Gut bacteria - Microbiome — Julie piper roche

How to improve the health of your gut bacteria:

Eat fermented foods: Fermented foods contain probiotic bacteria that helps to promote friendly bacteria in the gut. Examples include: pickles (fruits, vegetables, meat and eggs), kefir (dairy or coconut based) sauerkraut, miso, chutneys, kimchi, kombucha, and tempeh. Yogurt contains approximately 2 strains of bacteria with 10 billion active bacteria per portion. Whereas kefir contains up to 32 different strains of bacteria with 30 billion active bacteria per portion.

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Eat foods high in fibre. 
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Reduce sugar.
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Eat good quality fats - omega 3.
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Eat foods rich in prebiotics - onions (cooked or raw), garlic, leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and dandelion greens.

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Drink filtered water.
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benefits from foods fermented with lactic acid bacteria e.g. yogurt, sauerkraut and kefir:

Lactic acid bacteria have a slightly lower pH which can lower the pH of the intestinal tract making the environment more hospitable to friendly bacteria and less hospitable for unfriendly bacteria.

The bioavailability of food - making foods easier to absorb. Enhancing the absorption of minerals e.g. calcium, magnesium zinc, iron and copper.

Lactic acid bacteria can synthesise B vitamins even when they are not in the diet e.g. folic acid, B1, B2, B3 and B12.

Probiotics: The strains of friendly bacteria.

Probiotics are the foods that contain beneficial bacteria. These strains of bacteria are crucial in maintaining health and balance within the intestines. Probiotics are transient, they are not like a seed that takes root, they stay awhile and benefit the intestines while they are there. They are then passed out of the human body. This is why it is so important to consume foods that contain probiotics daily.

Prebiotics: What feeds friendly bacteria.

Prebiotics are the indigestible (by humans) plant fibres that probiotics (strains of bacteria) feed upon - it is a beneficial bacteria food source. There are different forms of indigestible plant fibres, some include:

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FOS - fructooligosaccharides
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GOS - Galactooligosaccharides
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Oligosaccharides 
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Inulin 
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Sources of these indigestible plant fibres include:

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Bananas
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Onions (raw or cooked)
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Garlic
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Leeks 
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Chicory root
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Asparagus
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Jerusalem artichokes 
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Oats
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Seaweed
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