Gut Bacteria & Your Food

Is the food we’re eating on a regular basis the reason why we get sick?

If we change our food, could we change the state of our health?

Can we also affect our moods by making changes in our diet?

I firmly believe we can.

The collective human microbe colony weighs about 1 and a half kilos – as much as our brains! Bacteria outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and live predominantly inside our gut.

Gut bacteria, also known as the Microbiome (pronounced micro.bi.ome) lives off of the food we eat. The problem is that certain foods feed good bacteria and others feed bad bacteria.

We are literally invaded by these organisms, feeding off of everything we ingest.

Have you ever thought about how the food you eat is either contributing to your good health or fuelling your ill health?

Over the last few years gut bacteria has been the subject of curious scientists, exploring the link between the state of our gut bacteria and the state of our health.

As this is a huge focus of my personal and professional work, I’m so pleased that the ABC decided to create a new Catalyst program focusing on the link between the health of our gut (microbiome) and the state of our overall health and moods.

This two part series aired over the last two weeks but if you missed it, I encourage you to put a little time aside this week and watch both episodes, which I’ve included below for you.

Before my diet became a conscious choice of real food, I was often swayed by sweet, salty and tasty foods that were convenient, social and what everyone else was eating around me.

Highly processed and refined foods were the cause of terrible bloating, irregular bowel movements, belching, burping and highly uncomfortable abdominal pain, but back then I had no idea how my gut and health were connected.

Including more fibre from whole, natural foods creates a healthier environment within our microbiome – our gut bacteria. When I changed my diet, I changed my health for the better.

Whole, natural food choices equal healthy, good bacteria. Processed and refined food choices (fast food) equals bad bacteria, ripe for ill health and future disease.

In a nutshell….

[Tweet “Good food choices equal good bacteria. Poor food choice equals bad bacteria.”]

It’s important to become more aware of the food choices you’re making on a daily basis, and if it’s contributing to your health or ill health.

The two part Catalyst series was a wonderful and educational program to help expand this awareness, backed by research. Great info and definitely worth watching to help you understand your own state of health by the food choices that you’re making.

I sincerely hope you make the time to watch these two short programs and learn how you can easily start feeding your bacteria more of the good stuff they need to keep you healthy. [Hint: lots of greens, fruit and vegetables = fibre!]

Part 1 of the Catalyst program on gut health:

Here’s Part Two:

To your Gut Health!

Transformational Coach, Psychotherapeutic Counsellor & Integrative Clinical Therapist
Freedom and Recovery from your Emotional, Weight & Eating Issues