This article is written by Even’s Chief Dietitian, Dt. Vidya KP, MSc ( Food and Nutrition) , Certified diabetic educator ( CDE) and Sports Nutritionist
The gut is made up of trillions of microorganisms—microbes, bacteria, and viruses living together in what is termed the “gut microbiome.” The purpose of the gut microbiome is multifaceted: it plays a big role in nutrient metabolism, immune function, and affects inflammatory homeostasis of the body.
Your gut influences your motivation to exercise
Past research has taught us that to keep these microorganisms healthy and harmoniously existing with one another, we need to maintain a healthy diet. However, recent research studies show that exercise may also have a significant impact on your gut physiology.
New research proves an interconnection with the gut microbiome and exercise.
Both moderate and intense exercise has shown some change in the microbiome composition.
Several factors can alter the diversity of gut microbiota, including disease, infection, antibiotics and diet. Exercise, however, can modify gut microbiota by its positive impact on energy homeostasis; a biological process in which the cells in our body regulate energy production, energy expenditure and food intake.
Research is also looking at the effects of low intensity exercise on the microbiome.
“Exercise appears to be an environmental factor that can help qualitative and quantitative changes in the gut microbial composition with possible benefits for the host. Exercise enriches the microflora diversity. to improve the Bacteroidetes-Firmicutes ( Healthy major good bacteria in the gut ) ratio which could potentially contribute to reducing weight, obesity-associated pathologies, and gastrointestinal disorders and to stimulate bacteria capable of producing substances that protect against gastrointestinal disorders and colon cancer (such as, SCFAs) short chain fatty acids,” according to the research1.
Exercise is more effective when accompanied by a good diet.
Though exercise may have a beneficial impact on the gut, the microbiome won’t be fully optimised unless exercise is accompanied with a healthy diet.
They complement each other to optimise overall health, and the same goes for your gut biome as well. If you are providing the body with nutrient-dense and anti-inflammatory foods as well as working out consistently, you will provide the body with what it needs to optimise all functions and boost the immune system.
Nutrition and exercise are not mutually exclusive. By making dietary changes, you can change the composition of your microbiome rather quickly and start to feel better in just a few days.
Eating for your gut is one important way to promote digestive health and prevent symptoms.
Making better food choices involves eating a balanced diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. These foods provide the fibre needed to build good bacteria and guard gut health.
Your gut affects your heart health
In a recent study partially funded by the NIH, a research team led by Dr. Ramnik Xavier from the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard examined stool samples from over 1,400 individuals.
The researchers identified several species of bacteria whose levels were associated with blood markers of CVD. Such markers included cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood glucose levels.
Your gut affects your mental health
The relationship between gut microbes and the brain has become one of the most controversial topics. Some research suggests stomach problems are likely to be associated with stress and anxiety..
Like the brain, your gut is full of nerves called the enteric nervous system, or ENS, also referred to as the “second brain”. The enteric nervous system has the same type of neurons and neurotransmitters found in your central nervous system. This connection between the brain and gut affects your digestion, mood, and the way you think. ENS lines your entire digestive system with more than 100 million nerve cells forming two layers. It runs from the oesophagus to the rectum.
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Along with the well-known and established health benefits like reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and colic symptoms, eczema, necrotising enterocolitis, acute paediatric infections like diarrhoea and upper respiratory tract infections; probiotics are now considered beneficial for maintaining mental well-being as well.
This new branch of disease management is termed as Nutritional neuroscience and these beneficial gut bacteria are referred to as psychobiotics. It is important to identify the specific strains of probiotics and characterise them and conduct randomised controlled trials to establish these benefits.
Dairy and Non-Dairy Probiotics
While the idea of probiotics has been around for some time, there is growing interest in using a science-driven approach to develop more targeted probiotic products.
Probiotics and the microbiome are now seen as a personalised blueprint for good health, unique to each individual.
Probiotics when taken in advisable amounts induce several health benefits to the host. They improve digestion, boost immunological function, maintain an appropriate equilibrium of gut bacteria, and may also have additional advantageous impacts on general health .
A probiotic-rich diet includes fermented foods that naturally contain live beneficial bacteria. Examples of foods that are rich in probiotics include kefir, yoghourt, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, and certain types of cheese. These foods undergo fermentation processes that promote the growth of specific strains of beneficial bacteria.
