Tips for increasing your microbiome diversity

In the last post we discussed how important microbial diversity is for your gut and overall health. Check out these tools below to help keep yourself healthy!

1. Eat fermented food - such as sauerkraut, plain yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, natto or kefir to reduce inflammation and increase overall gut microbiota diversity
2. Prebiotics and Probiotics - a prebiotic is a fermentable dietary fiber or microbiota-accessible carbohydrate which are supplements of food for the established gut microbiota and probiotics are live bacteria or yeast that can colonize in the gut microbiome. 
3. Sleep - the gut microbiome is highly attuned to the amount of stress you experience therefore by sleeping 6-9 hours a night you can decrease this stress
4. Avoid processed foods - the Western Diet consists of high fat, low fiber and higher in processed food, therefore, the microbiota are not provided with many of the key essential nutrients. Try eating complex, plant based fiber and fermented products  to reduce inflammation and regulate the immune system. 
5. Artificial sweeteners - there are no human studies on the side effects of artificial sweeteners, however, animal models within clinical studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can disrupt the gut microbiome
6. Don’t oversantize your environment - by exposing yourself to more microbes from the environment, your immune system is educated. Remember it’s still important to eliminate the introduction of harmful chemicals and disease causing pathogens

Try to incorporate one or more of these tips into your daily life to improve your gut microbiome!