Plant diversity keeps our second brain happy
June 15, 2021 – Medical studies told us that plant-based meals kept us healthy. Some of us became ill anyway. Then the experts told us to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. We did, but we could only eat so many in a day. Then they told us to add colors to our vegetarian meals. We enjoyed their appetizing appearance, yet wondered why people in the know continued to refine their instructions.
The reason can be summed up in one word, microbiome, or a balance of good and bad microbes in our gut. Our gut, or digestive tract, is filled with trillions of good and bad microbes. When we take medicine for allergies, disease, pain or sinus, we upset the balance. When we restrict foods with which we’re having problems, we also upset the balance in our gut. It’s called dysbiosis.
To change dysbiosis back into microbiome, we need to put back the good microbes. When we eat fruits and vegetables, we take in their microbes. Since each kind of fruit and each kind of vegetable has its own set of microbes, we need to add different ones into our gut to bring back the balance.
That’s why gastroenterologists like Will Bulsiewicz tell us to diversify the plants we eat. And they aren’t just talking about one meal or one day’s meals or even one week’s meals: we need to eat as many different fruits and vegetables as we can to replace the depleted good microbes in our gut. Unless we have actual allergies to certain foods, he suggests gradually reintroducing the ones with which we have difficulties. Bulsiewicz offers details in his Fiber Fueled. Then dietitians like Nicole Dandrea-Russert tell us that adding color to each meal actually adds different nutrients. Her recipes can be found in her The Fiber Effect.
Befuddled, we ask how can we do all that diversifying in one meal – even a week’s meals? Layers, says Bulsiewicz; toppings, says Dandrea-Russert. We don’t have to pig out on fruits and vegetables; just a portion of one plant, a pinch of another and a spoonful of another will create the magic in our gut.
By the way, some doctors, especially gastroenterologists, have dubbed our gut as our second brain. What we eat affects our gut, which influences how the rest of our body performs – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Neurologists Ayesha and Dean Sherzai, who co-direct the Brain and Health Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, have used this information to prevent and reverse various dementias; other doctors have done the same with other diseases. The N in the Sherzais’ NEURO plan for healthy living stands for nutrition, which they explain in their The Alzheimer’s Solution, but we all could use the plan – with or without dementia.
Did you realize that to have good microbes in your gut, you must eat foods that have those good microbes? Have you tried layering your small meals and your large dishes? Do you use toppings to add color to your meals? Do you visit farmers markets to diversify the plants you eat? Are you willing to try different kinds of the same fruit or vegetable?