We know sugar is bad for us. We know processed foods are bad for us. And maybe you've tried cutting those foods out many times in the past, but here you are, still eating all these foods despite knowing all that. How would you like to cut those bad foods and end up with a fantastically healthy diet, and love everything that you eat? Not only that, how would you like to do it in a way that feels effortless, so that you are driven to eat the good food, and you're not having to constantly resist temptation?
Your Gut is the Key
You may have heard that our gut is called our second brain, and one of the reasons for that is that it dictates a lot of our eating habits. Far more so than you may realize.
Have you heard of The gut-brain axis? The gut-brain axis is a bidirectional communication network that links our gut with the central nervous system, including our brain. And it's bidirectional, meaning that messages are sent both ways; from our brain to our gut, but also from our gut to our brain.
Our Gut Bacteria Talk to Our Brain
Now, here's what's really interesting. It's not just a nerve connection from our gut to our brain. The bacteria that live inside our intestines actually send messages to our brain. So even though the bacteria isn't us, they don't have our DNA, they still influence our decisions.
Here's how it works. Gut bacteria produce things called metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, serotonin, and dopamine. In fact did you know that 90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut? So our mental health and mood is affected by the state of our gut. And not just a slight difference. 90% of our serotonin, which is the feel good neurotransmitter, comes from our gut, so that's an enormous influence!
Studies have shown that the microbiome in our gut affects depression, anxiety, appetite and even cravings for certain foods.
Harness Our Gut to Help
Ok so that's all very interesting, but now how do we use this to our advantage?
Well, the bacteria in our gut is not the same for everyone. It varies from person to person and it changes depending on what we eat. And there are good bacteria that are vital for us to get the nutrients we need from our food. And there is bad bacteria as well.
But the bacteria will only survive if we feed them the particular food that they thrive on. And to achieve that, they condition you to crave that particular food that will support their growth. For example, bacteria that thrive on sugar will try and enhance cravings for sugary foods. So you may think that you were born with a sweet tooth, and that there's nothing you can do about it. But it may not be in your genetics, it may just be because of the particular bacteria in your gut that has been nurtured your whole life and continues to give you the sugar cravings for it's own survival!
So, how can we break this cycle? Well, we need to find a way to swap out our bacteria. And you can actually do this . If you don’t feed the bad bacteria, they will die out, and then if you provide food to the good bacteria, they will increase. now if you had incredible self-control, you could just stop eating all the bad food and immediately eat all the good food, and over time it would change. But that's a lot of hard work, most of us aren’t like that, and this video was about changing our diet so that it feels effortless and that’s not an effortless way.
How to Change Our Gut Bacteria
Now, the thing to note is it takes up to 2 weeks to build up the new beneficial bacteria, so the key is to make gradual, sustainable changes to your diet. Don't focus on trying to cut out the bad food. That's the hard way. Just add say, a few more vegetables than whatever you're already eating. Eat more of them in a way that's as tasty as possible, without worrying too much about whether the sauces or extras are ideal. The main thing is to start increasing the amount of the gut bacteria that feed on that good stuff.
Then as you start eating more of this good food, there'll be less room for the bad, and those bad bacteria will gradually reduce and you'll find that your cravings will lessen, without you having to try hard to resist those foods. Over time, you will change the content and quality of your microbiome in your gut. This new bacteria will be wanting to be fed by the good healthy food, and you'll find that you'll really look forward to this healthy food, and you simply won't have the desire for those bad foods that you used to crave.
Prove it for Yourself
Do you want to try an experiment for yourself? Cabbage is a really good one to start with. It's such a healthy cheap food and has lots of fiber, and polyphenols and great nutrients. But people hesitate to eat it because they complain that the cabbage gives them gas or makes them bloated. But that happens if you don't have to right bacteria in your gut to digest it. So instead, try this. Just start taking a little bit of it each day, and gradually increase it over a couple of weeks. Make it as tasty as possible. You can make are really nice coleslaw, or there's a really simple Irish recipe called colcannon, where you cook it with mashed potatoes and onion. Do whatever it takes to make it enjoyable to eat.
In a short time, you’ll be able to see the difference. If you've had digestive issues with it in the past, then after a couple of weeks you can have plenty of cabbage without any problems, you’ll start to see for yourself that your gut has actually changed. You'll also find that you look forward to eating it more and more. And because you're eating it more, you'll have less appetite for the other things. That will cause the bad bacteria to dwindle and it won't be able to make you crave the unhealthy foods as much.
So you don't have to torture yourself in resisting cravings and failing and giving it. You can effortlessly direct what cravings you're going to have by letting your gut drive your taste buds and appetite. It will take far less effort to eat the right food and you’ll find you really enjoy eating good healthy food.
Gut Microbiota's Effect on Mental Health: The Gut-Brain Axis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/
Gut Microbes and the Brain: Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4228144/
Diet-Induced Extinctions in the Gut Microbiota Compound Over Generations
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16504