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The microbiome diet is a relatively new health diet. It was created by Dr. Raphael Kellman and is based on eating certain foods and avoiding certain foods to restore gut health. It also has other benefits, such as a faster metabolism and weight loss.
The microbiome refers to the collection of genomes from all microorganisms in the environment. Microbiota (gut flora) on the other hand usually refers to microorganisms found in a specific environment. The microbiota (gut flora) can refer to all microorganisms present in an environment, including bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Microbiota is very different from microbiome. While the microbiome may include microbiota, the microbiome is MORE than microbiota alone. To put it simply, if the microbiome is a house, the microbiota is the people who live there. There are also other things in the house, such as furniture.
The Microbiome Diet is a three-phase diet that aims to help you lose weight by restoring gut health.
It was developed by Dr. Raphael Kellman, a physician specializing in gut health and basic medicine. Basic medicine is rooted in the understanding that although we have many individual systems in the body, they must work together to maintain balance, long-term health and well-being. Think of the body as an orchestra, although each instrument plays an important, individual role, a single trumpet can ruin the whole performance. When a system is "out of tune" it can impair the health and functionality of our entire body.
The microbiome is like the "command center" with tentacles that reach out to all the different systems, organs and cells in our body. This ecosystem that lives in our gastrointestinal tract is involved in virtually every physiological and metabolic aspect of human health. In fact, a significant part of our immune system is located in our gut. Therefore, one should approach and manage almost any condition that a person has with the concept of "microbiome first."
It's based on the idea that eating the right foods helps keep your gut microbiome healthy - which is critical to your overall health.
Your intestinal flora consists of trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms - both good and bad.
Maintaining the right balance of good bacteria and bad bacteria in your gut is fundamental to improving digestion, reducing inflammation, reducing anxiety, and even improving brain function and mood, to name a few health benefits.
A healthy balance of gut bacteria can also increase metabolism, eliminate cravings and help you lose weight.
This first phase lasts 21 days and aims to remove unhealthy bacteria from your gut and replace stomach acids and digestive enzymes.
It is also designed to fill your gut with collagen, prebiotics and probiotics to repair the gut wall, healing a "leaky gut".
Remove: Remove all food, toxins and harmful chemicals that can cause inflammation or imbalance in your gut bacteria. This includes pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and some medications.
Repair: Load up on plant-based foods and supplements that heal your gut and support gut flora. For example, a food supplement with collagen and glutamine with prebiotics. Collagen and glutamine "repair" a leaky gut wall and prebiotics feed the bacteria in your gut.
Substitute: Eating certain herbs, spices and supplements can replace stomach acid, digestive enzymes and improve the quality of bacteria in your gut.
Reinoculate*: “Repopulate” your gut with healthy bacteria by eating probiotic and prebiotic foods and supplements.
*What does inoculate mean? Inoculation (medicine) – a medical term for providing protection against an infectious disease by getting it under the skin.
In this phase, you must avoid a variety of foods, including all grains, eggs, most legumes and dairy products, and starchy fruits and vegetables.
Packaged and fried foods, sugar, fillers, dyes, artificial sweeteners and certain types of fats, fish and meat should also be avoided.
Instead, you are encouraged to eat an organic, plant-based diet with foods rich in prebiotics, such as asparagus, garlic, onions and leeks. Fermented foods rich in probiotics — such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and yogurt — should also be included.
Certain supplements are highly recommended, including collagen with prebiotics and glutamine , probiotics, zinc, vitamin D, berberine, grapefruit seed extract, wormwood, and oregano oil.
This phase is designed to last for 28 days. By the time you reach it, it's assumed that your gut and microbiome have become stronger, giving you a little more flexibility with your diet.
During this phase, you still need to avoid the supposed gut-damaging foods found in phase 1 - but only 90% of the time.
Concretely, this means that up to four of your weekly meals can contain foods that are not recommended on the food list from phase one.
Additionally, dairy products, free-range eggs, gluten-free grains and legumes can be added back into your diet.
