It takes healthy food combined with a healthy gut to support a healthy body. You can eat a clean diet, exercise regularly and still be feeling blah if your gut health isn’t up to snuff. Want to know how food and your gut impact your overall health? How about what you can do to support your gut health? Let’s dive in!
Warning: I’m unleashing my inner science nerd today!
How Food Affects Your Health
We’ve all heard the analogy: Your body is like a car, you need to give it high quality fuel to be able to perform well. While there’s a lot more that food does than simply fuel our bodies, the analogy has a point. You do need plenty of high quality nutrients for your body to function well.
Food is digested into nutrients that your intestines reabsorb and send wherever they’re needed in your body. Those nutrients build and repair cells and tissues, provide energy for your daily activities, and power every single thing your body does that keep you up and running. If the quality of your diet does not meet this nutrient demand, your system will not perform well.
Every person’s body responds to poor quality diets differently. Some people may not notice any issues. Others will feel tired or groggy most of the time, but be otherwise fine. Some will get headaches, digestive issues, anxiety, and other symptoms normally associated with “stress.” Still others may develop chronic disease like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This is why we are hearing more and more stories about people successfully treating chronic health issues with improved diet. When you give your body plenty of high-quality nutrients, you will thrive.
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4 Steps to Create Your Healthy Diet
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Introducing: The Healthy Gut Microbiota
It’s not just about the foods you eat. Within our bodies live millions of microscopic organisms – mostly bacteria, but also viruses, fungi and protozoa. The majority of these organisms live within our digestive tract – especially in our intestines. They are called the gut microbiota. We have a symbiotic relationship with our microbiota. They benefit from living in a safe, warm place, and they help us in quite a few ways.
What Our Healthy Gut Microbiota Do for Us
We have roughly as many microbiota living in our intestines as we have human cells in our body. With that kind of ratio, it’s safe to say that these little critters play a HUGE role in our digestive process and overall health. Our gut microbiota help us digest the food we eat and provide us with many nutrients that we need to function at our best. They eat the food that enters our intestines then they create some of our essential nutrients like vitamin K. They also digest the foods that we can’t digest on our own, like cellulose.
A healthy gut microbiota is an incredibly diverse assortment of species. The more microbes we have, the better. The exact makeup of the microbiota is directly affected by the environment we create for them in our bodies. Specifically, the food we eat, the drugs we take, and anything else we ingest or come into contact with like antibiotics and pesticides can affect the health of our gut microbiota. Greater variety of healthy gut microbiota means better health. Lesser healthy gut microbiota diversity is observed in patients with Atopic Eczema, Cardiovascular Disease, Celiac Disease, Diabetes, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Obesity, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Autism, among others.
In fact, many of the nutrients that protect us from cancer and other diseases must first be activated by being digested by our healthy gut microbiota.
Our gut microbiota is responsible for maintaining a healthy environment within our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. They control the growth of potentially infectious organisms so we don’t get sick, and they support the health of our gut lining. Our intestinal lining allows digested nutrients to be reabsorbed. It also keeps bigger compounds and infectious organisms out of our bodies. Any change to the health of our gut microbiota will have a direct effect on the health of our GI system.
How Our GI System Affects Our Health
In addition to having millions of organisms living in our intestines, our GI tract also has its own nervous system and is home to the majority of our immune system. Your GI system can communicate with your immune system which will affect your overall health.
Factors That Affect Your Health:
- The availability of high-quality nutrients from our diet
- Our ability to digest our food with the help of our gut microbiota and digestive enzymes
- Our ability to absorb those nutrients through our healthy gut lining
- How our gut microbiota responds to the food we eat
- How our gut-associated immune system responds to the environment created by the gut microbiota and the food we eat.
Food Affects Our Healthy Gut Microbiota
The food we eat can either increase or decrease our healthy gut microbiota diversity. For our symbiotic relationship with our gut microbiota to work, our microbiota need to have access to food that nourishes them as much as it does us.
Healthy gut microbiota love high-fiber diets. They don’t seem to care much if they’re fed high-fat versus high-carb versus high-protein so long as they get plenty of fiber. This is why high-fiber diets are beneficial for health. Foods high in fiber are fruits and vegetables, which are also the most nutrient-dense foods. The fiber makes our gut microbiota happy while the nutrients make our bodies happy.
