A Healthy Microbiome Means a Healthy Gut
We are not a fan of the Standard American Diet that is wreaking havoc on the genetic makeup of friendly bugs inhabiting our bodies. These good bacteria along with their genes are referred to as the “Microbiome” by the scientists.
As quoted by Hippocrates: “all disease begins in the gut.” If our gut function isn’t up to par, we get prone to several ailments from head to toe. Maintaining harmony in the gut microbiome is, therefore, the key to allowing your gut to heal.
Being particularly conscious about our health has helped us a great deal. Today, we’ll walk you through some exciting evidence-based tips for boosting your microbiome health and thus, live a life full of vitality.
How to Build a Healthy Microbiome
Add Fermented Foods to your Diet
We need live healthy bacteria (probiotics) for optimal function of our gut, mind, and body. And as one could expect, the best way of getting these probiotics is to consume them naturally or in the form of supplements.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is an old favorite. This fermented cabbage has tons of beneficial effects on our health. According to German scientists, Sauerkraut is one of the most common and ancient ways of preserving cabbage that can be dated back as a probiotic source to the 4th century BC.
The fermentation of Sauerkraut yields beneficial lactic acid bacteria. This German food is loaded with lactic acid, vitamins A, B, C, and K, and minerals, and more importantly, has few calories (about 80 kJ/100g). We love how using it in our daily routine enables the healthy bacteria to travel directly into our gut and keep us hale and hearty. We never feel bloated, have tummy aches, or experience any symptoms of irritable bowels, which is what the enclosed probiotics in Sauerkraut are designed to do.
The high levels of some miracle compounds like glucosinolates, ascorbigen, and ascorbic acid in this fermented veggie have shown some promise against cancer. The experts report that Sauerkraut can minimize the DNA damage and cell mutation (abnormal change) rate in cancer. We like to reap most of Sauerkraut’s benefits from the cabbage cultivated during the winter months as this has loads of ascorbigen content.
We love to eat German Knockwurst and Sauerkraut with dijon mustard. It’s so delicious!
Kimchi
Kimchi is a staple Korean food that I use as a snack. We buy it from the Asian market in Costa Mesa or at Whole foods. Brimming with probiotics, kimchi provides infinite health benefits. This spicy Asian veggie is a blend of as many as 30 different types of vegetables with Chinese cabbage as the prominent ingredient. Reported as one of the world’s five healthiest foods in the Health Magazine in 2006, kimchi’s nutritional value is remarkable. We take it to optimize our gut health and also because kimchi’s capable of keeping our weight and cholesterol levels in control, thereby protecting from heart disease.
Its cancer-fighting properties help us take control of our life as well.
Gut Shots
This is a fermented pickled drink prepared by fermenting organic vegetables and squeezing them to liberate the juices full of healthy probiotics. We take a high count strain probiotic and drink the gut shot daily to ensure the delivery of the essential live active cultures into our system. Our products also have prebiotic fiber that feeds the live active bacteria, assuring that our gut is never short of them.
And you know what the most interesting part is? These probiotic-rich foods boost our immune system, which wards off infections like cold and flu. How? You might be surprised but the largest percentage (around 70% to 80%) of our immune system resides in our gut. This implies that the teensy weensy hitchhikers in our gut interact directly with the immune system, which does an awesome job at destroying the illness-inducing bugs. The high levels of good microbes like Bifidobacterium in our gut help prevent us from getting sick.
To rephrase the above, the microbial community of our gut shapes the immune system and vice versa – referred to as a “love-hate relationship” by the authors at the Pennsylvania State University. An imbalance in the immune system will throw off the natural balance of the gut ecosystem, triggering a rise in harmful bacteria (technically known as dysbiosis). This, in turn, can pave the way for gut inflammation and gut and metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. The other way around, dysbiosis will weaken our defense mechanisms leading to similar consequences.
Consume Bone Broth
Research reveals that individuals with digestive problems have lower collagen levels that undermine their gut lining. This is the same collagen protein that plumps up your skin and hair, imparting a youthful look. The loss of integrity of the gut lining due to lack of collagen puts it at risk of leakage, damage, and inflammation. So, to maintain the integrity of our gut lining and protect ourselves from leaky-gut, we use the richest source of collagen called bone broth that has a strong gut-healing potential. Bone broth is the leftover wholesome juice (stock) prepared by boiling and simmering the bones and meat together. It has been known that collagen can bolster and repair the gut lining, thus, limiting inflammation.
We personally enjoy making homemade bone broth and sipping that in the morning. We also eat our amazing Bone Broth Collagen Bars in three different delicious flavors with no broth flavor whatsoever, just delicious: Coconut Almond, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Wild Blueberry Nut.
Being crazy lovers of bone broth led us to create Yonder products that tastes great and comes in a format that will appeal to almost everyone. We use pasture-raised and grass-fed bones for the nutrients. NO other products on the market that we knew were “mindfully sourced” like ours. They TASTE AMAZING with organic real food ingredients and organic plant-based flavors and no broth taste whatsoever!
The collagen in our bone broth bars is easily digestible due to the enclosed amino acid bonds gently broken down.
When boiled vigorously, collagen yields another valuable substance called gelatin. Studies reveal that gelatin also strengthens the gut lining, which keeps harmful bugs and substances at bay. More so, gelatin supports the growth of healthy gut bacteria and a robust immune system, which keeps inflammation controlled throughout the digestive tract. It also has the ability to draw liquids towards it, including digestive juices, and thus, enhance our digestion.
We are always on the lookout for nutritious and safer foods, for which our thirst is insatiable and therefore, we have always paid heed to the ingredients that can trigger a food allergy. By ensuring a healthy microbiome, the ingredients in our products keep a good check on allergies. Our product ingredients contain NO dairy, soy, whey, gluten, rice or wheat.
Wondering what’s the link between a healthy microbiome and allergy? Well, here’s the scientific theory: A healthy gut microbiome educates our immune system to identify substances that can cause food allergy. It promotes acceptance of the immune system to harmless food items while rejecting the risky ones.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of bone broth, yet a Gut Makeover protocol, designed by the scientific experts also requires using bone broth in the second half of the plan to support microbiome health.
Practice Budwig Protocol
Do you know about the Budwig Protocol? This protocol incorporates natural ways of preventing and treating cancer and other chronic ailments. First introduced in the 1950’s by a German biochemist named Dr. Johanna Budwig, the Budwig protocol curbs inflammation and helps cells rejuvenate.
We simply LOVE this biochemist’s point of view of feeding the cells with nutrients, proteins, green juice, flax oil, sauerkraut juice, and getting sun on your skin daily. It is simply awesome to nurture your health and a healthy microbiome.
Wrapping up
Our microbiome is the climate in our gut that needs to be harmonized in order to support good health. It is important to know about the safety and the nutritional value of the product that you are consuming. Thanks to these friendly foods that balance the health of my gut microbiome and ultimately help me stay in good shape.
Healthy Workplace Habits for a Home Office or Professional Office
