This month, Eat Well @ CSU is uncovering the vast expanse that is the microbiome, its importance to our health, and how what we eat influences it!
What is the Microbiome?
Bacteria is often viewed as a negative, something harmful or something that makes you sick. Although this is sometimes the case, there is also beneficial bacteria in your body that is vital to your health, which is what we call the microbiome. The microbiome plays such an important role in our well-being that it is referred to as a ‘support organ.’
The human microbiome is a term that encompasses all the microorganisms, like bacteria, that colonize our body. Though they’re found all over, most of these bacteria are in our digestive system. In healthy individuals, these microorganisms peacefully coexist with us and even help with many important functions like digestion and immune support.
Bacteria in our body is continuously colonizing throughout our lives, but the majority of the colonization process occurs during the first few years of life. It starts with exposure to our mother’s microbiome and then conditions such as breast feeding and certain medications, continue to influence it. Later in life, the composition of our microbiome is influenced by many factors including diet, stress, medications, and environmental exposures.
What can I do?
Taking care of our microbiome is incredibly important! One way to do this is by consuming probiotics and prebiotics in your diet. Probiotics are made up of good bacteria that help your body in many ways including fighting off illness. Their goal is to maintain a healthy balance in your body. Bad bacteria can knock your body out of balance and probiotics take charge to bring it back to neutral.
To incorporate probiotics in your diet, look for foods that say “live and active cultures” on the label. Some suggestions for each mealtime are below:
Breakfast: yogurt, buttermilk, sourdough bread
Lunch: cottage cheese, kombucha, tempeh
Snack: fermented pickles
Dinner: fermented sauerkraut, kimchi, miso soup
Later this month, we will continue our embarkment of the microbiome and discuss prebiotics – so stay tuned!
Fun Fact: Everyone’s microbiome is unique. No two people have the same microbial cells – even twins are different!