That being said, not everyone can eat just fruits and vegetables and be happy and healthy. There is no one diet fits all because everyone’s bodies and healthy gut microbiota respond to food differently. Why? Because everyone has variations in their gut microbiota, genetic makeup, health history, nutrition needs, and so on.
Universally, researchers generally agree that our healthy gut microbiota do not do well when fed a diet of processed foods. A diet of processed foods does not have enough nutrients and fiber to fuel our bodies and our microbiota properly. Plus, food additives like emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners decrease microbiota diversity. There are also a handful of other foods that some people may be sensitive to due to their unique physiology.
These foods include:
- Dairy
- Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers)
- Gluten
- Non-gluten containing Grains
- Soy
- Legumes (beans, lentils, green beans, peas)
- Nuts and seeds
- Certain meat proteins
- Citrus
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Simple sugars (white or brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, other syrups)
- Processed foods
Most people are not sensitive to all of these foods. But these foods have been associated with negative responses from enough people. So they are considered as possible food sensitivities.
What is a Food Sensitivity?
A food sensitivity is different from a food allergy. Food allergies cause a full-body immune reaction. When a person has an allergic reaction, they are having a medical emergency because they may become unable to breathe.
A food sensitivity creates a different response that is not immediately life-threatening. But over time, the effects of food sensitivities can destroy your health and quality of life.
How Food Sensitivity Affects Our Health
When you eat a food that your body is sensitive to, your digestive tract struggles to digest the food. This often results in digestive system-related symptoms like gas, bloating, cramping, nausea, constipation or diarrhea. For example, people who are lactose-intolerant are sensitive to dairy products. This is most noticeable when you eat a food for the first time and your body struggles to digest it. However, if you’ve been eating foods you’re sensitive to for a long time, chances are your body has figured out a way to work that food through your system somehow. So your symptoms may be less noticeable, and you probably don’t realize they’re linked to your diet.
Signs that you’re sensitive to a food:
- Gut issues (gas, bloating, cramping, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, bad breath, undigested food in stools, foul smelling stools)
- Sleep issues (insomnia, narcolepsy)
- Fatigue
- Joint Pain
- Brain Fog
- Skin breakouts or rashes
- Headaches
- Sinus and respiratory issues (allergies, asthma)
- Marked increase in energy after eating (can indicate a food activated your fight or flight response)
When you eat a food your body is sensitive to, your gut triggers your immune system. While this is a different immune response from a true food allergy, it still results in inflammation which can create a whole host of other issues. In the case of a food sensitivity, the gut lining becomes inflamed and damaged. The healthy gut microbiota begin to die off because their environment becomes unhealthy. They can no longer help us digest our food, provide essential nutrients, or prevent the growth of infectious organisms.
When the gut lining becomes damaged, large undigested molecules and infectious pathogens can get out of the gut into the rest of the body. You can bet that when things that don’t belong in the rest of the body start appearing, your immune system is going to attack. Immune system activation and the resulting inflammation contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases, many other chronic diseases, and generally not feeling awesome.
Eat a Diet That Supports a Healthy Gut
If you’re sensitive to an ordinarily “healthy” food, then your diet is not supporting your healthy gut microbiota or your overall health. The best way to determine what foods, if any, you are sensitive to is an elimination diet. Food sensitivity testing is available, but it can be expensive, and it isn’t completely accurate. For now, elimination diets are the gold standard for finding a diet that works for your health.
In fact, elimination diets are used to treat a ton of health issues:
- Autism
- Autoimmune Disorders
- Behavior Disorders (ADD, ADHD)
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Chronic Fatigue
- Chronic Pain
- Diabetes
- Fibromyalgia
- HIV
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (and other gut issues)
- Kidney Disease
- Migraines
- Mood Disorders (Anxiety, Depression)
- Neurodegenerative Diseases (Alzheimer’s, Dementia, etc.)
- Obesity
- Respiratory Disorders (Asthma/Allergies)
- Rheumatic Diseases (Arthritis, etc.)
- Skin Disorders (Acne, Psoriasis, Rosacea, Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis, etc.)
