Gut healthy food

[Preety_India]

I have been eating mostly rice. 

I need to focus on gut healthy foods 

 

 

[Preety_India]

I'm kinda addicted to milkshake now. 

Last night I drank 5 packs of milkshake all at once 

After an hour I felt a bit heavy. 

Now I'm feeling weird and sleepy 

I probably shouldn't have done that. 

 

Mistake. 

 

It's very hard for me give up on anything that tastes sweet. 

 

[Preety_India]

This thread. Uff 

 

[Preety_India]

Noting down all this here. 

 

 

9 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

I think I would start with investigating what are the foods that are irritating. If you suspect you are allergic or intolerant to some foods there are always tests that can be done by a doctor. Nothing that is painful and regular should be ignored. 

 

Moving on the gut-beneficial foods. I think what you want to focus on are: 

1. Foods that provide food to your microbiota (billions of microbes in your intestines) - these are called prebiotics (with e)
2. Foods that improve bacterial count and colony size - these are called probiotics (with o) 
3. Foods that do not kill your microbiota needlessly 
4. Foods that support production of short-chain fatty acids by supplying Microbiota Accessible Carbohydrates 
5. Foods that support the integrity of the gut epithelium 
6. Foods that do not create toxic byproducts in the gut 
7. Foods that support the speed of transit, increase the bulk of the stool and reduce the risk of complex diseases such as colorectal cancer. 

So the best food are those that @BlackMaze already mentioned. Fruits, vegetables and legumes + I'd add whole grains. The reason being they are prebiotics. They feed your microbiota and as long as your army of microbes is happy, your gut is happy and you will be happy. All fruits, all vegetables, lentils, beans, chickpeas as well as wholegrian products that are not processed such as barley, buckwheat, quinoa, oat, millet, wild rice, brown rice, teff and so on. Basically, the definition of having a healthy gut is to have a healthy diversity of your microbiota with as many beneficial colonies as possible. 

Another beneficial category are probiotic foods. These contain bacteria that grew during the process of fermentation. They are helpful because they help your gut produce more protective mucous and they support the integrity of intestinal walls protecting you from health problems. Some of the examples are: kefir (not for vegans), miso, natto, tofu, tempeh, sauerkraut, pickles, pickled olives (ideally without salt), any probiotic yoghurts (not for vegan), any fermented fruits or vegetables available in your country (without chemical additives)  

Other than that specific foods with strong prebiotic content are: apples (pectin), mushrooms (mannan), onions (inulin), soy beans (isoflavones), wheat germ (arabinoxylan), sea weeds (porphyran). Other good examples are leek, garlic, carrots, garden peas, barley and rye. 

In terms of what's bad for your gut: 

• processed meats and beef (eaten more than once a week)
• anything too salty 
• processed foods loaded with sugar and chemistry 
• fizzy drinks loaded with sugar 
• cakes, pastries and refined grains 
• alcohol, tobacco, chronic stress 
• any unnecessary antibiotics and most of the over the counter drugs 
• any foods that are past their "good to be eaten" time especially animal foods.

Hopefully that's helpful