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A Gut Loving Anti-Inflammatory Diet
An anti-inflammatory diet that is good for gut health (as well as whole-body health) consists of one simple group of foods: plants. Whole plant foods that are rich in dietary fibre, and eaten in abundance of diversity and variety.
On the flipside, a PRO-inflammatory diet is one that is heavy in processed foods, animal products and saturated fat.
Let’s have a look how this happens…
SCFAs (Short-Chain Fatty Acids) are compounds produced by our ‘good’ gut microbes when they ferment non-digestible carbohydrates. Prebiotic dietary fibres and resistant starches are the foods they love the most.
SCFAs also:
- regulate inflammatory processes
- protect us from pathogens
- are the main energy source for the cells that line the interior of our colon
- protect the colonic mucus layer from damage that causes ‘leaky gut’
- control some of our metabolic processes
- regulate the pH level of our colon
- may play a role in the prevention and treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and certain cancers
- may influence brain health
Happy days! 💃🏻
TMAO (Trimethylamine N-oxide) is a molecule that is generated by our liver when our ‘bad’ microbes produce TMA (trimethylamine) during the metabolism of animal products, processed foods, energy drinks and supplements containing carnitine.
TMAO also:
- produces inflammatory and immune responses
- is a biomarker for heart disease
- makes you susceptible to atherosclerosis, which is plaque build-up in the arteries of your heart and brain wall
- is a renal toxin and is strongly associated with kidney disease (although it is unclear whether this is due to increased production or reduced elimination)
- may be linked to the development of colorectal cancers
That’s some scary 💩
How are you going to empower your good gut bugs today? Easy! Just eat more plants!
REFERENCES:
- Regulation of Inflammation by Short Chain Fatty Acids, PMID: 22254083
- The role of short-chain fatty acids in health and disease, PMID: 24388214
- The role of short-chain fatty acids in the interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and host energy metabolism, PMID: 23821742
- Implication of Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) in Disease: Potential Biomarker or New Therapeutic Target, PMID: 30275434
- TMAO is both a Biomarker and a Renal Toxin, PMID: 25634968
- Elevation of Trimethylamine-N-Oxide in Chronic Kidney Disease: Contribution of Decreased Glomerular Filtration Rate, PMID: 31683880
- Trimethylamine N-Oxide: The Good, the Bad and the Unknown, PMID: 27834801
