3 Strategies to Support your Gut Microbiome
by Dr. Megan Taylor
As a provider that specializes in digestive health, I get a lot of questions from patients about various microbiome supportive supplements. These supplements, often advertised on social media, often promise to “reset your gut” or “restore your gut microbiome”.
We know a lot about the microbiome, and what the gut microbiome, in particular, does for us (a future post on this soon!), but are just in the beginning of our understanding about how to repair or restore the gut microbiome. This is an incredibly rich area of research, but we are far from having the solution.
Your gut microbiome is a collection of various microorganisms, predominately bacteria, that impacts digestion and numerous other bodily functions including immune health, mental health, hormones, and more. So, it’s health, or lack thereof, is very important!
While we’re very far from having a clear answer on how to repair or restore the microbiome, we do have some preliminary research that indicates that diets higher in plant-based foods result in a richer gut based microbiome (MacDonald, et al. 2018). This makes sense. Plants often contain prebiotic carbohydrates and fibers that are a preferred fuel source for the microbes that live in our gut. Specially, prebiotics are defined as “non-digested food components that, through the stimulation of growth and/or activity of a single type or a limited amount of microorganisms, residing in the gastrointestinal tract, improve the health condition of a host”(Gibson & Roberfroid, 1995).
Basically, these prebiotics, when consumed support the growth of the beneficial microbes in our gut, which, in turn benefits us! While much of the research on prebiotic supplementation has been on addressing specific symptoms, in theory we can also use prebiotics (both in diet and via supplementation) to, in theory, help to correct the negative impact we have on our microbiome through:
frequent or repeated antimicrobial treatments
chronic stress
poor sleep
limited exercise
dietary additives and pesticides
intergenerational microbial inheritance patterns, influenced by birthing and early life feeding practices
We cannot “reinoculate” our microbiome with probiotic supplements or fermented foods alone. Instead, we need to provide fuel to our existing microbiomes in the form of plant based foods rich in prebiotic fibers so that they can regrow to healthful levels.
The American Gut project found that diets with at least 30 different plant foods each week resulted in a more diverse microbiome, than those with with less (MacDonald, et al. 2018). So, an initial goal for microbiome-supportive eating could be to aim for at least 30 different fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds each week.
As you begin to "feed" your microbiome, I generally recommend that patients start with small servings (a couple tablespoons to 1/4 cup) and increase slowly. Shifting our diet to be richer in plant-based prebiotics can result in some transient bloating and gas; going slow can minimize these symptoms and discomfort. And, if symptoms become too uncomfortable, you can always decrease your serving size for several days to a week to allow your microbiome to get “used to” the new prebiotic source before attempting to increase again.
Here are a list of some of the most commonly encountered dietary prebiotics and what foods they can be found in:
Resistant starches in potatoes, barely, rice, corn tortillas (stored), plantains, unripe banana, oats, pinto & black beans (stored)
Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) in legumes, pistachios, cashews, soy milk
Fructans like inulin in wheat, onion, garlic, artichokes, soy, watermelon, grapefruit
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) in garlic, onion, leeks, chicory, sunchokes, asparagus, nectarines
Pectin in apples, apricots, blackberries, cabbage, kiwi, oranges, pears, pumpkin, potatoes, sugar snap peas, butternut squash
Arabinoxylan in almonds, bamboo shoots, flaxseed, quick oats, white rice, grains
Additionally, plant-based metabolites called polyphenols can also act as prebiotics, as well as being anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Polyphenols, including flavonoids such as anthocyanin, lignins, and stilbenes such as resveratrol, have been show to increase the growth of important families of microbes, such as Bifidobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae, as well as individual species such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Additionally, they have been shown to exert an antimicrobial effect, and can reduce a number of pathobionts (potentially problematic commensals) such as Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Helicobacter pylori. (Plamada & Vodnar, 2021) In additional to encouraging diets rich in prebiotic carbohydrates and fibers, I also encourage patients to incorporate foods rich in these polyphenols, including grapes, berries, cherries, pomegranate, tea, cocoa, olives, and olive oil.
In addition to dietary approaches, there are a growing number of prebiotic supplements available on the market. One of my favorites is Partially hydrolyzed Guar Gum, a Low FODMAP fiber made up of mannose and galactose molecules that has been show to increase a variety of important microbiome genus', including Ruminococcus, Fusicatenibacter, Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, and Bifidobacterium (Abe, et al. 2023). Typically dosing is a reasonable 5-6 grams, it is generally tasteless and dissolves completely into water, tea, or coffee. While not the most fermentable of fibers, and therefore not the strongest of prebiotics, it seems to be well tolerated by most and can be a great starting point for folks with Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. We carry one brand, called Sunfiber, in our office, and it is a popular product (call or stop by to pick some up)!
In summary, to support your gut microbiome, here are the 3 things to try:
Aim for at least 30 different fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds each week that are rich in probiotics (see list above)
Also include foods rich in polyphenols (see list above)
Consider a prebiotic supplement, such as partially hydrolyzed guar gum.
Increasing prebiotics isn’t for everyone - some folks will find significant digestive symptoms with increases in prebiotic foods or fibers that DO NOT get better with time or smaller doses. If this occurs for you, please seek out medical help as this might indicate an underlying medical condition that should be addressed.
Have additional questions about the gut microbiome or how you can support yours specifically? Schedule a visit with myself or another Neighborhood Naturopathic provider here.
see you in clinic,
Dr. Taylor
References
Abe A, Morishima S, Kapoor MP, Inoue R, Tsukahara T, Naito Y, Ozeki M. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum is associated with improvement in gut health, sleep, and motivation among healthy subjects. J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2023 Mar;72(2):189-197. doi: 10.3164/jcbn.22-75. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36936875; PMCID: PMC10017317.
McDonald D, et. al. American Gut Consortium; Knight R. American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research. mSystems. 2018 May 15;3(3):e00031-18. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00031-18. PMID: 29795809; PMCID: PMC5954204.
Plamada D, Vodnar DC. Polyphenols-Gut Microbiota Interrelationship: A Transition to a New Generation of Prebiotics. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 28;14(1):137. doi: 10.3390/nu14010137. PMID: 35011012; PMCID: PMC8747136.