WEED your gut to get LEAN pqtd

Yes, that’s right- “weed’ your gut, trimming back those bad microbes that swarm about your intestines, converting the food you eat into either energy, or FAT.  Do the microbes within our micro biome really have this much power over our bodies?

You bet they do!  The bugs break down complex carbohydrates in our food. They manufacture crucial vitamins and other nutrients that we wouldn’t be able to produce otherwise, like vitamin K and niacin. They help protect against pathogens (such as E. coli and Salmonella) and break down toxins. They also communicate with both the immune and nervous systems, sending signals that may influence whether we develop auto­immune disorders and how we regulate our appetite and mood. 

They also can determine whether we are Lean or Fat.

You probably are thinking that I will say now that you should ‘eat lots of probiotics’, supplements and fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut… and yes, I think you should!  But first, it is crucial that you weed your gut, getting rid of bad microbes like the Firmicutes: a group of gut bugs that has been associated with an increased risk of obesity.  

If you eat lots of starchy carbohydrates and sugars, you are encouraging these fat-making little bugs to proliferate, crowding out the Bacteroides, which is a group of gut bugs that is been associated with leanness.  So, the first step in improving the quality of your all-important gut bugs is to not feed- starve those firmicutes!  

This allows not only the bacteroides to have room to multiply, but if you also eat good foods to replace those bad, starchy sugary ones- replacing them with good real fats like olive oil, coconut milk, and full-fat, pastured dairy, you will be feeding desirable strains like the bacteroides and L. Acidophilus.  This bacterium colonizes most densely in the small intestine, where it helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal wall, ensure proper nutrient absorption, and support healthy overall digestive function, among other important functions, such as improving immunity.

There are many other strains of bacteria that are at home in our guts, and the more diverse the population, the better, as they all do different things, or have different functions.  We don’t know that much about many of them, but we do know that some are very beneficial, and others are actually indicative of bad health, from having to multiply to service an unhealthy diet; that is, one high in processed starchy foods and sugars!

I’ll leave you with this:  it has been determined that during bariatric surgery- bypass surgery, where the intestine is rerouted into a “stapled off” smaller stomach, which bypasses one part of the intestine, that the gut micro biome dramatically improves in its diversity, with many more of the bacteroides and other good types, with much less of the firmicutes and other bad, fat producing and disease encouraging microbes.

In my opinion, having this surgery, despite this good effect, which usually results in a formerly obese patient almost miraculously being cured quickly of diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, and many other modern diseases of civilization- is a mistake!  For one, it is a life-threatening operation that costs tens of thousands of dollars…

But the main reason is this: simply by changing our diet NOW, we can achieve the same result, naturally- 

Without compromising our digestive tract

Without going ‘under the knife’ and imperiling our life

ALL JUST BY CHANGING OUR EATING HABITS!