We have all heard about probiotics, prebiotics, and how there are trillions of bacteria that live in your gut. But no one is talking about how to keep the bacteria in your gut healthy. You might be wondering why you should even care if your gut bacteria are healthy. Well, that's because if your gut bacteria are healthy, you will be healthy. How is this? Allow me to explain. First, you have to understand that the bacteria in your gut have a metabolism, just like you and me. They are eating food, excreting waste, and producing by-products that our body absorbs....that's right, they live in you so your body naturally absorbs these by-products. So what are the by-products? That depends on the type of bacteria....and there are approximately 100 trillion bacteria and thousands of different types of bacteria (or so it is thought, no exact numbers on the different types have been determined yet). What we do know is that there are "good" bacteria that produce beneficial by-products that make us healthier, and "bad" bacteria whose by-products make us sick.

So the real question is, how do we make it so we have more good bacteria than bad bacteria? That is determined by what you feed the bacteria, and what you feed them is determined by what you feed yourself. Foods that feed your good bacteria contain fiber, like fibrous vegetables and some fruits. The bad bacteria tend to feast more on sugars, but they can eat some of the fiber too. That is why a low sugar diet helps to keep the bad bacteria in check. A variety of vegetables including different families of vegetables will ensure you are feeding the variety of good bacteria in your gut. 

The chiropractor and healthcare provider at GreenLife Wellness is well versed in educating people on this issue. The next time you sit down for a meal, think about whether or not it will be beneficial for the bacteria in your gut. So now eating vegetables isn't just good for you, it's also good for the bacteria in your gut that keep you healthy.