What can you do to restore your beneficial gut flora?

An important principle to understand is that there is a limited amount of space for bacteria in the gut. This means that if you have a lot of 'bad bacteria', there is less space for the good bacteria (and all the good things they do), and vice versa.

For this reason, it's important to reduce the population of abnormal, or 'bad' gut flora to allow room for the beneficial bacteria to re-establish.

How can you do this?

Diet changes should be first. If you are eating a diet rich in processed carbs, sugars, and even grains, the unfriendly bacteria are having a party in your gut, as they thrive on simple sugars.

However, guess what is the preferred food source for the good bacteria...healthy fibers found in fruits and vegetables, and also prebiotic foods and supplements (more on that below).

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ACTION STEP 1: Reduce your consumption of simple sugars, and fill your plate with vegetables!

So what is the role of fermented food and probiotics?

Something you have to know about fermented food and probiotics is that they do NOT recolonise the gut. This is not how they work. They go through, do their work and then end up in your stools. They might stay for a day or up to a few weeks, but they do not stay to become part of your microbiome. So you can't expect to wipe out your bacteria with antibiotics, and then simply 'replace them' with a few probiotic capsules.

However, they do have a lot of positive effects in the gut. One of the way they work is by competing for space and preventing the baddies from taking over (remember that there is limited space in the gut, more good bacteria =less space for the bad bacteria).

They can also help improve motility (great if you suffer from constipation), reduce inflammation by producing anti-inflammatory compounds, help heal the gut lining, and so much more. You do need to take the right probiotic strain for you and your very own ecosystem though, otherwise you will get little benefits.

Fermented food or probiotic capsules?

For a lot of people, eating some fermented food on a regular basis (together with the diet changes recommended above) will be all they need to re-balance the bacteria in their gut. Fermented foods offer other benefits as well and are well worth adding to your diet.

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ACTION STEP 2: Try eating a small amount (about 1 tbsp) of fermented food daily. Choose from a variety of fermented food like sauerkraut, kimchi, yoghurt, kombucha, etc

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Did you answer YES to a lot of questions in the quiz above?

If your microbiome is really unhealthy, fermented food might not be enough, or you might even not tolerate them. In this case, the use of targeted probiotic supplements, and also a good prebiotic ( food for the good bacteria) can be very helpful to re-establish a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut. I do recommend you get some help in finding the right probiotic and prebiotic for you, as they are not all created equal and all have very different effect in the gut.

And finally, I wanted to tell you about another helpful tool to learn more about your microbiome: the Ubiome Explorer. It sequences the bacteria in your gut and it can be quite fascinating, and it's quite affordable as well!

I use this test as part of my Happy Gut Program, to help me better understand each client's unique ecosystem. It helps me recommend a more personalised program for each clients, with specific food, probiotics and other supplements that are most likely to help them restore a healthy balance of bacteria in their gut.

If you are interested in getting this test done, and need help interpreting the results (it can be a bit confusing if you don't know the role of various gut bacteria), get in touch so I can help you! You can contact me at [email protected]

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Did you know that stress also has an influence on your gut bacteria... more on that in the last lesson ;-)