Deep within your GI tract, there lives an active community of microorganisms known as your \u201cgut microbiome.\u201d Despite their small size, they wield enormous power over your mind and body\u2014so caring for them is integral to keeping you functioning at your best.<\/p>\n
Poor gut microbiome health<\/a> can manifest in a whole bunch of different ways, including skin issues, weight gain, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, anxiety and depression, difficulty concentrating, and frequent bouts of illness, as SELF has previously reported. In fact, your gut microbiome is so embedded in your overall well-being that it likely plays a role in every kind of dysfunction, big or small, Orlando \u201cLandon\u201d DeLeon, PhD<\/a>, a research assistant professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, tells SELF. In fact, he adds, \u201cyou can name a condition, and there\u2019s probably an associated microbiome pathway or pathways\u201d\u2014cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, Parkinson\u2019s, you name it. What\u2019s more, existing forms of dysfunction can feed off of each other, creating a vicious cycle that only makes the problem worse: \u201cWe know for a lot of those conditions that it\u2019s a somewhat self-propagating loop,\u201d Dr. DeLeon says.<\/p>\n The silver lining to all of this? If you think or know your gut microbiome might not be in the best shape, there are some concrete measures you can take to improve its balance. Read on to find out more.<\/p>\n How to treat an unhealthy gut microbiome<\/p>\n Your gut microbiome makeup is largely determined by your diet, Mykhaylo Usyk, PhD<\/a>, research assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, tells SELF, so modifying your eating habits is the first step toward positive change. Here are five easy ways to make that happen.<\/p>\n Eat more fermented foods.<\/p>\n Fermented foods<\/a> refer to items produced through controlled microbial growth and, as such, can contain beneficial live microbes. When you eat those items, they introduce the bugs directly into your gut, supporting the overall balance (hence the frequently assigned \u201cprobiotic\u201d label). Because of this, \u201cthings like yogurt<\/a> or sauerkraut or kimchi or miso\u201d are becoming more popular as people wise up to their substantial health benefits, Vincci Tsui, RD<\/a>, a certified intuitive eating counselor based in Canada, tells SELF. That said, keep in mind that there are a lot of unknowns surrounding any one fermented product: \u201cWe don\u2019t really know how much bacteria [it contains], or what types of bacteria are still present in the food and what the effects are,\u201d Tsui cautions.<\/p>\n Take a (legit) probiotic.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to treat a specific issue\u2014like the ones we called out above\u2014a probiotic supplement<\/a> could be a better choice than a fermented food, according to Tsui. While the two can overlap, probiotics differ from fermented foods in that they have to offer \u201ca certain amount of a specific [microbial] strain\u201d that has been proven to confer a health benefit, Tsui says. Basically, they have to adhere to more rigorous standards and, in turn, are better studied and can yield a more targeted impact. \u201cDifferent strains often have different effects,\u201d Tsui says, so you can pick and choose between options depending on the symptom you want to address, and thus the strain that is most likely to help.<\/p>\n Just make sure to choose a probiotic that has some strong scientific backing behind it, since the space is rife with dubious claims. For assistance, Tsui recommends checking out probioticchart.com<\/a>, a clinical guide that breaks down available probiotic research to help consumers decide if a specific probiotic is right for them (a recommendation Desiree Nielsen, RD, previously made to SELF as well). \u201cIt’s a really good resource that I use as a clinician when people are complaining about specific symptoms like IBS<\/a> or constipation<\/a>, or if they are [dealing with] post-antibiotic changes<\/a> to gut health,\u201d Tsui says.<\/p>\n Or prioritize prebiotics.<\/p>\n You can think of prebiotics as a probiotic precursor<\/a>. Compared to probiotics, which refer to beneficial microorganisms themselves (as we explained above), prebiotics refer to the nutrients that probiotics feed on in the digestive tract and that support their development as a result. Most prebiotics amount to specific types of fiber<\/a>, including inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides, and galacto-oligosaccharides. \u201cOur bodies can\u2019t digest fiber, so it makes it all the way down to our colon or large intestine, where our gut bacteria live,\u201d Tsui says. There, they serve as fuel\u2014so \u201cwhen we are eating prebiotic foods\u201d (oats; almonds; bananas; soy products like miso, tofu, tempeh, and soy milk; artichokes; beans; peas; onions; flaxseed; eggplant; cabbage; asparagus; honey; and agave, to name a few options), \u201cwe\u2019re sort of encouraging certain [beneficial] bacteria to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n Eat more fiber, period.<\/p>\n