Finally, you can also start eating most fruits and vegetables again, such as mangoes, melons, peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, etc.
This final phase of the diet is considered the "maintenance" phase. It has no recommended length, as you are encouraged to follow it until you lose weight. Phase three is also meant to help you maintain your weight loss long term.
At this point, your gut and microbiome are believed to be almost completely healed. So while the foods to avoid remain the same as in the first phase, you only need to aim for this to 70 percent.
In other words, you can eat whatever you want 30 percent of the time - which equates to about one meal per day. Nevertheless, it is recommended to avoid processed foods (processed foods) and added sugar as much as possible. In other words, base your diet on raw materials and natural foods, and remove whole and semi-finished products and foods with added sugar or "artificial foods" that do not occur naturally.
The microbiome diet warns against eating a variety of foods, which are believed to reduce the health of your gut and microbiome.
They should therefore be — at least initially — completely avoided. These foods include:
*Hendered fat is fat whose composition of fatty acids has been changed through fat hardening, hydrogenation. During curing, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids are converted to saturated, by binding hydrogen molecules into the chain structure of the fat molecule.
The microbiome diet excludes starchy fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, fruit juice, grains that contain gluten, eggs, certain dairy products, and certain types of fish and meat. It also advises against eating added sugar and processed/processed or fried foods.
The following foods can be enjoyed during all phases of the microbiome diet:
In phase two of the diet, foods such as free-range eggs, dairy products, legumes, gluten-free grains and certain starchy fruits and vegetables can be reintroduced.
The microbiome diet generally encourages eating non-starchy fruits and vegetables, fermented foods, grass-fed meats, and low-mercury wild fish.
In addition to eating and avoiding certain foods, the microbiome diet has additional recommendations. For starters, this diet encourages sticking to organic foods and avoiding chemicals found in non-natural household cleaners and personal care products. It is also encouraged to use a good water filter.
This is believed to improve gut health by lowering the amount of toxins, pesticides and hormones your body is exposed to.
In addition, the diet recommends various supplements as a way to reduce inflammation, remove unhealthy bacteria and help strengthen your gut.
Examples of these dietary supplements are collagen*, glutamine, prebiotics and probiotics, zinc, berberine, caprylic acid* , quercetin, garlic, grapefruit seed extract, wormwood, oregano oil, and vitamin D.
*Collagen peptides from supplements have beneficial effects on the gut microbiome, the diverse community of microorganisms essential to our health. Collagen powder from dietary supplements can influence the composition of the gut microbiota, promoting a balanced environment necessary for digestion, nutrient absorption and immunity.
*Caprylic acid is an MCT fatty acid , a medium-long fatty acid that is found to a large extent in, among other things, coconut fat. Collagen Keto Diet contains collagen peptides along with MCT fat from coconut fat.
The diet also warns against overuse of certain medications — such as antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and proton pump inhibitors — that can disrupt the balance of your gut bacteria.
The microbiome diet encourages eating organic foods, using a water filter and taking various supplements. It discourages the use of non-natural household cleaners and personal care products, as well as the overuse of certain drugs.
The microbiome diet can improve gut health in different ways. For starters, it promotes eating foods and supplements rich in prebiotics and probiotics – both equally important for a healthy gut.
Probiotics are live bacteria found in foods such as yogurt, kefir, tempeh, kombucha, and unpasteurized fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, pickles, and kimchi.
These friendly bacteria help colonize your gut and prevent bad bacteria from "overpopulating" the gut.
Prebiotics are a type of fiber that helps feed these good bacteria. You can find them in foods such as asparagus, garlic, artichokes, onions, leeks and radishes – as well as in dietary supplements with prebiotics.
A dietary supplement with collagen, glutamine and prebiotics as well as specific probiotic strains such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria can also help heal a leaky gut , preventing leaky gut syndrome.
In addition, the microbiome diet also limits your intake of added sugar. The relationship to sugars in the diet and the effects on the gut bacteria is very complicated. More human studies are needed.
