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Gut Check: Simple Science-Backed Tips for a Healthier Microbiome · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  When we think about our health, we probably don't always think about our gut,
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  but that's what we're going to talk about today on Talking FACS.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension.
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  My guest today is Anna Cason, who is our Extension Associate for Nutrition
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  and Health, and she has all the knowledge about what we need to do to keep our
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  guts healthy. Welcome, Anna.
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  Thank you. Thank you, Mindy, for having me. I'm so excited to talk about this
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  topic because we hear about it maybe often, but maybe we don't think about how
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  gut health actually affects our whole body. So that's what we're going to get into today.
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  Well, I recently had a colonoscopy, so maybe that's too much information,
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  but I completely understand the gut health thing. Yeah, it's important.
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  We all have it. Yeah, exactly. It happens there. So let's start simple.
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  What exactly do we mean when we talk about the gut?
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  Yeah, that's a great question. So the gut usually refers to the parts of your
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  digestive system where food is broken down and then those nutrients are absorbed.
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  This is mostly going to include the stomach and the intestines.
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  And our gut's main job is to take the food that we eat and turn it into energy
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  and nutrients that your body can actually use.
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  So it's really not just about digestion, it's about fueling the body.
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  Yes, exactly. If your gut isn't working well, then your body may not be getting
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  the nutrients it needs, even if you are eating them. If you're taking them in,
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  it may not be functioning well enough to actually put them into use.
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  We've been hearing a lot about the gut microbiome. What is that?
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  Yeah, so big word for a community of little tiny organisms, mostly bacteria that live in your gut.
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  These bacteria help to actually break down the food. And then they even,
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  some of them use this food or these products that they're breaking down to make
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  some nutrients, like some vitamins, to help protect our body from harmful germs and then.
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  Also to help us get those nutrients that we need.
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  So bacteria are actually helpful then. It's not something we always have to get rid of then.
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  Yes, absolutely. Some of them, many of them are good for you.
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  A healthy gut balance has a
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  balance of this good bacteria that supports digestion and overall health.
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  Because if we don't have that piece of the puzzle, the good bacteria,
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  then everything we eat is just going to sit there in our gut, right?
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  Yeah, and we're going to get that discomfort, maybe some of that bloating. Yeah.
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  So let's talk about those signs then that someone might need to be focusing
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  on improving their gut. Yeah, yeah.
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  So these common signs, like I mentioned, that bloating, that general discomfort
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  in your stomach or your abdomen area, and then something we probably don't want
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  to talk about or hear about, but constipation or diarrhea. It kind of goes on
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  both ends of the spectrum there.
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  Over time, this poor gut health can also make it harder to absorb nutrients
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  and may increase the risk of chronic diseases if that happens over a long period
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  where we're missing out on some of those vital nutrients.
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  Oh, that really focuses on how important it is, oh yeah.
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  How does nutrition impact the gut? Yeah, so food plays a huge role.
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  A balanced diet with a variety of foods is going to help to support that healthy gut bacteria.
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  And there are three key things to focus on. One is going to be antioxidants,
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  two is going to be prebiotics, and three is going to be probiotics.
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  Let's break that down even further. What are some antioxidants that might be
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  familiar to our listeners?
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  Yeah, so antioxidants to start, we're going to lay out what they are.
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  So they help protect your cells and help reduce inflammation in the gut.
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  If you have that inflammation in the gut, it can cause that discomfort and it
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  can impact how well those nutrients are absorbed.
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  So antioxidants are going to come from foods. Some simple options are going
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  to include berries: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,
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  some leafy greens like spinach and kale.
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  Apples are going to be a great source of antioxidants, nuts and seeds,
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  And even dark chocolate, if we're thinking about getting one with 70% cacao
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  or higher, it's going to be a good source of antioxidants.
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  Yeah, so it's not the sweet, sweet chocolate. Yeah, that good dark chocolate. Yes.
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  As I heard you list those, I thought about, you know, a few years ago,
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  people talked about superfoods.
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  And lots of those were included in those superfoods. Yeah.
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  High nutrition. Now let's talk about prebiotics. I've heard that fiber is important.
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  And so how does that fit in here? Yes.
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  Fiber is one of the main types of prebiotics, and it is going to actually feed
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  the good bacteria in your gut.
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  Now, we got to think about this
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  fiber. There's going to be two different types, insoluble and soluble.
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  Insoluble fiber is that one that's going to help to feed the bacteria.
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  Soluble fiber is going to play a different role, but still an important one.
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  It's going to help to actually move waste out of your body.
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  So where do we find the insoluble fiber that we need to feed the bacteria?
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  Yeah. So, a lot of those sources that I just mentioned for antioxidants,
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  they're also going to be sources of fiber.
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  So, things like whole grains, beans and lentils, fruits, vegetables,
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  and then there's nuts and seeds. And I'm guessing that's why they were labeled
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  as superfoods because they have more than one function.
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  Oh, yeah. All the benefits there. Okay. So, then what about the probiotics?
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  Yes. Confusing. One little letter difference.
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  So probiotics are actually live, good bacteria that you can get from food.
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  Once we eat them, they're going to make their way to our gut microbiome and
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  then they settle there. And those are actually going to be the bacteria that
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  stay there and help to break down the food, help to absorb these nutrients. Yeah.
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  We're going to find probiotics where? So not like how there were prebiotics
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  and antioxidants and similar sources.
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  Probiotics are going to be a little different. So they're going to come from
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  some yogurts, some kefir, which is kind of like a drinkable yogurt.
