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Gut Microbiome: Feed What's Feeding You

December 09, 2023

A Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery Diet: Feed What’s Feeding You!

What is the Gut Microbiome?

There is a lot of talk these days about gut health and the gut microbiome, but what is the gut microbiome? Well, let’s break down the words to describe it simply. The gut is another way of saying our intestines, and the microbiome is a bigger word for all of the microbes that live inside our intestines. If you are wondering, “Wait, what are microbes?” You are not alone. Microbes consist of what some may call germs or bugs, but basically, they are the good and bad organisms that live in our gut. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, helminths, and archaea, with bacteria being the largest group present in our gut – I’m talking billions. In other words, the gut microbiome or intestinal microbiome is a community of good and bad (also known as commensal and pathogenic) bugs. The good bugs help keep us healthy by digesting (or breaking down) the food we eat and beverages we drink into their smaller components like vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, and other molecules the body needs for energy production, removal of toxins (or things that do not serve us well), and various reactions that happen at a biochemical level to keep us healthy and strong.

The microbiome is a crucial component of our immune system and responsible for the strength or health of what is known as the gut-brain connection (or gut-brain axis) (1). In fact, it is important to mention that the gut is one of the chief organs of our immune system and plays a significant role in determining our overall health (2) As such, when the gut is in dysbiosis or out of balance, we may feel sick, brain fog, sad, depressed, internally hot or inflamed, and/or experience discomfort in our tummies, for example. In addition, when things are out of balance with our microbiome, we may experience illnesses such as Crohn’s disease, acne, increased premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, obesity, asthma and/or other respiratory diseases, cancer (i.e. breast, colon, liver, throat, etc.), type II diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer’s, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, high cholesterol/clogging arteries, autoimmune diseases, and/or high blood pressure just to name a few (3-5).

Healthy guts have tight control over what enters the bloodstream and what gets excreted as waste through our urine or stool when we go to the bathroom. A gut in dysbiosis does not have tight control over what enters the bloodstream, and its “doors” (or gap junctions) never fully close after its brief opening, which permits all sorts of toxins, large particles, bad microbes, and inflammatory molecules into the bloodstream that wreak havoc on our bodies. A healthy gut looks like the left side of Figure A, while an unhealthy gut (or a gut in dysbiosis) looks like the right side of Figure A (6).

Figure A. Healthy gut versus leaky gut

It is our gut microbiome that feeds the countless reactions and interactions that occur throughout our body 24/7. In essence, this microorganism community will outlive us!

Yikes! I’m being fed by bugs!?

Well, sort of. Remember, we call these bugs microbes, and they feed off the food you and I eat, and in turn, they feed us. Specifically, the good microbes love to eat whole plant foods, such as plain nuts, herbs, spices, fruit, vegetables, and seeds, and they dislike processed foods and non-plant foods. Processed and non-plant foods tend to be disease-promoting and pro-inflammatory, and the body does not like this at all. Our body communicates this dislike through sickness, discomfort, and disease. So, let’s dive more into how microbes feed us humans.

Every day we consume some combination of carbs both simple (fruit and sugar,) and complex (vegetables, legumes, rice, etc.). Simple carbs are digested easily in and by the small intestine and the nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.) are released into the bloodstream. Complex carbs are not so lucky. They are broken down a little in the small intestine, but they take a trip over to the large intestine to be fully broken down through a process called fermentation(7) that releases power nutrients called short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFA helps keep the gut-brain connection strong, which again is a significant part of our immune system and its functions. Additionally, SCFA helps to prevent disease and restores dysbiotic and “leaky” (door open) gut microbiomes.

You mean to tell me my immunity is connected to what I eat?

Yes. That is correct. A healthy gut microbiome means a healthy gut-brain connection and optimized immune responses and immunity overall.

So how do I feed what’s feeding me?

I’m glad you asked! It’s simple. Shop and eat organic whole plant food items, which include leafy greens, beans, lentils, seeds, nuts, fruits, herbs, and spices. Eat more whole plants, minimally processed (e.g. cooking, chopping, cutting, and/or blending), cooked, and/or raw, every day, at every meal, and for every snack. The goal is 7 – 9 (or more) servings of whole plant foods each day to build and maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

Organic food is affordable through membership in a local community supported agriculture (CSA) group as compared to traditional food outlets. In fact, non-organic plant food (or conventional whole plant food) is sprayed with biocides (e.g. pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, etc.) which when consumed adversely impacts the gut microbiome (8). Of note, it has been shown that biocides treat the gut microbiome like an antibiotic, killing off both the good and bad bacteria in the gut (9-10), which weakens the gut microbiome and the barrier it creates between the intestines and the bloodstream that helps keep our immune system intact and strong (8). The moral of the story is that it is very affordable to shop and eat organic whole plant foods to optimize your gut microbiome. I talk more about CSAs and farm-to-table options here.

