When healthy, the microbiome of your gut is crowded with good-for-you microorganisms, called probiotics. And I mean crowded. "It's abotu a 100 trillion that are there," says registered dietician Kelly Jones. "It actually adds up to four pounds of weight on your body as an adult."
When you guy is happy, you're happy, the gut-brain connection affects everything, from your mental clarity to your heart health, and beyond. "There's a respiratory connection, even a connection to your bones and muscles," says Jones.
Now the probiotic strains in your gut need food, or prebiotics, to thrive.... "So one is the organism, the other is feeding it," I asked. "Exactly," replied Jones.
A healthy gut vibes with fiber from beans and lentils, fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables.
But most of us eat the same handful of things over and over, and way too much processed food.
Our microbiome suffers, as some of our probiotic strains disappear. "Over 90% of Americans are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, and over 90% of Americans are not getting enough fiber," says Jones.
Mixing up your diet, not a pill, is your best bet..
Put berries in your cereal or add in a cup of yogurt.
...Switch your daily broccoli with cauliflower...or try different salad greens...
If you're put off by fermented foods, start small: like a dressing with a little yogurt or miso or a spoon of pickled veggies. "I love to make a shrimp and rice and vegetable bowl and put a little kimchi in there, so it's going to make the flavor pop a bit and it's not going to be as tart." says Jones.
Tomorrow we'll look at which probiotic supplement should you choose---the pricey one online or in the refreigerated case, or the every day version at the grocery or pharmacy?