Did you know that your microbiome can change within 24-48 hours? And that your microbiome consists of approximately 5 trillion microbes? Dr. Shelby Garn explains:

These guys do so much for us, and we have the tools to support them and keep them optimal, to keep you optimal. They protect us from an overgrowth of bad bacteria; they promote daily bowel movements with your circadian rhythm; they help produce neurotransmitters like serotonin to keep us happy (>90% of serotonin is produced by the enteroendocrine cells in the gut!) as well as supports a healthy immune system. Wondering if your microbiome needs support? The symptom presentation is endless; for you this might look like your classic GI symptoms such as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, increased urgency, change in bowel frequency, mucous in stool or maybe it looks like fatigue, weakness, malabsorption, headaches, joint pain, acne or other skin issues.

Diet has the most powerful influence on the microbiota. Aging, infection, inflammation and high stress levels are all associated with decreased microbial diversity. Processed foods, pesticides and food additives can damage the intestinal lining, leading to leaky gut, systemic inflammation, decline in cardiovascular health, allergies, autoimmune disease and more. The best thing you can do to help promote increased diversity in your microbiome is to eat 25+ different plant foods/per week. If this doesn’t sound realistic for you, there are always supplements that your ND can recommend to help support this process. A diet rich in fibre and prebiotics increases butyrate producers. Butryate has been found to be anti-inflammatory, improves water and electrolyte absorption, neuroprotective, cardioprotective and improves gastrointestinal health by maintaining a healthy gut barrier. By supporting your microbiome butyrate will increase naturally. Foods that will increase butyrate greatly are beans, lentils and chick peas, carrots, beets, potatoes, raspberries. 

Now let’s touch on the ever popular probiotics, are they really as beneficial as they’re marketed to be? There are no standard formulas or dosages and some probiotic formulas contain bacteria that might not actually be beneficial but could actually aggravate your symptoms. Let’s shift our mindset from probiotics to prebiotics. Prebiotics function as a food source for your gut microorganisms in comparison to probiotics, which are live microorganisms that need to survive transit through the GI system in order to provide local colonization for systemic benefit. You can think of prebiotics as essentially more preventative medicine, feeding the body with a precursor to support additional healthy microbiota growth. Prebiotics work to increase short-chain fatty acids, which then may reduce other less beneficial bacteria, provide energy to surrounding cells, support mucous production and lower inflammation. Now this isn’t to say go big or go home, you want to start low and slowly increase the dose to prevent any unwanted side effects, working alongside a naturopathic doctor will help come up with an individualized treatment plan for you and your microbiome.