about what you could be missing out on? The key idea is that plant diversity in our menu, should be part of our planning every time we eat.
I realize that when trying to lose weight it is often easiest to come up with a daily routine and eat the same thing every day. And you have worked hard to learn to include 7 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. But many of you have sunk into a routine of a grapefruit for breakfast, apple with lunch and green beans with dinner. So a reminder from me that this is not JUST a weight loss competition but rather a HEALTHY living competition. So despite the risk of shaking up your routine I want to challenge you to eating as much and many varied whole plant foods as you can this week.
Dr. B. Recommends 30+ different plant foods a week. And this is of course not just vegetables and fruits but also includes nuts, seeds and grains.
Also don’t forget that there is variety within each type of plant food: brown rice, black rice, granny smith apples, Fuji apples, yellow onions, red onions etc. You need to get out of your rut and eat a wide variety of plant foods during the week. I was able to eat 12 just yesterday so 30 is an attainable goal.
So that’s the challenge ladies. I’m not going to break it down by days this week. If you can manage to eat 30 or more DIFFERENT types of whole fruits, vegetables, herbs, seeds, grains and nuts this week you will earn the 35 weekly bonus challenge points. I am hoping you can make diversity your new routine.
Remember
Every time you go to the supermarket think diversity of plants!
Every time you're cooking a meal think diversity of plants!
Every time you sit down to eat a snack or meal think diversity of plants!
No comments:
Post a Comment