How to Build Healthy Gut Flora for Better Sleep

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

The Gut Clock – How Gut Bacteria Can Wreck Your Circadian Rhythm

Over the past few years we’ve discovered just how important having good gut bacteria is to overall health.

Considering that our guts are home to diverse communities of over 30 trillion of these microbes, it makes sense that they play key roles in digestion, inflammation, immune response, weight, and even the development of colon cancer.

But a question has remained: How far does their influence over our health reach? As it turns out, pretty far. Research is now showing that our gut microbes can affect our circadian rhythms, which can alter our behavior, mood, energy levels, and gastrointestinal health.

What is the Circadian Rhythm?

The term circadian rhythm refers to what is essentially our “body clock.” This internal clock, which is present in almost all living organisms, is responsible for regulating sleep and wake cycles, hunger and satiety, hormone balance, and behavior.

The circadian rhythm is driven by a master clock located in our brains called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is connected to other “peripheral” clocks located in different organs like the liver, as well as the gut.

This master clock runs on a 24-hour schedule by receiving cues from our environment, such as light, darkness and food.

When things are running smoothly and our circadian rhythm isn’t disturbed by artificial night lights or a bad diet, our bodies naturally feel well-rested and happy. When our circadian rhythms are disrupted, however, our health can go south quickly.

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What Does the Gut Have To Do With Sleep?

Researchers have discovered that our gut bacteria actually have their own circadian rhythm, and that these have a major influence over ours.

In essence, these microbiota influence our bodies by moving around our intestines every 24 hours, coming into contact with different intestinal cells that regulate genes and biochemical processes, such as fatty acid production. The bacteria touching these cells cause them to send signals to our master and peripheral clocks, which then have an effect on our health and behavior.

When our gut microbes are disrupted, it throws a wrench in our circadian rhythm, while disruptions in our circadian rhythm also disturb our gut microbes. It is essentially a continuous feedback loop between us, our environment, and our microbes.

This is also one explanation for why we see links between gut disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and night shift workers, who are constantly disrupting their gut microbes and, consequently, their circadian rhythms.

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How Food and Light Exposure Affect Your Gut Clock

Light exposure has a huge effect on circadian rhythm. After all, the reason you feel sleepy when it gets dark outside is directly due to your circadian rhythm regulating your melatonin levels. This interaction with light is so powerful that studies have shown just shining a small amount of light on the back of a person’s knee is enough to affect their body clock.

However, research is now showing that another factor may be just as important as light in regulating circadian rhythm, and it’s diet. Of course, we also know that our diet and gut bacteria are closely tied. High-fat, high-carb processed food diets severely disrupt the circadian rhythm of gut bacteria.

For instance, research shows that high-fat, high-carb processed food diets severely disrupt the circadian rhythm of gut bacteria.

In one study researching mice, this disruption caused their metabolisms to fall apart, leading to high cholesterol and obesity.

On the other hand, diets low in inflammatory fats and processed carbs, and high in Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants help bring circadian rhythms into balance.

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What Happens When Your Circadian Rhythm is Disrupted?

Since our gut bacteria and circadian rhythm are so intertwined, it’s easy to see how unhappy gut bacteria could keep us up at night – or worse.

Some of the other scary side effects of a disrupted circadian rhythm due to a bad diet, or disturbed sleep, include:

• Increased risk of developing or aggravating gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or peptic ulcer disease.

• Accelerated aging.

• Tumor growth and formation in the liver and gastrointestinal tract.

• Obesity.

As you have probably noticed, most of these side effects are related to the health of your intestines and bacteria. Even your liver is affected by your gut bacteria, since the rhythms of cells in the liver are influenced by circadian rhythms. These effects truly remind us of the fact that the body is a holistic system.

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How to Keep Your Gut Happy and Sleep Better

According to research, it really does seem that happy gut bacteria equals a happier you. Or, at least, one that sleeps better and has more energy during the day.

Knowing this, it makes sense to nourish these bacteria as best as you can throughout the day.

Below are some tips to help you get your gut bugs and circadian rhythm back on track:

• Add in more fermented foods to your diet like sauerkraut, kombucha, coconut water kefir, non-dairy yogurts, and kimchi.

• Invest in a probiotic supplement.

• Feed your good gut bacteria with prebiotic foods like Jerusalem artichokes, cooked and cooled sweet potatoes, green bananas and plantains.

• Consume raw honey to help get rid of bad bacteria.

• Switch to natural shampoos, soaps, and household cleaners, as chemicals can affect your gut microbes.

Some other ways to avoid disrupting your gut bugs and circadian rhythm are to avoid lights from electronics after sunset or an hour before bed, and to try to get on a wake/sleep schedule with the sunrise.

Of course this isn’t possible for everyone, but even going to bed and getting up at the same time throughout the week will help your body adapt to a schedule.

Also, try and eat at the same time every day and avoid snacking too late at night or eating at erratic times. This will help your gut bacteria get on a regular feeding schedule.

Sticking with these tips will help you build healthy gut flora that also helps you sleep better and wake up refreshed.