Really? Eating organic leafy greens and other whole plant foods every day to have a healthy gut microbiome and immune system is how I feed what feeds me?

Yes. In addition, other benefits of eating more whole plant foods include healthy weight, weight loss, better sleep, improved “sugar” or A1C for those with diabetes, improved and normalized blood pressure, mental clarity, energy, and better digestion. One of my favorite benefits of eating more plants is the potential to reverse clogging arteries (or atherosclerosis) and high cholesterol (11-17).

Does eating more plants help people with traumatic brain injury/concussions?

Absolutely! Evidence-based research in mice shows that injury to the brain disrupts the gut microbiome, specifically leading to dysbiosis (18-19), and since we know that whole plant foods help to heal, restore, and maintain the gut microbiome (i.e. our immunity), eating more whole plant foods after a brain injury and throughout the recovery process is paramount. As a three-time brain injury overcomer, I can testify firsthand that eating whole plant foods before and after traumatic brain injury (TBI) helped to minimize the impact of symptoms and kept brain fog at bay. I prioritized anti-inflammatory foods, plenty of water, and rest to help my body heal itself from the impact. As I feed what feeds me, my gut microbiome returns to better than baseline, and I feel more amazing each and every day.

In fact, concussion, stroke, and traumatic brain injury rehab programs can better serve patients by adding a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) (20) to their comprehensive care teams. A CNS is highly trained in personalized nutrition and medical nutrition therapy using food as medicine and supplements when needed, along with nutrition education and counseling to support health goals, which in this case would be recovery from TBI. The last thing TBI patients need to be doing is regularly consuming inflammatory foods when their bodies, especially their brains, are inflamed from an impact injury. Since the idea of having a nutritionist, or even a dietician at the very least, on my care team was not an option (and something my care team had never considered and wasn’t interested in pursuing), I became my own holistic-TBI-informed nutritionist.

Leveraging my master-level training in nutrition and an existing lifestyle of eating mostly plants, I began to pay even more attention to how the foods I ate caused me to feel, and at different stages of the healing process. For example, about 3 months into healing, I tried one of my favorite West African restaurants only to instantly feel like a clogged pipe from my brain to my belly. I instantly stopped eating and began to evaluate the ingredients in my food. I recall the owner sharing in the past the ubiquitous use of palm oil as a staple in many African dishes. I did additional research in light of my condition and learned that palm oil can be a low-grade inflammatory oil. It became clear to me rather quickly how dysbiotic my gut really was after eating only 25% of what was on my plate. It took two weeks to fully clear my system and feel relief in my head and digestive system.

As your own holistic-TBI-related nutritionist, what did you decide to eat to help you recover and feel better?

In the first few days, and for about the first three months, I craved sweet potatoes almost daily and would not rest until I ate about 1-2 cups (sometimes several times a day). I craved fried whiting fish for the first three weeks, and then grilled or baked salmon sporadically over the next 6 – 9 months. More than these, I craved the following whole plant foods very hard, nearly every day or in some combination, for well over a year:

Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage
Bananas
Watermelon
Raspberries
Blueberries
Eggplant
Avocado
Oranges
Lentils
Rice
Figs
Oatmeal with flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds

These whole plant foods are loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, complex carbs, plant protein, phytosterols, and healthy fatty acids (avocado and flax, chia, and hemp seeds). Not to mention whole plant foods are cardioprotective, diabetic friendly, cancer fighting and preventive, immune boosting, brain clarifying and healing, and gut-loving!

Whether you have a brain injury or not, it is important to feed what is feeding you with foods divinely designed to help you thrive from the inside out. #iEatMorePlants®

About the Author

Ethel, also known as The Plant Based Nutritionista™, is the founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of iEatMorePlants® LLC. She is also the creator of In the Kitchen w/The Plant Based Nutritionista™ podcast. Her business and brand exist to inspire you with practical tools, tips, and information to take your health back one meal at a time by eating more plants® and moving your body. www.iEatMorePlants.com

References

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