4 practical tips to improve the health of the intestinal microbiota

Imagine a dense and rich forest, full of life and interactions. Now tell yourself that this forest lives in you, in your intestine. This vast ecosystem, called intestinal microbiota, is composed of billions of bacteria and other microorganisms. To take care of this little inner world can transform your health spectacularly. What if we saw this together?

Why Is the Gut Microbiota So Important?

It improves digestion

THE good bacteria help to break down food that our stomach cannot digest on its own, thus allowing better absorption of essential nutrients and therefore a more profitable use of these nutrients by the body in order to regenerate its tissues, and carry out the hundreds of organic functions essential for health.

It boosts the Immune System

A healthy microbiota strengthens our natural defenses against infections and diseases. Scientific literature has shown through various studies how a microbiota sufficiently rich in bacteria can improve immunity and reduce the appearance or symptoms of infections of all kinds.

It boosts mental health

Research shows that our gut and brain are constantly communicating. A balanced microbiota can improve our mood and reduce anxiety, thus participating indirectly in our mental health and our cerebral performance.

It regulates Weight Management

Certain “good” microbes can influence how our bodies store fat and regulate blood sugar. In doing so, a healthy microbiota would make it possible to reduce excess sugars circulating in the blood, thus slowing down the phenomena of insulin resistance. In addition, a healthy microbiota could also reduce our cravings for sugars and refined products.

5 Tips to Improve the Health of Your Microbiota

To have a healthy microbiota, you have to feed it with the good bacteria, those that the body has been able to “domesticate” in some way over the centuries. If we want to be completely objective, healthy eating is not really based on a Manichean theory with good foods or bad foods or foods that would harm us, but rather on the hypothesis according to which current human beings would be the product of several hundred thousand years of evolution, during which it would have adapted.

This advice is therefore based on what human beings have been able to know and assimilate during natural selection. So of course, certain foods good for the microbiota and for health date from the Neolithic period which is a relatively recent period, but these foods are incommensurable with processed foods, additives as well as certain very recent “natural” foods which are in fact the product of very rapid genetic crossings compared to what nature could have done.

Adopt a Mediterranean diet

Fiber feeds good bacteria. Integrating vegetables, fruits, legumes and possibly quality cereals in the diet, we ensure a sufficient intake of fiber, but also of micronutrients and polyphenols, which act together for better intestinal health, and potentially healthy longevity.

If we wanted to be completely complete, it would always be better favor green vegetables and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, beans or broad beans for example, as well as root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, parsnips or sweet potatoes but if possible baked.

Fruits can remain sweet little pleasures to be consumed in moderation, and cereals should rather be consumed in moderate quantities as well. Indeed, modern wheat has undergone numerous genetic mutations and some experts recommend not to abuse it, as long as we do not have access to older cereals or pseudo-cereals. The idea is therefore to moderate the consumption of cereals in favor of vegetables, without eliminating them.

Behind this food strategy there is an issue of better insulin sensitivity, and of blood sugar management. By prioritizing proteins, good fats and sugars with a rather moderate insulin index, we could protect ourselves against certain potential metabolic complications and improve health and longevity. Moreover, by combining fiber with starchy foods, we slow down their assimilation, and we thus avoid blood sugar peaks, and reactive hypoglycemia.

For people who have difficulty with fiber in terms of digestion, there may be an issue of intestinal permeability to address, but also of microbiota not diverse enough. To remedy this, we can imagine several strategies to put in place with a nutritionist, including exclusion strategies, then reintegration food by food in order to identify which one may pose a problem, even if it means consuming it very moderately per food. the following.

Consume Fermented Foods

Fermented yogurt such as Greek yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi are rich in probiotics, these beneficial bacteria that strengthen our microbiota.

Reduce Sugar and Processed Foods

A diet high in sugar and ultra-processed products can promote bad bacteria and harm your microbiota. Not only can industrial sugar harm the microbiota, but alcohol sugars, those used as sweeteners, could well be extremely harmful to gut health.

Vary Your Diet

A diversified diet promotes greater bacterial diversity, which is beneficial for your gut health. Because it is not a question of repopulating the microbiota in a quantitative way, but also in a way qualitative, with the greatest possible diversity.

At Libshop, your microbiota is in good hands

Taking care of your gut microbiota is not just about intestinal well-being, it is a key to improving overall health. Inasmuch as nutrition enthusiasts, we ensure that our entire menu is an ally for health.

We offer recipes rich in fiber, in legumes, and with a dominance of quality protein, plant or animal, which is the essential macronutrient and indispensable to life and of which most people are often either deficient or in excess of poor quality protein.

It is for this reason that we made the choice to to propose :

• legumes as an accompaniment (hummus and variations of hummus);
• tzatziki which is cooked from labneh, a Lebanese fermented cheese;
• Lebanese tabbouleh (one of the healthiest salads in the world thanks to the addition of parsley);
• falafels that we cook from beans, chickpeas and even pumpkin:
• white beans for our famous Lebanese fassolia ;
• and of course the ancestral spices which we use everywhere as the only flavor enhancers.

We do not serve never pre-processed products by the industry, pre-marinated meats containing additives and sugar, already frozen falafels, sauces full of chemicals and artificial flavor enhancers, or anything else of that nature.

Conclusion: make your inner forest thrive

Remember that every little action counts to cultivate this vital micro-universe that works tirelessly for you. So adopt the habits described here and let your inner forest thrive! 🌿🦠