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Probiotics can help maintain a balanced gut microbiota, but did you know that the foods you eat may be destroying your intestinal probiotics?
By: Jingduan Yang
A wide variety of chronic diseases are linked with an imbalance in the gut microbiota. This gut microbiota comprises bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in our intestines that far outnumber the body’s cells while interacting with and supporting the human body.
Probiotics can help maintain a balanced gut microbiota and intestinal function, but did you know that the foods you eat may be destroying your intestinal probiotics?
Foods That Harm Intestinal Health
What are the foods that affect the gut microbiota and harm intestinal health?
Highly Processed Foods
Ultra-processed foods usually contain high levels of additives, preservatives, colorants, etc. These ingredients can exert adverse impacts on the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. Ultra-processed foods do not provide the necessary nutrients, such as fiber, for our intestinal probiotics.
A review of studies published in May in Food Research International suggests that ultra-processed foods, which contain high levels of saturated and trans fats, added sugars, salt, and food additives, directly alter gut microbiota composition and microbial metabolites, causing metabolic diseases and inflammation.
These unhealthy ingredients also affect the neural network, negatively affecting brain health through the microbiota-gut-brain axis and potentially affecting cognition and behavior, according to the study.
A 2019 article published in Nutrients also said that high consumption of ultra-processed foods alters the gut microbiota and causes inflammation. These effects can even be passed on to later generations through epigenetic changes.
Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners
Excessive consumption of sugary snacks can rapidly increase blood sugar levels and affect the balance of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract. Excessive sugar intake encourages the growth of harmful bacteria and inhibits the growth of beneficial bacteria, resulting in a relative decrease in the number of beneficial bacteria. This imbalance of intestinal microbiota can lead to many health problems, such as chronic inflammation of the intestines, metabolic diseases, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, and high blood cholesterol.
A study published in Cell in 2022 found that gut microbiota can prevent diet-induced obesity and metabolic diseases by inducing commensal-specific Th17 cells. However, high-sugar and high-fat diets deplete Th17-inducing microbes and promote metabolic diseases.
In addition, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose cannot be digested and absorbed by the human body, so they are more likely to stay in the intestines longer, which is not conducive to intestinal microbiota diversity.
High-Fat Foods
Both saturated and unsaturated fats are essential nutrients, but trans fats are harmful to the human body.
Our intestines have a mucosal barrier that can absorb beneficial substances and prevent harmful ones from entering the body. If this barrier is punctured, harmful bacteria, toxins, and allergens may enter the body through the intestines. This is also known as “leaky gut syndrome” and can lead to many health problems.
Many processed and fried foods contain trans fatty acids that affect the balance of the intestinal microbiota, cause inflammation, and disrupt the integrity of the intestinal mucosa.
A similar problem exists with excessive intake of saturated fatty acids.
Therefore, monitoring the intake of saturated fatty acids and avoiding trans fatty acids in our daily diet is important.
In addition, unsaturated fatty acids may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which help maintain intestinal health. You can find these healthy fats in wild-caught fish, olives, avocados, and nuts.
Alcohol
Alcohol not only affects the brain and liver but also has a significant impact on gastrointestinal function. The biggest problem is that alcohol destroys the mucosal barrier of the intestines, impairing intestinal function and leading to a wide range of diseases.
A comprehensive study published in Frontiers in Microbiology in 2022 showed that alcohol can change the composition of the intestinal microbiota, resulting in a decrease in beneficial bacteria and an increase in harmful bacteria, leading to intestinal flora disorders, making one prone to gastrointestinal disease, immune disease, and metabolic disorders.
Ways to Protect the Intestinal Tract
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has recognized that the digestive tract is the human body’s “acquired foundation,” the foundation of every person’s growth and health.
Suppose there are problems with your spleen and stomach. This will threaten your health, and even your doctor will find it challenging to help you because the most practical way to manage your gastrointestinal function is to develop good eating habits yourself.
As the saying goes, “We are what we eat.” What we eat affects the growth of intestinal microorganisms relating to our health.
First, we should eat fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans. Dietary fiber can provide energy for the probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract and promote the growth of probiotics, which is conducive to intestinal health.
It is also essential to increase the diversity of your diet, as different foods provide the nutrients and environment needed by different types of bacteria.
A study published in Molecular Metabolism indicates that diets that exclude either animal or plant foods reduce the richness of microbiota species, suggesting “the more diverse the diet, the more diverse the microbiome and the more adaptable it will be to perturbations.”
By consuming different types of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, nuts, and seeds, we can provide relatively rich nutrition to the microorganisms of the intestines and promote the diversity and balance of intestinal bacteria, which is vital for the health of the intestines as well as the whole body.
Jingduan Yang, M.D. F.A.P.A. is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in integrative and traditional Chinese medicine for chronic mental, behavioral, and physical illnesses. He contributed to the books “Integrative Psychiatry,” “Medicine Matters,” and “Integrative Therapies for Cancer.” Co-authored “Facing East: Ancient Secrets for Beauty+Health for Modern Age” by HarperCollins and “Clinical Acupuncture and Ancient Chinese Medicine” by Oxford Press. Dr. Yang is also the founder of the Yang Institute of Integrative Medicine and the American Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and the CEO of Northern Medical Center, Middletown, New York, since July 2022.