The diet also warns against overuse of antibiotics, NSAIDs and proton pump inhibitors. Studies show that using these medications in larger amounts than prescribed can damage the intestinal wall and wipe out the microorganisms in the gut - including the good bacteria.
Avoiding these medications whenever possible can therefore also contribute to a healthier gut.
The microbiome diet is rich in probiotics and prebiotics, and low in added sugar - which can contribute to a healthier gut. It also warns against overusing certain medications that can damage your gut.
The microbiome diet may provide additional health benefits. The biggest benefit is that it encourages eating lots of fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, lean protein, and other plant-based foods. It also recommends limiting added sugar as well as processed foods such as whole and semi-finished and fried foods.
That said, the microbiome diet tends to be naturally low in fat to the point of being restrictive, but rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber—which can help you lose weight without counting calories or measuring portion sizes.
These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, Alzheimer's and depression.
In addition, your microbiome is responsible for converting fiber into short-chain fatty acids that strengthen your gut wall and immune system.
A stronger and healthier gut wall can help prevent unwanted substances from entering your body, which in turn provokes an immune response.
The microbiome diet is very restrictive and can help you lose weight. It contains nutrients that can boost your immunity and potentially protect against health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.
Despite its many potential benefits, the microbiome diet also has some drawbacks.
Limits your intake of certain healthy foods
The first phase of the microbiome diet is restrictive and requires you to eliminate a variety of foods—some of which may be nutritious and beneficial to your health. These include some fruits, starchy vegetables, all grains, and most legumes.
These foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and other beneficial plant compounds.
Also, unless you're intolerant to them, there's no scientific evidence to support that you need to avoid these foods to lose weight or maintain healthy bowel function. In fact, avoiding gluten can lead to a lack of fiber in the diet, contradicting the research supporting a high-fiber diet for healthier microbiomes.
There is no reason to avoid gluten unless you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity by a doctor.
Focuses on organic food
The microbiome diet places great emphasis on eating organic food to avoid pesticides and hormones.
But organic food can also be treated with pesticides. They contain organic pesticides rather than the synthetic ones found in conventionally grown produce.
Both synthetic and organic pesticides can be harmful to your health when consumed in large doses. But doses that are considered harmful are much larger than what you typically find in fresh produce.
There is little scientific evidence to support the notion that non-organic foods harm your gut. In addition, diets rich in fruits and vegetables offer many health benefits – whether they are organic or conventionally grown.
Because organic products tend to be more expensive, a diet that promotes eating only organic foods may limit the amount or variety of foods that many people can afford.
Here is an example of a three-day meal plan on the first and strictest phase of the microbiome diet.
In phases two and three, your meal choices become increasingly flexible.
Day 1
Breakfast: Fruit salad with Brazil nuts.
Snack 1: Parsnip sticks with almond butter.
Lunch: Chicken and vegetable soup.
Snack 2: Roasted cauliflower with curry.
Dinner: Grilled salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts, mixed vegetables and fermented beets.
Day 2
Breakfast: Pancakes made with almond flour topped with almond butter and fruit.
Snack 1: Walnuts and cherries.
Lunch: Vegetable salad topped with sauerkraut, chickpeas and a parsley-lemon vinaigrette.
Snack 2: Celery sticks with guacamole.
Dinner: Zucchini noodles topped with marinara sauce (tomato sauce) and chicken meatballs.
Day 3
Breakfast: Breakfast cookies made with blueberries and almonds.
Snack 1: Sautéed pineapple topped with grated coconut.
Lunch: Vegetable salad topped with miso-glazed cod.
Snack 2: Carrots with hummus.
with steamed vegetables, salsa and guacamole.
The meals above are a good introduction to the strictest phase of the microbiome diet. You can find more recipes if you Google the Internet.
The microbiome diet limits sugary, fried, and processed foods, and instead focuses on fresh produce, lean protein, healthy fats, and probiotic and prebiotic foods and prebiotic supplements.