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  It's going to have a tangier taste.
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  And then other fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and buttermilk.
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  But it's important to note, not all yogurts are going to be sources of that bacteria.
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  While culturing dairy is part of the yogurt making process, once it gets heated
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  to a temperature, it's going to kill off a lot of that bacteria.
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  So not all yogurts are probiotics.
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  But many yogurts either don't get heated so then those bacteria do stay along or
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  they're going to have these bacteria these sources added back to it so that
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  once we eat it we're still getting them so that's just an important note to make that
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  not all yogurts will serve as probiotics many of them will but a lot of times
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  they're going to be labeled with something to identify that that's perfect that
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  was my next question so can we look for live and active cultures on our yes our.
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  Yep, yogurt. Good. Okay.
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  So that sounds, it's going to be helpful and not too hard to find.
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  And I'm remembering from a podcast recording I did years ago with Dr.
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  Heather Norman-Burgdolf, that she said it was good to eat these foods together.
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  So that you get the most bang for your buck, right? Yes, absolutely.
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  Because if we're eating some of those food sources of the gut bacteria,
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  and then we're also eating some of these sources of the bacteria,
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  we're just helping them to thrive in our guts.
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  So let's make this practical. What are some easy changes that people can make to their diet this week?
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  Yeah, I love this part. Small changes really add up. So here are just a few ideas.
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  We can think about swapping juice for smoothies or just eating the whole fruit altogether.
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  We could do smoothies and we could include both those prebiotics,
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  those probiotics in one dish.
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  So maybe we use kefir or we use one of those yogurt sources of probiotics as
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  the base of that smoothie.
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  And then we pack it full of different fruits, maybe some vegetables in there
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  so that we're getting that fiber, those probiotics as well.
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  We can think about adding some different plant sources of proteins,
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  like beans, chickpeas, or nuts with meals.
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  We can also think about swapping some refined grains for whole grains.
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  So even a simple swap going from white bread to a whole grain bread or a whole
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  wheat bread, and then switching from white rice to a brown rice.
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  Those are going to have more fiber, be that source of food for our gut.
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  And then something that I love to flavor my dishes with, my savory dishes,
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  I almost always add onion and garlic to meals because they're going to be high in antioxidants.
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  They're also going to be super good for our gut health. So a simple little flavor
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  pack that we can add in there.
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  You mentioned swapping juice for smoothies. And so I'm thinking about the juicers,
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  that we have that we can put whole apples and whole spinach right in there.
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  So once I've blended all that together and drink it, is that the same as eating that whole fruit?
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  Yeah, so that's a great question. And that's going to be where it comes down to that fine line.
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  So when we make a smoothie, we're typically putting the whole fruit or the edible
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  part of the fruit in a blender.
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  For juicing an orange, we squeeze it, we get all the juice out,
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  but all of that, most of the pulp is going to stay in the fruit.
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  It's not going to travel to the juice.
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  So smoothies are great options because they include the whole fruit still.
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  Even when it's blended up, we're still getting the fiber in there,
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  especially if we include things with peels when appropriate, like apples or pears.
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  If we include that peel in there, we're getting even more fiber versus when
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  we juice something and we essentially are just squeezing it so that we get all
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  of the juice out of it, but not much of the meat of the fruit.
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  That's when we're missing out on the fiber. The juice is still going to have
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  a lot of those vitamins, those minerals.
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  They're going to have some of those antioxidants, but we're not getting the
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  fiber from that fruit. So that's what we mean when we say whole fruit.
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  It can come in frozen, fresh, canned, dried, any of those varieties.
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  They can be prepared. They can be chopped. Whatever works for your lifestyle,
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  your budget, as long as you're actually eating the fruit versus just drinking
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  the juice. Perfect. Okay.
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  So this all sounds very doable and not too overwhelming Yeah,
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  absolutely again, we want to think about small changes if we try to change everything
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  at once that's not going to be realistic We're going to get overwhelmed those any of our goals.
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  We're just not going to meet them So think about those small steps something
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  that you can try to implement this week even So is there anything else that
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  people need to keep in mind? Yeah.
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  With gut health, especially if we're talking about adding fiber to our diet,
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  we want to make sure we're hydrating as well.
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  Water, hydration, it's going to be super important, especially as we're increasing fiber.
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  We want to make sure we're trying to prevent any discomfort,
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  prevent that constipation. So make sure we're drinking up plenty of water.
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  But then also some of these sources that we're adding in, like vegetables,
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  fruits, they're going to be sources of hydration as well.
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  So again, that kind of bigger bang for your buck. We're getting that hydration,
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  we're getting the fiber, we're getting the antioxidants, all those different
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  things to support our gut health overall.
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  So what are the takeaway keys that we want to send our listeners away with today?
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  Yeah, I'm going to give you three. So one, eat a variety of fruits,
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  vegetables, and whole grains.
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  Make that your focus for the next week, maybe. Think about different ways to add them in.
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  And then also include some of those probiotic foods like those yogurts,
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  the kefir, the kimchi, the sauerkraut.
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  And then lastly, what we've been talking about all along, just make those small
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  changes over time. No need to rush into anything.
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  Find some practical changes that you can implement.
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  Stick with it, make it a habit, and then try to add something else.
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  I love that and it sounds like it's very doable and definitely great advice.
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  Anna, thanks for joining us today and breaking down, no pun intended,
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  gut health puzzles so that we can eat in a simple way and do good for our bodies.
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  Yes, absolutely. Thanks for having me.
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