I Got a Gut Feeling

Why should we care about our gut?

There are 39 trillion microbes from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. 70-80% of these microbes live in the digestive tract or “the gut”. This system of microbes is referred to as the gut microbiome.

Gut health is something I got in touch with during the early days of the pandemic when I was looking into how to boost my immune system and more broadly how to prepare my body to be able to fight off the coronavirus. I quickly found out about the role that the gut plays in our immune system and went on to learn about how it effects our mood, cognitive function, hormones and genetic expression.

Important gut health jargon

• Microbiome/Microbiota - the diverse community of microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) residing in a particular environment, such as the gut, influencing various aspects of health and digestion

• Probiotics - good bacteria that keep your digestive system running smoothly and your overall health in check.

• Prebiotics - the nourishing fuel for the good bacteria in your gut, promoting their growth and contributing to a healthy digestive system.

• Postbiotics - the beneficial compounds produced by probiotics during fermentation that help support gut health and overall well-being.

Why hasn’t my doc talked more about gut health?

Research into gut health and the microbiome has really taken off in the last 20 years. Even though we've known about gut microbes and their basic roles for quite a while, it's only recently, thanks to new tech, that we're starting to get a full picture of how complex and important these tiny organisms are for our digestion, immune system, and more. Although we’ve made a lot of progress in the last two decades, this research is still in its infancy.

I got 99 Problems…

As we get older, our bodies produce fewer digestive enzymes and stomach acid, and our gut bacteria can get out of whack, affecting how we absorb nutrients and fend off illness. Plus, lifestyle changes and the risk of chronic conditions make it extra important to keep our gut in check during midlife for overall health and well-being.

Roughly 70 million Americans deal with digestive issues, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects about 10-15% of the population. Plus, most Americans aren't getting enough fiber in their diets, which is super important for gut health.

Wondering if you have a digestive issue? Do you experience…

• Excessive gas or bloating, better known by their medical terms below

  • cutting the cheese

  • letting one rip

  • crop dusting

• Diarrhea

• Constipation

• Acid reflux

• Heartburn

What are the benefits of improved gut health?

A healthy gut helps us avoid inflammation due to dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is when the balance of good and bad microbes in your body is off balance, often leading to acute health issues like sepsis as well as chronic health issues such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

The gut is also hugely important to brain health. The brain and the gut have a Clooney/Pitt-like bromance. One of the key factors in this relationship is the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin. Serotonin effects our mood, energy, focus and our memory. 90-95% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut.

What are the most important factors in improving our gut health?

Fermented foods

Dr. Justin Sonnenberg, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, along with fellow Stanford researchers discovered that a 10-week diet high in fermented foods boosts microbiome diversity and improves immune responses.

In Dr. Sonnenburg’s study the result of a strong gut microbiome depended much more on the regular and daily ingestion of fermented foods than it did on the number of servings per day. In short, 2 servings per day everyday is better than 4-6 servings a few days per week.

Nearly all fermented foods are found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store and can be costly. These foods can be made at home but usually home fermenters are too busy binge watching The Big Bang Theory.

I’m not a big fan of sauerkraut or kimchi but here are a few fermented foods that I work into my diet on a regular basis…

• Bubbie’s Dill Pickles (most pickles are not fermented but these are)

• Siggi’s Icelandic Yogurt or Stonyfield Greek Yogurt - great with some berries, granola, honey and coconut flakes…if you really want to get wild add in some chia seeds and ground flaxseeds

• Cottage Cheese

• Sourdough Bread -makes for amazing avocado toast with a sprinkle of sea salt and ground pepper

• Synergy Kombucha - I mix 3-4oz with 3-4oz of water per serving

• Tempeh (fermented soybean product) -tempeh absorbs the flavors of whatever it’s cooked with very well. Check out my Instagram account here for a great tempeh chili crockpot recipe. I know, it sounds weird, just give it a shot.

Plant Fiber

It’s important to be cognizant of your protein intake but fiber intake is just as important to the body. 97% of people are fiber deficient.

According to the American Gut Project, which is the largest study to date to take our diet and lifestyle and connect it to the biodiversity within our gut microbiome; the #1 predictor of a healthy gut microbiome is the diversity of plants within your diet. This does not mean you have to go full hippie and be vegan. The diversity is the key, not the avoidance of meat and dairy. You could be vegan and eat the same 10 foods every day and not feed your microbiome properly. The standard that the American Gut Project found is optimal is 30 plants per week. The reason behind this is because each plant has its own unique fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are substances found in plants that help humans fight off disease and boost the immune system, I had to look it up.

Ramp up fiber and fermented foods slowly in order to avoid gastric distress (indigestion, bloating, shitting yourself, etc…). You can’t just show up at the gym one day after never lifting and throw up 225 on the bench…you gradually work up to it. Building your gut health is the same process. Studies have shown that 25-50 grams of fiber is ideal for an adult male.

*Important to note: Fiber is where the science fractures a bit. You have Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, whose research claims there is no significant effect of fiber on the gut microbiome. Then you have Dr. Will Bulsiwiecz’s camp whose research claims fiber is essential to a flourishing gut microbiome. My view, whether fiber is essential for a healthy gut microbiome or not, it is essential for a number of key functions in the body and therefore should be considered an important part of a healthy diet.

