By: Jennifer Brindley RD, LDN
Have you ever heard about how the gut and brain are connected? Well, they are! The gut and brain are connected through the vagus nerve. If our gut doesn’t have the right number of good bacteria within it, it can cause inflammation. The inflammation that’s present can lead to things like a “feeling of depression” in the body and or set up the stage for some type of dis-ease.
If our current diet is primarily filled with lots of packaged and processed type foods, then it may be safe to say that we could have a lack of good bacteria in our gut. The problem is that when we eat too many foods that are high in refined sugars this can lead to what is called "leaky gut syndrome." Symptoms of this could be fatigue, digestion problems, bloating and the list goes on...
The great news is we can begin to put good bacteria back into our bodies by way of certain foods and or there are plenty of good probiotics out there but one in particular called Lactobacillus is a probiotic that is good for gut health and can be found over the counter.
There is also a short-chain fatty acid called butyrate that is produced by the gut bacteria when we eat plant foods. Butyrate is the main fuel for the cells of the gut lining and prevents inflammation.
Pretty interesting, isn’t it?
There are plenty of good foods that have probiotics within them:
Kombucha
Greek yogurt
Kimchi
Kefir
Sauerkraut
Tempeh
Pickles
Some of these foods may sound unfamiliar...so I would recommend starting with a yogurt filled with good bacteria namely like the Greek yogurt mentioned above. There are a lot of great brands on the shelf, but I personally like the brand Fage and of course who doesn’t like to eat a good pickle every now and then? :)
Take these simple steps today to improve your gut health....take care of your health... You are worth it!