Microbiome refers to the flora and fauna taking up residence in your gut. What? With all the digested goodies down there you didn’t think some living things would evolve to share in the bounty? As it turns out this gut microbiome provides a symbiotic relationship for us, with a variety of health benefits.
The brain health benefits are less known and understood than the benefits from anti-inflammatory and low glycemic diets, but the circumstantial evidence is piling up. Our gut microbiome may be good for the brain because of neurotransmitters those little fellas are producing, their impact on making our immune system more efficient or even curtailing inflammation. It’s all under study still.
In any case you can’t go wrong with a diet that benefits your microbiomes because of the total benefits provided, including an aid for digestion. A microbiome diet can be divided into probiotics, food or supplements that provide the microbiomes, and prebiotics, which is food for the little fellas to feast on. In the probiotic category are foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, miso, kefir, buttermilk and sourdough bread. In the prebiotic category are foods like asparagus, legumes, bananas, oatmeal, honey, maple syrup and red wine. Yes, many prebiotic foods are yummy. I guess the critters in our gut think so, too, so treat both them and yourself.
