Digestion is pivotal to health. As many of you know well over two-thirds of your immune
system is located in and around your gut so maintaining good gut health is pivotal for
leading a long and healthy life.
The way we do this is to put foods into the gut that are not going to have a detrimental
effect and cause inflammation or create imbalances within your gut flora.
So, in today’s video I have 10 of the best foods that support digestion to enable your
gut to thrive and remember to stay until the end as I have a bonus food for you that most
people don’t associate with being beneficial for gut health.
And very quickly just a reminder as always that I’m now offering the SIBO, organic
acids, stool tests and consults via my website. So, if you have any health or digestive issues
then consider taking these tests as they will provide a lot of very detailed information
upon which you can start making informed decisions and then start getting your health on track.
And on that bombshell to the video.
So, without any hesitation the first food or foods to go on the list are fermented foods.
Fermented foods are an incredibly rich source of probiotic bacteria and digestive enzymes
that have many important benefits in the gut.
We all know that we need a good diverse range of bacteria in the colon. And the average
healthy digestive tract will have upwards of 600-1000 different species. Fermented foods
help maintain equilibrium in the gut and prevent unwanted or opportunistic bacteria from taking
over and creating dysbiosis and inflammation.
Fermented foods are also great for digestion and absorption of nutrients because they are
essentially pre-digested foods. By eating these types of foods on a regular basis the
fermentation of these foods can help increase the availability of nutrients in other foods
making them easier to absorb.
One of the most beneficial areas that fermented foods can also have on the gut is to help
regulate your gut immune function.
As I said earlier, well over two-thirds of your immune system is located in the gut.
Your gut bacteria and immune system is heavily intertwined.
Too much dysbiosis in the gut will create an unregulated immune response causing chronic
inflammation in the gut. Eating fermented foods on a regular basis can help maintain
balance in the gut which in turn will keep not only your gut immune system healthy but
also your immune system across the body.
You also can’t talk about the gut and fermented foods without talking about the gut/brain
connection or axis known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis or technically known as the enteric
nervous system.
Your gut is lined will millions and millions of neurons that influence our emotions and
feelings. Eating fermented foods on a regularly basis has been shown to promote digestive
health and also the function of the enteric nervous system more often than not leading
to increased mood, better sleep patterns and also better mental clarity.
Number 2 is beetroot. Beets are incredible for the body in general, but they also have
very beneficial qualities for digestion.
Now every time you eat, it will cause inflammation in the gut. It doesn’t matter how healthy
the food is. Inflammation in the gut in this context is good, because your immune system
is working and scanning the food to check for pathogens etc.
So, you eat food, the gut undergoes an inflammatory response from your immune system and then
the body’s antioxidants such as glutathione and also antioxidants from your foods help
to dampen down the inflammatory response in the gut after eating. It’s a very tightly
controlled process.
So, beets are good for digestion for a few reasons. So, beets contain a rich source of
phytochemical compounds or antioxidants that protect the state of your digestive tract.
So, they contain things like carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and ascorbic acid.
Beets are also one of the only vegetables around that contain the highly bioactive pigment
called betalains.
Betalains in relation to beets fall under two main groups: betacyanin which is the red
pigment in red beets and betaxanthin which are the pigments that are yellow/orange in
colour. Both of these pigments have a very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
effect in the gut which is great for maintaining digestive health.
Not many people realise that beets are also a very rich source of glutamine which is an
amino acid or protein that helps to repair the gut lining and reduce things like intestinal
permeability or leaky gut.
The other aspects of beets which make them very good for digestive health are their fibre
content. A serving of half a cup of beets contains around 1.7 grams of insoluble fibre
and approximately 0.7 grams of soluble fibre.
Soluble fibre dissolves in water in your intestines. Insoluble fibre doesn’t dissolve in water.
Instead, it provides roughage that promotes normal bowel movement and digestive health
function.
Number 3 on the list is porridge or oatmeal as some will call it. Oats are a very good
source of both soluble and insoluble fibre. One of the most well studied fibres within
porridge is beta-glucan.
