How does what I eat affect the good bacteria in my gut?

The food you eat is the most important determinant of the type of bacteria, good or bad, you will cultivate in your gut. Integrative gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan, MD, discusses why indigestible plant fiber and fermented foods are key.

Transcript

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A fiber that's not well digested by you goes on into the colon to provide food for your gut bacteria.

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So you sort of pass on it, and then the gut bacteria digest it. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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What you eat is the most important determinant of what's going on with the bacteria in your gut, because just like you're feeding yourself,

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you're also feeding your gut bacteria every time you eat something. What do good gut bacteria like to eat? Indigestible plant fiber, so foods like oats and artichokes,

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asparagus, lentils, peas, onion, garlic, leeks, these are all great foods for gut bacteria,

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and these are ways to help you grow a good gut garden. What do gut bacteria not like to eat? Well, the bad ones like to eat sugary, starchy food.

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So lots of refined sugar, lots of bread and pasta. That's great for the not so good bacteria proliferating.

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So if you want to have a really well-balanced microbiome, it's really important that you're eating large amounts of poorly digestible or indigestible

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plant fiber. One way to think about it is that the fiber that's not well digested by you goes on into the colon to provide food

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for your gut bacteria. So you sort of pass on it, and then the gut bacteria digest it. And it really helps to proliferate the amounts

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of good bacteria in your gut. A great way to help to encourage the growth of good bacteria is to include fermented foods in your diet.

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Fermented foods are kind of a twofer, because not only are they typically high-fiber foods, like sauerkraut, which is made from cabbage, so that's

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providing lots of indigestible plant fiber to feed your gut bacteria, but also, during the fermentation process, more bacteria are produced,

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so large amounts of lactobacillus, a very healthy bacteria that's a key species in the gut.

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So lactobacillus is produced in the fermentation process when we're turning cabbage into sauerkraut. So when you eat that sauerkraut, you're

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getting fiber, plus, you're getting extra bacteria to keep you healthy.