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A Healthy Gut for 2017!

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If you’re making resolutions for a healthier new year, consider a gut makeover. Refashioning the community of bacteria and other microbes living in your intestinal tract, collectively known as the gut microbiome, could be a good long-­term investment in your health. Trillions of microbial cells inhabit the human body, outnumbering human cells by 10 to one according to some estimates, and growing evidence suggests that the rich array of intestinal microbiota helps us process nutrients in the foods we eat, bolsters the immune system and does all sorts of odd jobs that promote sound health. A diminished microbial ecosystem, on the other hand, is believed to have consequences that extend far beyond the intestinal tract, affecting everything from allergies and inflammation, metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity, even mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.

“The nutritional value of food is influenced in part by the microbial community that encounters that food,” said Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, the senior author of the new paper and director of the Center for Genome Science and Systems Biology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Nutritional components of a healthy diet have to be viewed from “the inside out,” he said, “not just the outside in.”

Of interest, the scientists harvested the gut bacteria from people who followed sharply different diets. One group ate a fairly typical American diet, consuming about 3,000 calories a day, high in animal proteins with few fruits and vegetables. Some of their favorite foods were processed cheese, pepperoni and lunch meats. The other group consisted of people who were devotees of calorie restriction. They ate less than 1,800 calories a day and had meticulously tracked what they ate for at least two years, sticking to a mostly plant-based diet and consuming far less animal protein than the other group, a third fewer carbohydrates and only half the fat. This calorie restricted group, the researchers found, had a far richer and more diverse microbial community in the gut than those eating a typical American diet. They also carried several strains of “good” bacteria, known to promote health, that are unique to their plant-based diet. “Their choices as adults dramatically influenced their gut community,” said Nicholas W. Griffin of Washington University, the paper’s lead author.

Perhaps the best way to cultivate a healthier microbiome is to eat more fiber by consuming more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts or seeds, said Meghan Jardine, a registered dietitian who was not involved in the current study but has published articles on promoting a healthy microbiota. (She is also affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which recommends a plant-based diet.) She urges people to aim for 40 to 50 grams of fiber daily, well above levels recommended by most dietary guidelines. “When you look at populations that eat real food that’s high in fiber, and more plant-­based foods, you’re going to see they have a more robust microbiota, with more genetic diversity, healthier species and fewer pathogenic bacteria living in the gut,” she said.

Read more here – A Gut Makeover for the New Year ­ The New York Times 

WIN 3 months FREE of my “Recipe Club” at the January nutrition clinic!!

“Simple Nutrition”

This is the time of the year that many people decide to lose weight and to start exercising. There are no magic pills or supplements to take when it comes to being healthy. People must learn to eat healthy, mindfully and exercise most days of the week.

Do you need help with learning how to eat healthy for you and your family? Do you still want to enjoy your favorite foods?

It’s not about short-term diets, it’s about creating a long-term healthy lifestyle!

If your goal this year is to develop a healthier lifestyle, then let us come along side you and help you reach your goals. We will be there every step until your goal is achieved.

Register today for this months clinic!

When: Saturday, Jan. 21
Where: Virginia Garden Organic Grocery Store
Time: 1:00 pm
Cost: $35 (bring a friend for FREE!)

Register HERE – http://nutritionforalifetime.biz/classes-and-clinics/

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