Watch this video – How to optimize your gut and brain bacteria | Dave Asprey | Big Think

Written by Megan Patiry

Author Bio:

Megan is an inquisitive nutrition and wellness writer harboring an editorial love affair with the decadent and the nutritious. She is a dedicated researcher in all areas of ancestral health, a certified specialist in fitness nutrition, personal trainer, and professional almond milk latte addict.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

How the American Diet Affects Gut Bacteria and Weight

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

How an American Diet Changes Gut Bacteria, Linking to Obesity

New studies find that immigrants coming to America experience damaging changes in their gut bacteria. 

Researchers discovered that the gut bacteria of immigrants is altered for the worse once they adopt an American diet – even when they’re coming from third world countries. The theory that diet affects gut bacteria has been widely researched, but these new studies give us crucial insight into how certain foods affect our own microbiome.

Here’s what this connection between diet and gut bacteria could mean for your own health.

How the American Diet Alters Gut Bacteria

To find out how immigration impacts overall health, the University of Minnesota conducted a study tracking several generations of Hmong and Karen people immigrating to the U.S. from the rural regions of Thailand and China.

Originally, these immigrants’ native Southeast Asian diet consisted mostly of boiled vegetables and rice. After adopting a new American diet higher in sugar, processed carbs, fat, and protein, they experienced a six-fold increase in obesity, along with a 10 percent loss in gut bacteria diversity.

Scientists were surprised by how rapidly these gut changes occurred. In just one generation, Hmong women who immigrated to the U.S. went from an obesity rate of 5 percent to over 30 percent.

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Why Diversity in the Gut is So Important

The shift in gut bacteria diversity is one of the most important findings of this study. In fact, the newly obese immigrants lost roughly 10 percent of their microbial diversity.

People in developing nations naturally harbor a more diverse gut microbiome than those living in America. When they relocate to the U.S., these immigrants increase their odds of metabolic disease.

However, it’s not just the diversity of gut bacteria that seemed to cause a problem, but also the types of flourishing bacteria. For instance, the study found that the Western strain Bacteroides displaced the non-Western bacteria strain Prevotella in just six to nine months.

Scientists believe that Prevotella aids in the digestion of native fiber-rich foods, like tamarind, konjac, and coconut. When the strain is no longer “fed”, it dies off.

While neither of these strains appears to be better or worse than the other, it seems that when certain strains are “dominant” without a balanced blend of other strains, the risk of obesity increases.

Aside from conditions like metabolic disorders and obesity, a lack of microbiome diversity can also impact your immune system.

Studies show that gut bacteria play a huge role in protecting us from pathogens, as well as helping our bodies extract nutrients from foods. This means that we should consider whether the lack of certain nutrients from not having the right types of gut bacteria could also be playing a role in obesity.

A lack of good gut bacteria is also associated with chronic inflammation, which can lead to issues like inflammatory bowel diseases and obesity. It seems that inflammation stemming from a lack of certain bacteria could be causing problems as well.

Why Environment Matters Too

Many of these studies focus specifically on how the American diet influences gut bacteria. However, we should also consider the impact of an American environment on gut bacteria.

For example, the chemicals we use in household cleaners, drinking water, and even cosmetics can alter our bacteria for the worse. That means your gut bacteria can be disrupted by so much more than what you are or aren’t eating.

On the positive side, studies show that gardening can have a positive impact on gut bacteria. The diversity of bacteria in soil can add more diversity to your microbiome over time, and simply having contact with the earth (also known as “earthing”) reduces inflammation and stress, which can improve the overall health of your gut bacteria.

How to Improve Gut Bacteria Diversity

Maintaining a healthy diversity of gut bacteria plays a huge role in helping to keep healthy. 

Here are a few suggestions on how to diversify your microbiome:

Eat plenty of probiotics from fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, non-dairy yogurts, and coconut kefir.

Enjoy a wide variety of veggies, greens, and fruits.

Try gardening several days a week, or walking outside barefoot on soil or grass.

Switch to all-natural household cleaners, shampoos, and body care products.

Try taking probiotic supplements.

Eat prebiotic foods that “feed” good bacteria, like taro root, chicory, and Jerusalem artichokes.

Avoid processed foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners.

Read – 4 Simple Steps to Fix Your Gut Bacteria Imbalance, and then try these 3 HEALING VEGAN RECIPES ‣‣ for better gut health.

Watch this video – How Your Gut Bacteria Affects Your Weight and Health

The Bottom Line

While we all know that diet affects gut bacteria, the typical “American” diet may cause more damage than we thought. In fact, as these immigration studies reveal, an “Americanized” gut could result in obesity or other health issues.

Still, scientists don’t know what comes first. Does an unhealthy diet make you obese and change your microbiome, or does your diet change your microbiome, leading to obesity?

While more research is needed, one thing is for certain: an American diet harms the gut microbiome. To protect yourself, eat an array of gut-healthy foods to keep a diverse microbiome.

Written by Megan Patiry

Author Bio:

Megan is an inquisitive nutrition and wellness writer harboring an editorial love affair with the decadent and the nutritious. She is a dedicated researcher in all areas of ancestral health, a certified specialist in fitness nutrition, personal trainer, and professional almond milk latte addict.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook