Gut Microbiome

All disease begins in the gut -Socrates

Antibiotics, stress, sleep deprivation, processed foods are all bad for gut microbiome, these can cause the imbalance of good and bad bacteria and even completely destroy some types of the bacteria. If a type of bacteria is completely destroyed, it is really hard, if not impossible, to restore it. Food for good bacteria is called prebiotics, this is generally hard to digest plant fiber. Good bacteria feeds on this fiber. And probiotics is foods with bacteria in it. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, yoghurt and kefir are good examples. Intermittent fasting is also beneficial for gut microbiome. When you fast you starve the bacteria and since the bad bacteria have a shorter reproduce cycle(they need food more often), you can improve the balance of your gut microbiome. The key to a healthy gut is the variety of bacteria.

Some important good bacteria are:

• Bifidobacterium
• Lactobacillus (yoghurt)
• Lactococcus
• Saccharomyces

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