Top 3 foods to avoid for your gut

What should I eat? Has to be the most common question clients have when they come to see me in my natural health clinic.

These are the 3 key foods you want to minimise or eliminate.

Doing this will go a long way to getting you on the right track with your gut health.

Highly processed foods.

These are foods that have generally been stripped of fibre, vitamins and minerals, and are high in calories, artificial flavours, colours and refined carbohydrates.

Think biscuits, cakes, and many other things that come out of a package. Products that aren’t meat but taste like meat. The more a food is tampered with the better it tastes but you can be safe to assume that the worse it is for your health and well-being.

There have been several studies that have shown a direct link between a diet that contains processed foods and a decrease in the diversity of you microbiome. So you’ll have fewer species of good bacteria in your gut.

In fact studies have shown that there is a clear link between processed foods and many chronic illnesses:

So other than an impaired gut microbiome what other conditions have been linked to processed foods?

Irritable bowel syndrome IBS

Inflammatory bowel disease IBD

Cardiovascular disease

Higher calorie intake and obesity

Type two diabetes

This list is by no means extensive, there are other conditions that have been linked to a diet rich in these foods.

As a Sydney naturopath it’s not uncommon to get push back when it comes to eliminating highly processed foods.

They’re difficult to give up because they’re often also fairly addictive. Several studies also shows that these foods are engineered to target the feel-good centres in our brain.

How do we prioritise which foods need to most be eliminated for the sake of a healthier gut, brain and longevity.

The research has supported the following as being the most important culprits to address, as a short list you can address them to start seeing improvements in your gut:

Added sugar and refined carbohydrates

Additives

Alcohol

So let’s take a closer look at each one of these and why your naturopath is likely to ask you to avoid them?

Added sugar and refined carbohydrates

Please note this encompasses anything that has white flour, white rice, chips, cookies and the likes. These foods have very little nutritional value but are packed with empty calories that actually feed the bad bacteria in your gut.

There has been research that’s found diets high in refined carbs and sugar actually contribute to bacterial and fungal overgrowth, these bad bugs also produce a lot more methane which can contribute to the symptoms you see in IBS.

Increased inflammation- we know that sugar directly increases inflammation levels. One study finding that within a half hour of consuming 50gms of fructose there was a significant increase in inflammatory markers.

These foods are likely to cause issues with blood sugar regulation leading to insulin resistance, which also affects gut bacteria balance, and leads to chronic inflammation in the body.

As a naturopath with any clients that have an inflammatory condition the instruction is to minimise and eliminate foods with sugar and refined carbohydrates. This becomes even more important if there are any underlying gut issues.

The world health organisation themselves recommend that less than 5% of energy intake comes from added sugar.

As a final note here on sugar, I’ve spoken about the gut brain connection before.

Additives

While we’ve all heard a lot about additives it’s not often that we look for them on labels. That might change after you read this.

Sydney University conducted research that found titanium dioxide (commonly used for colouring foods) actually directly impacted gut bacteria and promoted biofilms. This is where bugs start to stick to each other and this could result in diseases like IBD and colon cancer.

Other animal studies have found that emulsifiers like polysorbate 80 actually created dysbiois and an overgrowth in bacteria that breakdown the mucous in the gut. This can potentially lead to an increase in intestinal permeability/ leaky gut.

This same additive has been found to lead to low-grade inflammation, obesity and colitis in animals.

Now based on what’s mentioned about sugar it’s only natural that you want to find artificial sweeteners that won’t contribute to the poor health outcomes right?

These artificial sweeteners like aspartame, Sucralose, and saccharin have all been lined with significant alterations in gut bacteria and have a direct impact on the increase of intestinal and liver inflammation.

Please look out for these in your ‘diet’ drinks.

Alcohol

If I haven’t lost you by now and you’re still around for the bad news I want you to know that a small amount of alcohol can actually be argued to be beneficial for health. The problem exists with types of alcoholic beverages and the quantity you’re consuming.

So what do we know about alcohol and the gut?

Consumed in larger amounts alcohol inhibits the production of enzymes in your gut, this makes it harder for you to effectively breakdown and digest your food. You’ll also struggle to absorb nutrients.

You’ve heard me refer to leaky gut? This is where the mucous lining in your gut is compromised and could become more permeable. Essentially a leaky gut will allow undigested food particles, bacteria and allergens into your bloodstream, which can result in stimulating autoimmune conditions.

This leaky gut picture is a perfect example of how connected each system in the body really is, so what seems like a joint problem can actually be starting in your gut.

High consumption of alcohol can cause inflammation in your gut, which then increases your chances of developing a leaky gut. Read more about some of the research here.

There have been several studies that have found a link between long term alcohol consumption and health changes in gut microbiome, and dysbiosis.

It’s important to know where the science is pointing because it’s easy to feel like your naturopath is over doing it as the fun police but the evidence is there to support making the right changes.

So how much alcohol is safe?

Outside of that if your gut health is currently good and you’re symptom free then one standard drink is generally safe, but you should listen to your body and look out for a worsening of symptoms.

You may find that certain options are better than others. If you have a history of gut issues, it’s not a bad idea to stay away from sugary pre mixed drinks and beer.

How can a naturopath help?

One of the primary health concerns I see in the clinic is digestive in nature. With many clients struggling with a leaky gut, or dysbiosis.

Even if you’re not coming in with a gut problem there is a good chance that we will need to address some aspects of your diet and gut.

The risk in ignoring chronic gut issues or simply using a band-aid approach with medications for symptomatic relief is that you’re placing yourself at risk of developing more significant chronic health issues long term.

If you’ve been diagnosed with IBS check out this post on investigating the factors involved.

There are some great tools that allow you to look at the possibility of food sensitivities, you can find out more about that here.

Taking a holistic approach, tackling the dietary changes mentioned here with the application of specific probiotic strains you’ll be on your way to a healthier gut long term.

To find out more about the one to one sessions please head across to this page.

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