Microbiome & Gut Health by Dr. Reshma Stanislaus

If the buzzword amongst health and wellness circles in recent years has been “Intermittent Fasting”, “Time Restricted Eating”, “Circadian Rhythm” and “Whole Food, Plant Based”, the WORD for 2024 must be “Microbiome”.

The importance of the microbiome on overall health and well-being cannot be emphasized enough. The microbiome consists of trillions of cells, and it is the diversity of these cells that confers multiple health benefits.

As it turns out, the diversity of our microbiome is impacted by factors that are well within our locus of control. A diet that is nutritious and has probiotics, as well as prebiotics (food for the probiotics, i.e., fruits and vegetables), will produce postbiotics (such as butyrate, a short-chained fatty acid) that have a positive impact on our cognitive abilities and mental health, besides reducing inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation, after all, is what drives the formation of diseases.

So, How Do We Reset Our Gut for Health?

1) Consume a PREDOMINANTLY whole food, plant-based diet. Make sure to include food that has natural probiotics such as yoghurt, kefir, and kombucha as well as fermented food such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and tempeh.
2) Exercise (minimum amount is 150 minutes per week):
Numerous studies have shown that moderate exercise increases the number of beneficial bacteria, increases the microbial diversity of the gut, and improves the development of commensal bacteria.
3) Effective stress management.
4) Adequate and restful sleep.
5) Nurture positive relationships:
Did you know that people who spend a lot of time together, share similar microbiota? Instead of you being the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, it may well be your microbiota that is the average of the five people’s microbiota you spend the most time with.
6) Avoid/limit harmful substances such as alcohol, cigarette smoke, and illicit drugs.

Please do reach out to us if you would like to find out more about how to reset your gut for health. We have individualized programmes that utilize lifestyle medicine prescriptions amongst other interventions.