Top Natural Ways to Restore Your Microbiome
Many folks have heard of the microbiome but what is it really? Here are simple, easy-t0-learn facts, including great herbs and natural ways to support your own body!
I also include journal prompts at the end. These are fun thought-starters, offerings for you to tap into you gut’s intuition and your own mind-gut connection!
The gut microbiome, trillions of organisms within your body.
What is the Gut Microbiome?
Your gut microbiome refers to the trillions or organisms that live throughout your digestive system - from the stomach to the large intestine. They naturally exist and affect not just digestion but also mental health, immune function, stress, sleep and overall well-being.
You have microbiomes throughout your body! This includes the mouth, on top of your skin, inside the vagina (for those who have one), and more!
It truly is a MICRO biome because even the bacteria on your left hand can look quite different from the bacteria on your right hand!
Interesting facts about the gut microbiome
There’s a reason your gut is known as the second brain. It has its own nervous system, called the enteric nervous system (ENS) and it’s the essential communicator to the brain and other parts of the body. Your gut microbiome is continually firing off chemical messages and dictating elements of how your body functions as well!
Fun Facts:
The gut sends 9x the amount of information to the brain than the brain does to the gut!
Over 90% of dopamine and over 50% of serotonin is created in the gut. These are essential happiness hormones. When our gut is out of balance, we don’t just feel physically uncomfortable, we’re actually being depleted of happiness hormones.
We are 99.9% identical in our genetic DNA, yet the genetic microbiome of our guts is less than 3% similar from person-to-person across the globe
The weight of the gut flora is about the same weight of the brain (coincidence?!). We truly are hosts to an ecosystem of bacteria!
The liver is essential for digestion and elimination. Without the liver, we would die within 24 hours
Finding zen with the mind-gut connection
Probiotics and Prebiotics: The Tiny Heroes in Your Gut
Probiotics and prebiotics are really vital for supporting the microbiome. By definition, probiotics are live organisms that support and help and maintain the gut microbiome. Imagine your gut as a bustling metropolis with trillions of inhabitants. Probiotics are like the friendly folks - aka bacteria - who help run the civil infrastructure and community garden.
Prebiotics are a type of fiber, often rich in inulin, that help support the probiotics to live comfortably in our digestive system.
Another way to think about it: probitoics are like the plants and prebiotics are like the the fertilizer to help support them to grow and live in the belly.
Natural Sources of Probiotics
When it’s possible, adding a healthy scoop of probiotics to your diet is really helpful. This is particularly important with IBS, IBD, SIBO, Leaky Gut and other digestive conditions - although almost everyone needs to add probiotics and prebiotics into our diet because they gut microbiome is continually changing each day.*
These are all natural great sources of of probiotics:
Yogurt
Kefir
Kimchi
Kvass
Sauerkraut
Kombucha (caution with Komubcha brands that have high sugar content)
Smreka (juniper-based drink)
If you are sensitive to spicy foods or dairy (as many of us are), opt for sauerkraut because this will be more mild on the digestive system while still effectively supplying probiotics.
In addition, you can get probiotic supplements. I'm a big fan of VSL#3 , these are live active probiotics that can be very supportive to folks with IBS or IBD* and have over 112 billion CFUs (colony forming units). Probitoics are measured in CFUs, meaning how many viable bacterial cells could be in the blend. This line has way more strains the average probiotic, and I've been taking it for years for my Crohn's Disease.
I also like Therbiotic Complete and Seed.
Kombucha for digestion and the gut microbiome. It uses a scoby
Natural Sources of Prebiotics: Herbs and Foods
There are many wonderful herbs that are strong natural sources of prebiotic fiber. These include:
Chicory root (Cichorium intybus)
Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale)
Burdock root (Arctium lappa)
Gentian root (Gentiana campestris)
Dried Orange Peel (Citrus recticulata)
Artichoke Leaf (Cynara cardunculus)
Notice how many of these are roots. Roots are the food storage for plants, thus they’ll have more complex carbohydrates and fibers. Pretty cool, right?!
Enjoy the Wealthy Belly Tea which has Dandelion Root and Dried Orange peel, along with Rosemary and Lemon Balm! I made this tea as a nice coffee alternative: it is energizing with out the caffeine, and has supports nice digestive flow.
Fun ways to incorporate these prebiotic herbs into your life:
Cooking with them! Ideally when they’re fresh.
Making an herbal tea or herbal infusion.
Creating an herbal syrup and adding them to seltzer water.
Drying them into a dehydrater and making a yummy crunchy snack
Making an electuary: powdering the herbs and adding them with a little bit of honey for a yummy prebiotic energy ball.
When’s the best time to take probitoics and prebotics?
It's best to take them together, or prebiotics first. You'll want to to ideally take these at least 20 minutes before eating so they have time to properly get into your digestive system and support your gut in digestion.
The Gut Microbiome and the Mind-Gut Axis
The mind-gut connection refers to the communication between the brain and the gut, also known as the gut-brain axis.
This connection includes the nervous system, hormones, and immune system, which influence each other and impact our health. The composition of the microbiome can impact brain function and behavior.
For example, anxiety or depression can manifest in gastrointestinal symptoms, while gut issues can affect mood and cognition.
Much of this communication happens through the vagus nerve. Understanding and nurturing this connection can lead to better overall health and well-being.
Tapping into your Gut’s Intuition: Food for Thought
Journal or draw out your responses to the following prompts:
How do you feel your gut microbiome is doing?
Have you ever noticed any signals that it’s sharing with you?
Do you already use some of the natural approahces above? Which of these interest you the most?
When was there a time in the last year that you had a strong gut instinct?
Reflect on this gut instinct and what you did. What were the outcomes?
Was there anything positive about it?
Negative?
What is a mantra that you can create that helps you tap into your gut’s intuition? Consider something sweet and simple that you can easily repeat!
Recommended Resources to Learn More About the Microbiome and the Mind-Gut Connection
Recommend Books
by Emeran Mayer
Emeran Mayer's book, "The Mind-Gut Connection," delves into the intricate relationship between the brain and the gut, emphasizing how this connection influences our overall health and well-being. It’s one of the first key books that brought this research into common knowledge. It’s a great read!
Follow Your Gut: The Enormous Impact of Tiny Microbes
by Rob Knight with Brendan Buhler
Based on Rob Knight’s Ted Talk, this is a short book that dives into the importance of the microbiome and how it impacts all aspects of our health.
Recommended Audio + Visual
TED Talk: How our microbes make us who we are by Rob Knight
A great TED talk that inspired the book above, Rob shares really interesting insights- for example why some people are more prone to mosquito bites because of their microbiome o are susceptible to over-the-counter (OTC) pain meds. He draws great parallels on the mind and the gut!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information above is purely educational and cannot substitute professional medical advice. It is not intended to treat, cure, or diagnose medical conditions. Consult with a medical professional if you have any concerns.