Consuming dairy probiotics can have a positive impact on the microbiota of the gut. These probiotics can help restore and maintain a healthy balance of microorganisms in the gut. They can increase the amount of good and healthy bacteria and decrease the growth of certain harmful bacteria.
Dairy probiotics commonly belong to the bacterial group which produces lactic acid and have Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species .
Several studies have suggested that changes in the gut microbiota composition and diversity can influence the development and progression of various diseases2.
Probiotics may also improve gut barrier function, strengthen the immune response, and reduce inflammation in the gut.
Imbalances or disruptions in the gut microbiota, known as dysbiosis, have been associated with conditions like IBD, IBS, obesity, diabetes, allergies, and even mental health disorders.
It’s important to note that the effects of dairy probiotics on gut microbiota and disease prevention or treatment can vary depending on the specific strains used, the dosage, and individual factors.
Non Dairy and Cereal-based probiotic products
There’s an increased interest in cereal-based probiotics. Cereals are the most important sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds in people’s diets. Moreover, they are an excellent resource for nondigestible carbohydrates such as fibre and oligosaccharides, which stimulate probiotic culture growth.
Dietary fibres are divided into two groups according to their solubility in water, namely insoluble and soluble fibres. Cereals usually have insoluble fiber, including cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. However, some cereals also contain water-soluble fiber, such as β-glucan and arabinoxylan.
Consuming whole grains offers several health benefits, including a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and certain cancers. Rice, millets, rye, barley, sorghum, maize, and wheat are the most consumed cereals, while buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth are pseudo-cereals connected to the diet.
Today, there are numerous non-dairy, cereal-based probiotic products available. These products can support the growth of probiotic cultures and include traditional beverages and foods such as boza, bushera, mahewu, pozol, kvass, ben-saalga, degue, kenkey, koko, kanun-zaki, mawe, munkoyo, thobwa, ting, uji, and togwa.
Boza is popular in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and parts of Romania and Serbia. Boza, the Turkish name, comes from the Persian word, buze, which means millet.
Malnutrition and over consumption harm gut health & affect immunity
Malnutrition is a leading cause of infection, particularly among individuals living below the poverty line. It can manifest in various forms, including deficiencies in both macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). This issue is often interconnected with obesity, where a person may consume excess calories but remain deficient in essential micronutrients, highlighting the complexity of malnutrition as both undernutrition and overnutrition.
The nutritional status can impact our immunity in several ways, including sensitivity to infection, severity of disease, and its recovery time. However this can also impact digestive function, which can further impact nutritional status, immunity and increased disease severity.
Supplementation of Micronutrients :
A diet particularly rich in Vitamin D, B, C, and certain trace minerals like Zinc, Magnesium, selenium along with Iron and most importantly fibre in the diet influences gut microbial composition which helps to promote immune responses in the body.
Vitamin D deficiency is likely to be associated with common GI disorders like IBS, Cron’s and a few uncommon infections. It is more common in people who are housebound as vitamin D is synthesised through skin exposure to sunlight.
Thus, during an infection people may experience reduced levels of vitamin D. Moreover, skin pigmentation also affects production levels, skin with more pigmentation will produce less Vitamin D, so deficiency is more common in people with darker skin and as such due to poor nutrient synthesis, they may experience fatigue and overall weakness.
1 in 16 cases of diet consultations at Even involve gut issues.
Even specialises in diet management to improve lifestyle and manage chronic conditions. Dietary measures help to gradually improve your gut health and immunity and consequently improve your quality of life.
If you are an Even member, please book an appointment with your Even Dietitian to kickstart your journey towards a healthier gut. If you are a non-member, please reach out to us +91 – 88679 00461 (WhatsApp) to understand how an Even plan can improve your healthspan.
Footnotes
- Monda V, Villano I, Messina A, Valenzano A, Esposito T, Moscatelli F, Viggiano A, Cibelli G, Chieffi S, Monda M, Messina G. Exercise Modifies the Gut Microbiota with Positive Health Effects. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:3831972. doi: 10.1155/2017/3831972. Epub 2017 Mar 5. PMID: 28357027; PMCID: PMC5357536.
- Aziz T, Hussain N, Hameed Z, Lin L. Elucidating the role of diet in maintaining gut health to reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular and other age-related inflammatory diseases: recent challenges and future recommendations. Gut Microbes. 2024 Jan-Dec;16(1):2297864. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2297864. Epub 2024 Jan 4. PMID: 38174551; PMCID: PMC10773664.