Beta gluten helps slow digestion and for many people it has been shown to suppress appetite
and and increase satiety. Beta-glucan has also been shown to help remove cholesterol-rich
bile acids from the digestive tract and out of the body. This is super important for digestive
health.
Like beets, oats also contain a number of phytochemicals and phenolic compounds which
are very effective antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and damage in the digestive
tract. It is why increasing amounts of studies albeit observational and meta-analysis in
nature have shown oats to be an effective protection mechanism for colon cancer.
Oats also contain a whole host of essential nutrients that give the digestive tract the
raw materials that it needs to remain healthy. Folate, iron, selenium, zinc, manganese, and
choline to name a few.
Number 4 is sweet potatoes. These are some of the best tasting and cheapest foods around.
And in terms of their fibre and antioxidant capabilities they are extremely advantageous
to digestive health.
Like all of the other foods on this list sweet potatoes contain a very good blend of both
soluble and insoluble fibre which are key to long-term digestive health.
Many of the fibres found in sweet potatoes are a great fuel source for the beneficial
bacteria found in the colon, particularly the longer chain starches, and these fibres
are fermented by bacteria in your microbiome to produce short chain fatty acids such as
acetate, propionate and butyrate.
These short-chain fatty-acids produce essentially fuel for the cells of your intestinal lining
and keep them strong and healthy.
Sweet potatoes, particularly the purple varieties have also been shown to promote the growth
of some of the most important bacteria in the gut such as bifidobacterium and also lactobacillus.
We know from lots of research that having a total fibre intake of around 35 grams a
day or more can significantly improve digestive health as well as provide protection from
many forms of digestive cancers, excluding stomach.
A large sweet potato that has been baked will provide upwards of 6 grams of dietary fibre
which is around 17% of the 35 gram recommendation. So tasty and great for the gut.
Number 5 is avocados and anyone who knows me will know how much it pains me to say this.
I am really not a big fan of the taste but that aside, you should all eat them regularly
because they are super beneficial for the gut.
We all know that they are rich in nutrients ranging from folate, iron, potassium, zinc,
betaine, choline, magnesium, and vitamin A which are all essential nutrients for promoting
digestion and digestive health.
And we all know that avocados are a good source of fibre. One whole medium avocado will give
you anywhere from 8-10 grams of fibre which is approximately 22-35% of the 35 gram recommendations
for fibre.
Not many people though realise that avocadoes are a great source of potassium which is key
to the normal wave like contractions in the gut called peristalsis that pulls and pushes
food and faeces through the gut. One normal size avocado will give you around 680 milligrams
which is around 14-15% of the RDA for men and women.
Avocados are not super rich in vitamin C but they do also contribute a decent amount to
your vitamin C intake. Vitamin C helps produce collagen in the body which is a protein that
helps manufacture skin, cartilage, ligaments and tendons.
Again though, not many people realise that collagen wraps around the intestines giving
them strength and rigidity when needed.
One normal sized avocado will give you around 10-12 milligrams of vitamin C which is around
12-18% of the daily recommendations depending on whether you are male or female.
So you have nutrients, you have improved increased diversity in the colon due to the fibre, you
have the boost in collagen….what is not to love about them.
I will tell you one thing though. Avocado on toast. What sorts of freaks of nature eat
that.
Number 6 on the list is bananas. Now you are probably aware that many fruits are nutritious
and can play a key role in a healthy balanced diet by providing different sources of fibre
and nutrients to the body. Shocker hey.
But one of the main benefits of eating bananas is the impact they can have on the microbiome.
Bananas are a rich source of fructooligosaccharides which act as a very effective probiotic in
the gut and promote the growth of beneficial bacterial species that you want in the gut
in high amounts.
Bananas also provide a good source of potassium which support normal healthy transit times
and they also provide a good source of electrolytes which is important as your body will lose
a lot of these when you pass stools.
Number 7 is chia seeds. Now like the other foods on the list these are packed with nutrition.
Omega-3’s, proteins, calcium, zinc, phosphorus and they also contain a very good blend of
soluble and insoluble fibre.
