How To Lose Weight While Improving Your Gut Health
Background
It was discovered by scientists that there are 100 trillion microorganisms living in our bodies. Sounds scary? Don’t worry! Most of these microorganisms are actually essential for our health, while only a few of them are harmful to our bodies.
These microorganisms influence everything ranging from our strength of immunity, our mood, our psychological health, and even our propensity to gain weight. The microbes living in our bodies have a symbiotic relationship with humans. While we provide them with a place to live, they help to keep us alive. This includes the microorganisms living in our gut. They help to support our health by digesting our food, ward off potential intruders by putting an alarm on our immune system, as well as producing anti-inflammatory compounds to kill viruses and bacteria that could make us fall sick.
Benefits of having a healthy gut
A healthy gut contributes to:
Strong immune system
Heart health
Brain health
Improved mood
Healthy sleep
Effective digestion
Prevent some cancers and autoimmune diseases
3 practical ways to lose weight while improving your gut health
1. Reduce intake of processed and sugary food
Frequent intake of processed and sugary food can starve our microbes of essential nutrients, hence reducing on gut microbial diversity. This has found out to be associated, but not directly related to the increased risk of obesity and irritably bowel syndrome. Examples of such processed food are bacon, sausages, cookies, chips and canned food. It is also important to cut back on our sugar intake from these high-calorie drinks such as bubble tea, sweetened tea or soda drinks. To improve our gut health, the very first step is to eliminate processed and sugary food, to prevent further reduction of our microbial diversity.
2. Increase intake of probiotic food
Studies have also shown that dietary factors such as increased intake of probiotic influence our gut microbiome are essential in the treatment of obesity and lead to a significant reduction in BMI, body weight and fat mass. To name a few, examples of probiotic-rich food are fermented food such as kimchi, miso, tempeh and kombucha. Yoghurt is a popular choice for probiotic as it is easily obtainable and fuss-free to eat. Studies have shown that individuals who consume yoghurt regularly tend to have more lactobacilli in their intestines. However, do be aware that flavoured yoghurts do contain high amounts of sugar.
3. Increase intake of prebiotic food
Increased intake of prebiotic foods are also instrumental in promoting the growth of helpful microbes in our gut. Prebiotic foods are rich in non-digestible fibre or complex carbs, such as vegetables and whole grains, which are broken down by certain bacteria and used as fuel. Studies have found that certain prebiotics can reduce insulin resistance and cholesterol levels for individuals who are obese, therefore reducing the risk factors for many diseases linked to obesity, including heart diseases and diabetes.
Conclusion
Besides watching out for an excessive consumption of processed and sugary food, consuming a combination of probiotic and prebiotic food has a synergistic effect. Hence it is highly recommended to take these two nutrients at the same time. For example, preparing avocado and cheese whole-grain toast is a great way to start our plan to improve our gut microbiota!
We are largely in control of the composition and diversity of the microbes living in our gut, therefore improving our diet using these simple yet effective ways can help improve our gut health and lose weight at the same time.
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This article is written by our nutritionist, Nana Wu, who specialises in weight management, chronic diseases, gut health, and skin health.
Edited by the SgFitFam Team.