9. Microbiome — The Plantation In Our Bodies

9. Microbiome — The Plantation In Our Bodies

Many animals harbor microscopic life in their digestive systems, but due to a varied diet, humans have much more than others. Hopefully, most of these are “good” bacteria, which aid in digestion and produce useful byproducts. These useful bacteria are called “probiotics”. The useful byproducts are called “postbiotics”.

Science is only beginning to discover the ways in which a well-functioning microbiome (think of it as a plantation made of different good bacteria) helps keep us healthy and can even influence our moods.

Like a plantation, our microbiome needs the right “seeds”. These are different varieties of good bacteria. Though these bacteria exist everywhere, we normally get them from fermented foods — foods that “pre-grew” large amounts of bacteria for us. Common sources of prebiotics are: Kefir, kimchi, yogurt, miso and other fermented-soy products, kombucha from tea, sauerkraut, and some pickled vegetables. Kefir and kimchi often carry 40-50 strains of beneficial bacteria, while yogurt usually has less than 10. Don’t cook a probiotic food at a high temperature or for too long, or you will sterilize it and lose all the good bacteria; add it last in the cooking process.

You can also take probiotic supplements. If you do, make certain that the supplements are “enteric-coated” or “micro-encapsulated” so the bacteria survive your stomach and make it alive to your intestines. Look for supplements that include many strains of bacteria, numbered in the billions, including bacillus subtilis (which kills harmful microbes and restores damaged intestinal lining) and lactobacillus reuteri (which reduces overall body inflammation). Akkermansia muciniphila may help with weight management and insulin sensitivity.

Also like a plantation, our seeds need “fertilizer” or “animal feed”. These are called prebiotics, and consist mainly of dietary fiber, which comes in “soluble” and “insoluble” kinds, both needed. Most fruits and vegetables contain fiber, but in very different amounts.

A standard recommendation is for 25 grams of fiber daily. To get that much from natural food is problematic given our sedentary lifestyles and the over-processing of most grains. Therefore, Plantation Bay counsels regular supplementation with inulin, psyllium, and pectin fibers. In addition, we should make a conscious effort to eat more fiber through nuts, avocados, apples, pears, celery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and legumes. In the US, a few more high-fiber packaged foods are being offered in supermarkets, but you have to read the nutrition labels carefully and not rely on headlines like “Good source of fiber”.

Antibiotics can devastate your microbiome. Avoid wrongly using oral antibiotics for colds, which they don’t cure anyway. If unavoidable due to an operation or serious bacterial infection, make sure to consume the entire prescription, or you risk creating “super-bacteria” that are immune to antibiotics, and often 50% fatal once an infection starts. As soon as your course of antibiotics is over, re-populate your microbiome with Kefir or probiotic supplements, then feed well with prebiotics.