- Sleep Disorders (Insomnia, Narcolepsy, chronic poor sleep)
Obviously, an elimination diet alone is not always used to treat some of these diseases. In many studies, an elimination diet was a secondary treatment method that improved health outcomes compared to using only pharmacological treatments. It is incredibly important that you work with your doctor if you have ongoing health issues. Talk with your doctor and consider working with a Nutritionist or Registered Dietician before starting an elimination diet.
How Does an Elimination Diet Work?
An Elimination Diet has two phases. The first phase is the Elimination Phase. Any and all foods that may be causing a reaction are removed from your diet for at least 3 weeks (1 week for kids), or until symptoms improve. For some people with more severe symptoms, this can take closer to 6 to 8 weeks. This allows your body time to heal and calm down.
When your body has had some time to recover, you can begin phase two: the Reintroduction Phase. You will systematically add the eliminated foods back in – one at a time – to see if they cause a reaction. Because your body has had the chance to heal, it’s common for the irritating food to cause a more noticeable response when it’s reintroduced. This makes it easier to pinpoint which food is the problem – but only if you reintroduce one at a time!
When you begin the reintroduction phase, keeping a food journal is incredibly helpful so you can keep track of what you’re eating and how the reintroduced foods are making you feel.
Get started with my free Food Journal Printable!
If you notice any changes after eating a reintroduced food, you’ll remove that food and wait a couple days until the symptoms are gone again before trying the next food. The entire process can take anywhere from 5 weeks to several months, but the results can be pretty spectacular!
You learn so much about the effect food has on your health, and it is a great opportunity to cultivate a much healthier and positive relationship with your food. At the end of an elimination diet, you’ll know exactly which foods negatively affect your health, and you’ll have learned how to eat a diet that makes you feel amazing.
Don’t Eliminate Foods Long-Term if You Don’t Have To!
Elimination Diets and other restrictive diets are only intended to be used for a short period of time. Ongoing dietary restriction creates a huge risk of nutrient deficiency. This is why the elimination phase for children usually only lasts one week. Individuals who have identified multiple food sensitivities or allergies should be careful to replace the eliminated foods with other nutrient dense foods to avoid nutrient deficiency. In these cases, it is even more important to work closely with your Doctor or Nutritionist to make sure deficiencies can be quickly identified and corrected.
None of the eliminated foods are inherently bad – except maybe the processed foods! Many of the foods eliminated have plenty of beneficial properties such as dietary fiber and nutrients that help support a healthy body and healthy gut microbiota. In fact, continuing to avoid a food that you’re not sensitive to can be detrimental to your health! For example, people with Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity experience an improvement in their healthy gut microbiota diversity when they eliminate gluten from their diets. However, when people with no gluten sensitivity reduce or remove gluten from their diets, they actually experience a decrease in their microbiota diversity!
Healthy Food + Healthy Gut = Healthy Body
The food we eat affects the health of our digestive system and our healthy gut microbiota, which affect our overall health. Eating foods that you’re sensitive to can cause a lot more health issues than simple digestive problems. An elimination diet is one of the best methods to identify foods that could be causing health issues or just making you feel not-so-great. Mindfully creating a diet that is healthy for you and your gut can make a world of difference in your health and quality of life.
References
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Pelsser, L.M., Frankena, K., Toorman, J., Savelkoul, H.F., Dubois, A.E., Pereira, R.R. … Buitelaar, J.K. (2011). Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behavior of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): A randomized controlled trial. The Lancet 377(9764). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62227-1. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673610622271
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Disclaimer
This article is intended to provide information to foster healthy eating habits in otherwise healthy populations and is not intended to diagnose any medical conditions, nor prescribe diets or supplements to treat medical or clinical conditions or their symptoms. This article is not meant to be a substitute for sound medical evaluation and advice. If you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency, food sensitivity or allergy, or are experiencing any issues with your health or diet, meet with your Physician, or a Licensed/Certified Nutritionist, or Registered Dietician for a personalized analysis. Any use of this information is at the reader’s own risk. View my full Disclaimer here.
Susie
This information is so important for people to know! Food is an essential link to keeping our body healthy. Thank you for sharing this information on gut health in this post!
Jess
Thank you Susie! I’m so glad the info was helpful!