Chicory and your bio-dome. You must be reading this heading and thinking to yourself...what in the heck is chicory and bi-dome. I know when i first started hearing about my microbiome, thank you mom, I was thinking huh??? However, after more and more research I finally began to understand the importance of our microbiome and gut health to our overall health. This article only scratches the surface and provides a basic understanding of how certain foods can aide in the improvement of our microbiome. But before we can tie everything together we need to look at both chicory and our micorbiome separately.
Lets start by looking at chicory. Chicory is an herbaceous plant. It belongs to a family of plants that we all know. Usually we spend the summer fighting to keep these out of our yards and gardens...that is right..i am talking about the annoying yellow weed...dandelions. For centuries chicory has been used in eastern medicine, wine making, as an additive in coffee, and eaten in salads. Some common cultivated chicory can easily be found in the grocery store. Common varieties include : radicchio and endive. However, there are many varieties of chicory.
Chicory contains a high amount of inulin and dietary fiber. Inulin is a naturally occurring prebiotic complex aiding in improved digestive health, promotes weight loss, and may help reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. Today, after being used for hundreds of years as an eastern medicine, chicory is still used as the primary source for naturally occurring inulin. So how does all this apply to your microbiome and gut health? To understand this we need to understand how a healthy microbiome and gut health affects your overall health.
For many years researchers have been linking the affects of a healthy gut and microbiome to overall health. Thanks to all this research we now know that a healthy gut and microbiome made up of benefical bacteria and microbes can aid in weigh loss, control diabetes, and aide in preventing heart disease, control how your body manages infections, and provides better brain function. Humans gut microbiome, located in the large intestine, contains thousands of bacteria and microbes. Creating a healthy balance of these bacteria and microbes can have great impact on your microbiome having a final impact of your overall health. The opposite is true...having a microbiome with bad bacteria can be equally detrimental to your overall health.
Struggle with weigh gain...i know I do. Sometimes it seems no matter how much i dieted or exercised I couldn't make any progress. Interestingly, a healthy gut and micrbiome, aides in how your body breaks down food. An unhealthy balance of beneficial bacteria has been linked to weight gain. If any unbalanced micrbiome can cause you to gain weight perhaps a well balanced microbiome can aide in weight loss. I haven't done anything different other than focus on the food i am eating to improve my gut health. Over the last few months I have been told I have been loosing weight. I don't like to get on the scale. After years of obsessing with the numbers on the scale I concluded this wasn't a healthy way to managed my own weight goals. Instead I focused on living a healthy lifestyles and paying attention to the food i eat. Recently i have been told i have been loosing weight. I have noticed my pants fit looser, and my cravings for sugary food have decreased. So perhaps focusing on your improved gut health and microbiome can improve you ability to loose weight....just food for thought. Do you struggle with IBS or IBD? Research suggest a direct link to an unhealthy microbiome and diseases such as IBS or IBD.
The good news...changing the bacteria in your microbiome and creating a healthy microbiome is possible. Even better, you don't have to change your entire lifesytel. It seems so many things fail when we try to make dramatic changes. Instead by make some subtle changes, a little at a time, you can still successfully improve your microbiome and gut health. Some simple changes to your what you eat, or adding some additional foords, can substantially aide in a healthy gut. Here are a few ways to improve your gut health and microbiome: Reduce the amount of sugar intake, add fermented foods (such as: sauerkraut, kimchi, and other fermented foods) to your diet, introduce prebiotics (such as: chicory or yogurts) into your diet, and add a probiotic supplement to your daily regiment,
To sum things up...we know through research that a healthy gut and microbiome is crucial to your overall health and well - being. One major component to maintaining a healthy microbiome is the food you eat and consume every day. Adding more prebiotics and probiotics while reducing your processed sugar intake are easy way to aide in your microbiome improvement.
Sources: healthline.com , betternutrition.com, medicalnewstooday.com, organicfacts.net