A few ways I sneak in extra plants…

• Breakfast: Oatmeal with bananas and a scoop each of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Protein. I like Naked Whey Chocolate Protein and Naked Shake Chocolate Peanut Butter Vegan Protein but you can use whatever brand you prefer.

• Lunch: Shredded Chicken salad with half an avocado and a dollop of mayo on whole-grain bread with baby carrots and an apple. The wifey got me a Pro Chicken Shredder a few months back, total game changer for chicken salads, quesadillas, tacos and chilis.

• Snack: Pistachios, almonds, dates, peanut butter, Nut Harvest Trail Mix

• Dinner: Chili recipe above but also sides of sweet potatoes, smashed potatoes, brown rice, broccoli, cauliflower, and diverse salads

• Dessert: Yogurt recipe above

Hydrate

Staying hydrated keeps your gut in top shape by maintaining its barrier function and helping flush out waste effectively. The National Academy of Medicine recommends consuming 104 ounces (or 13 cups) of fluids per day for the average adult male…not just water, all fluids (except booze, slow down Norm)

Yes, I believe diet sodas/artificial sweeteners are ok for the gut. Renowned fitness coach and PhD in Nutritional Sciences, Dr. Layne Norton tells us, “There are no human randomized control trials demonstrating adverse reactions of artificial sweeteners in humans.” See his video regarding artificial sweeteners and the gut microbiome here.

Sleep

Quality sleep promotes a healthy balance of gut bacteria and supports optimal digestion, contributing to overall gut health. If you missed our issue on sleep, please check it out here.

Exercise

Studies have shown that 15min of exercise, even without changing the subjects diets, produced a positive trend in good microbes in the gut microbiome.

Manage stress

Unresolved trauma and heavy stress negatively effects the gut microbiome to the point that it can beat out a good diet, exercise routine and sleep. You must be able to manage your stress through a mindfulness practice, therapy, journaling, or a modality of your choice in order to have a flourishing gut microbiome. This can also include changing your environment, for example switching jobs to get out from under a tough boss or sending your kids to be raised by wolves. Popular mindfulness apps include Calm and Headspace.

Limit alcohol

Research suggests that alcohol hits your gut microbiome fast, causing inflammation within just 30 minutes of drinking, according to a 2014 study.

Recent findings also link regular drinking to changes in gut bacteria composition, potentially leading to digestive challenges like irregular bowel movements and diarrhea, as revealed in a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences…as well as by any college sophomore in a fraternity.

Despite Lewis Scolnick and Gilbert Lowe (IYKYK) above telling me “alcohol bad”, I’ll still imbibe when out with friends and at special events. The key is being mindful in order to limit harm to the good stuff I got going on in the gut.

Relationships

You share more microbes with your spouse than you do with your siblings who share your genetic code. One study showed that individuals who felt closest to their spouse, shared the most microbes with them through kissing, touching, etc…use your imagination on the etc.

Fecal transplants

These won’t be covered in-depth in this issue, I’ve had it up to here with those people’s shit! But honestly there is promising evidence that they actually are very effective in improving sick patient’s microbiome…and yes, I’m talking about getting someone else’s chocolate thunder shoved up your down under. There goes breakfast.

Are probiotic supplements worth it?

Probiotic supplement study results have been more mediocre than expected. The challenge has been identifying the specific people that will benefit from that specific probiotic. Customization may be the answer but that will come at a cost and more research is certainly needed. As of now, evidence points us in the direction that prebiotic fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) makes a much stronger case for gut health than any probiotic supplement.

Dr. Andrew Huberman, Associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford and podcast host, suggests the best time to use higher dose probiotics or prebiotics (prescribed or in pill form) is when individuals are stressed or their system is stressed for instance when dealing with a heavy workload, a bereavement or traveling often. However, under normal conditions and circumstances it’s best to focus on quality nutrients through diet.

Probiotic supplements are often recommended when recovering from a course of antibiotics. However, there is not a lot of solid data to conclude that they are an effective lever to pull when attempting to recuperate the gut microbiome after the antibiotic medication.

I know there’s a lot to digest here (bad dad joke). If we boil it down to a simple statement, I love author Michael Pollan’s quote from his best-selling book In Defense of Food…”Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. Yes, there is some nuance here we’ve gone over, like adding in fermented foods but I love to keep it simple.

Remember to take it slow. If you’re currently…

• not eating any fermented foods, let’s try a serving of Greek yogurt once per day…maybe with some fruit

• eating 9 plants per week, let’s shoot for 10 this week

• drinking 60oz of fluids per day, go for 70oz

Progress is progress.

Ever since I’ve implemented many of these tips and practices into my routine, I’ve become more regular (like clock work, every morning), experienced better moods due to having more energy and avoided many of the illnesses that my kids have brought home from that phlegm breeding ground they call a school. These protocols have worked for me and I know they will for you too.

If you’d like to explore this topic further, please check out Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast episode on How to Enhance Your Gut Microbiome for Brain & Overall Health here. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s book Fiber Fueled is also available here with the audio version available with Spotify Premium plans.

I’m here to support you on your journey to a healthier, fitter life. As always, I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Let me know what topics you’d like me to cover in future issues by replying to this email.

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Be well,

Dave

Please note: This newsletter is designed for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for advice tailored to your health and fitness needs.