Just 2 tbsp of chia seeds will give you around 4 grams of protein, around 11 grams of fibre,
and also around 18% of your RDA for calcium.
The fibre in chia seeds is predominantly in the form of soluble and mucilage which is
the substance responsible for the gluey texture that is produced when chia seeds are exposed
to moisture.
They helps remove cholesterol and bile acids, as well as slow digestion which is great for
blunting sugar spikes as well as reducing hunger for longer.
The omega-3 content of chia seeds can also help reduce the amount of inflammation in
the gut and some recent studies have also shown that omega-3s can also help boost the
diversity of beneficial flora in the gut.
Number 8 is broccoli. Now most people are aware that broccoli is a great healthy addition
to your diet as it contains a lot of nutrients, soluble and insoluble fibres and it also contains
sulforaphane which is a compound that has been shown to reduce certain types of cancers.
But emerging research is now showing some interesting benefits that broccoli can actually
have on digestive health.
So keeping the gut lining healthy and maintaining good gut lining barrier function is key to
prevent leaky gut and also if you want longer term digestive health.
In the gut you have a receptor called aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and this has been
shown to be one of the key components in the gut to maintain a good gut barrier function
and it helps manage your digestive tracts response to environmental contaminants and
pollutants.
Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and sprouts for that matter,
contain indole glucosinolates. When you eat broccoli these indole glucosinolates are broken
down in the stomach to indolocarbazole and other compounds.
Indolocarbazole binds to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in the lining of the intestines and
helps to reduce inflammation, boost your immune function, and also it helps maintain a healthy
gut flora.
Number 9 is dark green vegetables, so things like bok choy, collard greens and kale.
Again, these foods need no real introduction because they are often jam packed full of
nutrients and they also contain many different compounds that help to reduce inflammation
in the gut.
These foods are some of the best sources of insoluble fibre on the planet and as I said
earlier it’s this type of fibre that adds bulk to your stool to maintain a normal digestive
function.
Dark green vegetables are also often a good source of magnesium that helps maintain normal
muscle contraction in the gut and also helps prevent constipation types of issues.
One of the less know benefits of dark green vegetables is from the green pigment called
chlorophyll and this is the pigment that gives all green vegetables their green colour.
This pigment has been shown to help the liver go through stage one and 2 detoxification
more efficiently but concerning the gut, chlorophyll helps by increasing the beneficial bacteria
in the gut by making the environment inhospitable to harmful bacteria.
Chlorophyll is also great at helping to reduce inflammation in the gut as well as maintaining
healthy gut barrier function.
Number 10 is ginger. Now people have been using ginger for many many generations to
help flavour foods but also as a home remedy for things like nausea, stomach pain and other
health issues.
So, some of the main digestive benefits from consuming ginger are that it has been shown
to help eliminate excessive gasses from the intestines during digestion, and it also appears
to have beneficial effects on trypsin and pancreatic lipase which are digestive enzymes
that help break down your food.
As I said just now, ginger can be used to help eliminate nausea and it can also help
reduce inflammation in the gut by making it difficult for unwanted bacteria to thrive.
Then we get to my bonus food number 11 and that is chocolate. Now don’t race to the
supermarket and grab any chocolate you can find and start stuffing your faces.
You want dark chocolate and you ideally want dark chocolate with a cocoa content of over
80%.
There are increasing amounts of evidence that regularly consuming chocolate along with the
other foods on this list helps boost the beneficial bacteria in the colon.
There are two species in the gut that are super important for digestive health and these
are lactobacillus and also bifidobacterium.
These are two species you should consider as your guts worker species and they play
a role in nearly every function from fermenting fibres to even things like breaking down oxalates.
Dark chocolate also has many antibacterial compounds and, also many anti-inflammatory
compounds that can keep your digestion and digestive tract healthy so enjoy your chocolate.
If you enjoyed this video then be sure to check this video out up here, because I’m
sure you will find it equally interesting. And the only other thing that is left for
me to say is to remember to look after your body because it’s the only place you have
to live and I’ll see you next time.