Even Men Eat For Two
The Central Nervous System (CNS) is a complex and amazing system regulated by many different signals. Although there is an obvious physical distance from your brain to your gut, they may be in deeper communication than you think. This crosstalk between the gut and brain may have a crucial impact of the neurogenerative process and in diseases of the CNS.
In humans and animals there is an entire silent world living in the gut, one that hosts abundant bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Collectively, this ecosystem is referred to as gut “microbiota”. This wonderful ‘party’ hanging out in your intestine is inherited maternally at birth (1). As we walk through life and as our diet and environment changes, the makeup of this flora also varies. The role of the microbiota in the way your body functions, including immunity, has been well established (research dating back 30 years). Alterations in these guest players can lead to either illnesses or healing resulting in conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disease and various types of cancer.
Studies looking at germ-free mice or mice treated with broad spectrum antibiotics show an interesting response. In the ‘clean freak’ mice there were issues with learning, memory, recognition and emotional behaviors. It makes you think twice about using heavy-duty bathroom cleaners! In humans there have been links between these important microbes and conditions like anxiety, depression and autism; but it doesn’t end there. This gut flora has been shown to modulate the activities of your immune, circulatory and neural systems.
What should we be eating to encourage a healthy gut? Here is a quick breakdown of diet and what bacteria tends to thrive or dive in your gut. If you are anything like I, reading health articles makes me feel powerless as though I have done something wrong; just take into account this amazing piece of information.
“An acute change in diet—for instance to one that is strictly animal-based or plant-based—alters microbial composition within just 24 hours of initiation with reversion to baseline within 48 hours of diet discontinuation”(2).
This is striking. There is hope after all! So let us not get discouraged and continue to the diet.
Diets that are high in “plant” based protein lead to more beneficial bacteria (bifidobacterium, lactobacillus) and a decrease in harmful bacteria (bacteroides, clostridium perfringens). This increases the small chain fatty acids (SCFA’s - that is a good thing) and decreases inflammatory cells.
On the contrary, diets high in “animal” based protein increases harmful bacteria and decreases anti-inflammatory (the good guys) bacteria.
Okay. So you get where I am going with this. Let us talk fats. We all have heard of good vs. bad fats. “Unsaturated” are GOOD and “saturated” fats are BAD. Unsaturated fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
The studies on gut flora confirm: A diet high in saturated fats promotes inflammatory-producing gut flora (2).
On to the carbohydrates. Carbs are one of the most studied for their ability to change those little hitchhikers.
Studies suggest glucose, fructose and sucrose from REAL sources like fruit are GOOD.
Artificial sweeteners saccharin, sucralose and aspartame create an imbalance that is not beneficial; so stick with the real stuff!
Fermented foods like cultured yogurt and mild products are GOOD!
Dietary polyphenols which include foods like fruits, seeds, vegetables, tea, cocoa products and wine show to be GOOD!
It truly is amazing. You can adjust your diet and, therefore, adjust your microbiota! Remember, what you put in your mouth is not feeding just you. You really are eating for TWO!!
(1) (Ma, Q., Xing, C., Long, W. et al. Impact of microbiota on central nervous system and neurological diseases: the gut-brain axis. J Neuroinflammation 16, 53 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-019-1434-3)
(2) Singh, R. K., Chang, H. W., Yan, D., Lee, K. M., Ucmak, D., Wong, K., Abrouk, M., Farahnik, B., Nakamura, M., Zhu, T. H., Bhutani, T., & Liao, W. (2017). Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health. Journal of translational medicine, 15(1), 73. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-017-1175-y
