Trillions of bacteria inhabit our bodies and interact with every organ of ours, including the brain, immune and hormonal systems. They influence the expression of genes, largely determining our health, appearance, and even food preferences.

Maintaining a healthy microbiome (a collection of microorganisms and their genes) is necessary for both the prevention and elimination of existing health problems. Good microbes in the gut strengthen our immunity, detoxify the body, and help us to stay slim. In this article, we outlined seven steps to a healthier microbiome that are easier to follow.

7 Steps To A Healthier Microbiome

By keeping your gut healthy, you can prevent several diseases and can live a longer life. Following are some ways you can follow to keep your gut healthy.

1. Reasonable Hygiene

Most of us believe that we need to avoid bacteria, viruses, and other microbes to maintain our health. Therefore, we are overly vigilant about hygiene using antibacterial hand products, household disinfectants, etc. Antibacterial ingredients kill both disease-causing microbes and friendly the microbiota with which we have lived in a symbiotic relationship for millions of years.

Thus, a sterile environment can weaken the immune system and lead to an increased risk of disease. Of course, it is worth observing hygiene, but it should be reasonable, not excessive. So focus on maintaining reasonable hygiene.

2. Cut Back On Pro-Inflammatory Foods

For a healthy microbiome, it is worth eliminating or significantly limiting foods that promote inflammation, including but not limited to:

• Red meat
• Trans fats
• White bread and other products made from refined flour
• White rice
• Sweet carbonated drinks
• Alcohol
• Processed or refined foods that contain artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and sweeteners
• Foods containing antibiotics or growth hormones

Removing all of these from your diet can be difficult; it can be especially hard to cut back on alcohol. Once a person develops an addiction, it takes special efforts to become sober. For this, you need special help from a nearby rehab or medical detox center. Make sure you stay committed throughout the process and fight this addiction for a better life.

3. Avoid Abusing Antibacterial Drugs

More than 80% of the cells of the immune system are located in the gut, and your microbiome is in constant contact with them to form an adequate immune response. A healthy gut microbiome has two important characteristics: biodiversity and large numbers of bacteria.

With its high diversity and abundance, your gut microbiome fights pathogens more easily and maintains internal homeostasis. Studies show that low microbial diversity can cause a number of chronic diseases, including obesity, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, inflammation, diabetes, colorectal cancer, Crohn’s disease, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and etc.

In addition to stopping the overuse of antibacterial drugs, we also need to adhere to rational antibiotic therapy. While antibiotics are a powerful ally in the fight against pathogens and infectious diseases, they also kill beneficial microbes. Just one course of antibiotics can reduce microbiome diversity by at least 30%. Therefore, limiting the use of antibiotics is an important step in creating a healthy gut microbiome.

4. Eat Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The food choices you make each day go a long way towards nurturing a healthy microbiome. Modern diets that are low in fiber and high in sugar, salt, fat, and highly processed foods can seriously degrade the microbiome. Certain chemicals produced by bacteria, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), also known as endotoxins, can pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream.

Endotoxin, as a powerful irritant to the immune system, leads to inflammation. Chronic inflammation is the main cause of many diseases. If the balance of the microbiota is severely disturbed, it is necessary to add foods that have anti-inflammatory properties to the diet. Among them are:

• Fish of cold seas (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring);
• Nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc.)
• Seeds
• Fresh fruits and berries
• Cruciferous vegetables
• Dark leafy greens
• Dairy products
• Spices, especially ginger and turmeric
• Garlic and onions
• Olive

5. Do Not Deprive Your Baby Of Breast Milk

Mother’s milk contains several hundred types of bacteria and more than 130 types of oligosaccharides that stimulate the development of the baby’s microbiome. To a greater extent, these components of breast milk are not intended for the infant but for utilization by microbes. As a result, breast milk helps to synthesize vitamins and other metabolites required for a baby’s growth.

Oligosaccharides can block antigens and prevent them from attaching to epithelial cells. For example, this mechanism blocks pneumococcal adhesion. An oligosaccharide is the Bifidus factor contained in breast milk, which stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria.

In fact, breast milk is the first probiotic product in our life. It is obvious that infant formula and other breast milk surrogates are not able to provide the infant’s microbiome with adequate nutrition. Thus, it can change the normal process of microbiome development and cause various disorders in the development of physiological systems.

6. Eat Probiotic Foods

Add probiotic foods containing live bacteria to your diet on a daily basis. These foods are good for the brain, body, and also for the skin. Probiotic foods include:

• Yogurt and kefir
• Pickled vegetables
• Fermented soy and legumes such as tempeh and miso
• Fermented drinks such as kombucha

Not all bacteria of these products colonize the intestines; however, they manage to do a lot of useful things, even while passing our body in transit. Probiotic foods can promote good gut health.

Take Away

If your gut is not well, your whole body faces the consequences. Besides, an unhealthy gut can cause several chronic diseases. Thus, you need to follow the above-mentioned tips, i.e., maintaining hygiene, eating anti-inflammatory foods, avoiding antibiotics, and eating probiotic foods for a healthy microbiome. If you keep your microbiome on track, it is going to ensure your wellness in years to come. We are hopeful that now you know what you need to do for a healthy microbiome.