Eating Junk Food Can Kill Gut Bacteria

Research has shown that eating junk food may kill gut bacteria intended to protect against obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autism and immune deficiency disorders. Stomach flora produce digestive enzymes needed to aid absorption of important minerals as well as play an important role in warding off potentially harmful microbes. Simply stated the more diverse your daily intake of healthy foods, the better off you and your gut bacteria will fare over the long haul. Unfortunately, the average American diet is loaded with added sugars, artificial ingredients, trans fats, and remnants of antibiotics, none of which support good health.

Fiber is a key ingredient for a healthy microbiome

Although there have been many weight loss debates over sugar and fat consumption, fiber is a key nutrient that is often overlooked for its benefit in maintaining healthy microbiome. Science-based ways to improve your gut bacteria:

• Eat a diverse range of foods
• Eat lots of vegetables,
• Eat legumes and beans
• Eat lots of fruit
• Eat fermented foods
• Limit artificial sweeteners
• Eat prebiotic foods
• Breastfeed for six months
• Eat whole grains
• Eat a plant-based diet
• Eat foods rich in polyphenols
• Take a probiotic supplement

Personalized menu plans can be designed to help modulate the 300 to 500 different gut bacteria that make up your microbiota, which differs in composition from everyone else's.

Dietary intake should include ingestible microorganisms

Fermented foods containing lactic acid bacteria like yogurt provide a healthy source of ingestible microorganisms that may prove beneficial in regulating gut health and even preventing chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. Dietary consumption of carbohydrates, protein, saturated and unsaturated fats, and dietary fiber influence the abundance and diversity of bacteria in the gut. In addition to the affect your menu plan has on your microbiota composition, prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs are key modulators for gut health. Since only small amounts of dietary fat can be digested and absorbed, the over-eating of high-fat foods can cause changes to the gut microbiota in the GI tract.