THE SCIENCE of GUT FRIENDLY FOODS
TRUST YOUR GUT
Having a healthy gut is believed to be an integral part of our health and, along with our brain, forms the gut-brain axis. Scientists are improving their understanding in this area and many now think it increases your body’s resilience and sense of well being (1,2)
the gut biome
The gut biome is an exceptionally diverse colony of microorganisms that live in our intestines. It develops from birth and can weigh more than the brain. It includes 1000s of species of known bacteria, as well as yeasts, fungi and viruses.
Your biome will thank you for a healthy lifestyle. Eat ‘5-a-day’, drink alcohol in moderation, get decent sleep and exercise outdoors.
BENEFITS OF A HEALTHY GUT
Scientific understanding is developing in this area. We believe a healthy gut:
produces important vitamins (1) and neurotransmitters including 90% of seratonin, which regulates mood, appetite, sleep and aids memory and learning (3,4)
improves resilience, strengthening and training the immune system against pathogens (1)
helps to breaks down complex carbohydrates (1)
may help to break down toxins (5,6)
modern lifestyle is not always kind to the gut
Blur say “Modern Life is Rubbish” but we prefer Dave Gorman who says “Modern Life is Goodish”. We no longer burn people at the stake and our life expectancy is now greater than 35 but the human body sometimes struggles to keep up with modernity. We put pressure on the biome (7) through:
excessive alcohol consumption
overuse of painkillers or antibiotics
poor diet or sleep patterns
lack of exercise or exposure to the outdoors
These hazards can be difficult to avoid (8-14), whereas our gut health is easy to neglect. In our experience, when we focus on restoring some balance to our gut health we are full of energy and life
feeding the good bacteria
The bacteria in your gut feed off food that we find hard to digest. Fibre in foods such as green bananas, bran, raw onions and garlic will help your bacteria thrive.
One of the many reasons we love unfiltered apple cider vinegar is that the mother is full of pectin, which is the fibrous material in fruit that binds the flesh together (15)
fermentation
Fermented foods and drinks may contain microbes that are similar to the ones that helpfully colonise our gut. The different forms of fermentation are:
sugars converted into alcohol by yeast
alcohol converted into vinegar by acetobacter
malic acid converted into lactic acid by bacteria. Chardonnay wine is often made soft and buttery using malo-lactic fermentation
starch and sugar converted into lactic acid. This is how pickled vegetables, such as kimchi are made
Only anaerobic microbes thrive in the gut (15). Anaerobic microbes, including lactic acid bacteria, are found in kombucha, fermented vegetables such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and possibly in live, raw and unpasteurised apple cider vinegar (16). According to a study published in Food Review International, Kimchi has been found to have 900 strains of lactic acid bacteria (17)
vitality+
We love natural foods that complement great gut health, and make us feel even better
health benefits of apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has been used for thousands of years, with varied health benefits been claimed by its users
There are numerous research papers (noting that more studies need to be performed before the science is settled) about the benefits of apple cider vinegar (15,16):
the mother contains cellulose rich pectin, which is believed to be helpful to gut bacteria (17)
contains antioxidants such as phenolic compounds, so complements the immune boosting properties of a healthy gut (17)
acetic acid may weaken ‘biofilms’ which cause the persistence of chronic infections and are antibiotic resistant (22)
anti-microbial. Studies show that (particularly in combination with lemon juice) may be effective against salmonella, e-coli and other pathogens(23)
Weight loss (24,25)
Regulation of sugar levels (26)
There are plenty of other traditional benefits associated with apple cider vinegar (19) (e.g. appetite suppression and acne treatment), which are anecdotal rather than carrying scientific weight
IMMUNE BOOSTING NATURAL INGREDIENTS
We use natural ingredients to give the body resources to help fend off winter bugs
Typically they are rich in anti-oxidants such as vitamin-C and flavonoids (27,28) being a defence system against damaging free-radicals
Garlic and onions are, prebiotics, natural antibiotics and support healthy heart (29,30)
TURMERIC
Many a Friday night has been made more delicious (and many a shirt has been irreparably stained) by this traditional Indian spice. It has an earthy flavour and a strong orange-yellow colour
It has a big reputation for health benefits, containing active compounds called curciminoids. The most important is curcumin, for which many claims are made, including being an anti-inflammatory (32), anti-oxidant (32), anti-rheumatoid arthritis (31), anti-ageing, anti-depressant (33) and even anti-cancer (34)
Curcumin is poorly absorbed through the digestive process. Fortunately peperin, found in black pepper, dramatically improves the situation
MORE INFORMATION AND REFERENCES
Photo by Tim-Oliver Metz on Unsplash
(1) Accessible introduction to gut health
(2) TedTalks is rich in relevant materials
(3) 90% of Seratonin produced in the gut
(4) Seratonin regulates mood, behaviour, appetite, sleep, memory and sexual desire
(5) Healthy gut biome may breakdown toxins
(6) African study shows that acetobacter can break down glyphosate
(7) How modern lifestyle can damage gut health
(8) Modern lifestyle - painkillers
(10) Modern lifestyle - Alcohol
(11) Modern lifestyle - Stress
(12) Modern lifestyle - 5 a day
(13) Modern lifestyle - Outdoors play
(14) Modern lifestyle - Exercise
(15) Useful consolidation of scientific work on vinegar: Reference: Vinegar functions on health: constituents, sources, and formation mechanisms: Hengye Chen, Tao Chen, Paolo Giudici, Fusheng Chen
(16) Balanced summary of ACV benefits
(17) Pectin and anti-oxidants in ACV
(18) ACV includes anaerobic bacteria, and organic ACV has more diverse bacteria: Reference: Štornik A, Skok B, Trček J. Comparison of Cultivable Acetic Acid Bacterial Microbiota in Organic and Conventional Apple Cider Vinegar. Food Technol Biotechnol. 2016;54(1):113–119. doi:10.17113/ftb.54.01.16.4082
(20) Potential benefits of Leuconotoc Mesenteroides: Reference: Aline T. de Paula, Ana Beatriz Jeronymo-Ceneviva, Svetoslav D. Todorov & Ana Lúcia B. Penna (2015) The Two Faces of Leuconostoc mesenteroides in Food Systems, Food Reviews International, 31:2, 147-171, DOI: 10.1080/87559129.2014.981825
(21) Traditional benefits claimed for ACV: Natural standard herb & supplement guide - e book: an evidence-based reference [page 59]: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WB8PDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA59&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
(22) Acetic acid interacts with biofilms that are antibiotic resistant
(23) ACV has anti-microbial potential: Reference: National Center for Biotechnology Information, national library of medicine. “Antimicrobial activity in apple cider vinegar against Escherichia-coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and candida albicans; downregulating cytokines and microbial protein expression. PMID 29379012
(24) ACV associated with weight los: Reference: National Center for Biotechnology Information, national library of medicine. “Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects. PMID 19661687
(25) ACV amplifies weight loss in dieting: Reference: Beneficial effects of apple cider vinegar on weight management, visceral adiposity index and lipid profile in overweight or obese subjects receiving restricted calorie diet: a randomised clinical trial , Solaleh Sadat Khezria, Atoosa Saidpour, Nima Hosseinzadeh, Zohreh Amiri
(26) ACV can help regulate sugar levels after a meal: Vinegar improves insulin sensitivity to a high-carbohydrate meal in subjects with insulin resistane or type 2 diabetes. Carol S Johnston, PHD, Cindy M. Kim, MS and Amanda J. Buller, MS
(27) Flavonoids as antioxidants