Your gut should be as diverse as the fauna of a pristine forest

Your gut is both a resilient and a very sensitive ecosystem. Currently in Denmark we have a lot of focus on biodiversity in gardens, large areas of land and forests, and ultimately this is also what we need to focus on in our gut.

The deepest dark forest

Our gut should be as diverse and lush as the deepest dark forest, and you can influence the fauna in yours. Just as a gardener plants a variety of flowers that support biodiversity, you can also influence your gut ecosystem by adding a special biodiversity-creating plant food, either in the form of what you eat or the supplements you take.

Let's quickly clarify what the pristine forest is - because if you think of a forest in the suburbs of the big city or the forest that is farmed for hunting in your local area, then it is far from what your gut should imitate. In Denmark we do not know of completely pristine forests, as they do in, for example, Sweden or Finland. The Danish forests are gradually becoming more like your gut after a good round of antibiotics - washed out and boring.

Keep track of your forest's fauna

In the forest, plants play a major role in determining which animal species settle, visit, or avoid. The same applies to your gut. A large and vigorous plant growth in a lush forest will result in a wide diversity of wildlife.

Imagine taking a walk in a lush forest where you can barely see through the thickets and bushes for bare vegetation. You walk on a path and look up at the sky where the sun's rays just barely break through the treetops to give a small ray of warmth and light - doesn't that sound wonderful? Okay... It's not quite the same in your gut. The only place you can look out of your gut isn't exactly a place known for the sun shining in.

In a figurative sense, you can easily compare the two. Your gut should be diverse with bacteria that inhabit your gut. The distribution and type of fauna you have in your gut will be at the expense of the plant species you add via diet or supplementation in the form of prebiotic ingredients that the different gut bacteria each benefit from. This is where you can control, to a greater or lesser extent, which types of bacteria should be planted and be the lion king of your gut.

Meet the forest fauna

We have previously written about the influence of gut bacteria on weight , the immune system , and your mood . Now it's time for you to meet the gut bacteria that can have this previously mentioned influence, and find out what you can do to plant your forest in the best possible way.

Bifidobacterium
When we talk about cognitive performance, we cannot ignore bifidobacterium. This bacterium is increased, among other things, by consuming a diet rich in anthocyanins (1) and flavanols (2). You can incorporate these phytochemicals into your diet by, for example, eating blueberries (3) and/or green and blue grapes with seeds (4)(5) which we also use in FOKUS .

Akkermansia
This intestinal bacteria has, among other things, an influence on your weight and your cravings. Studies show that people who are overweight often have low levels of Akkermansia (6). In addition, there is a connection between poor insulin absorption in the cells, i.e. high blood sugar levels, and low levels of Akkermansia in the intestine, which is being studied extensively in relation to the development of diabetes (6). If you want to give Akkermansia the opportunity to thrive in your intestine, it may be beneficial to have a diet rich in flavanols and alkaloids. For example, we use flavanols from cocoa in our product MÆT .

Prevotella
If you want to increase the population of this intestinal bacteria, you can benefit from consuming foods rich in flavanols (7) and polysaccharides (8). As previously mentioned, flavanols can come from cocoa, as we have used in MÆT . You can get the polysaccharides, for example, from the beta-glucans in oats. We have chosen to use oats in RO and FOKUS , as there are many studies that indicate that these phytochemicals that increase prevotella (9) can also reduce anxiety (7).

Ruminococcus
In the fight for a stronger immune system, the gut microbiota often focuses on ruminococcus – and for good reason. This gut bacterium produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) (10) as a waste product, which is quite healthy for our gut and an important building block of the immune system (10). If you want to increase the population of this gut bacterium, you can benefit from eating more foods with proanthocyanidins, lignans, beta-glucans (11) and alkaloids (12). In IMMUN , we have added orange peel, chicory and turmeric as a source of these, among other things.

Eubacterium
Another gut bacterium linked to the immune system is eubacterium. In addition to being increased by polysaccharides (13), it can also be increased by foods rich in flavonoids (14) (15). If you want to find these phytochemicals in your food, look for ingredients such as apples (16), beets (17) and whole grains (18). At IMMUN , we have used ingredients such as blueberries and orange peel to promote this gut bacterium.

Diversity and Fertilization

What is important for your gut and its fauna is not just that you fertilize it but that you make sure to offer it as many different types of prebiotic ingredients as you possibly can, as they all have an influence on and attract different fauna. For example, if you ONLY fertilize bifidobacteria (or even take bifidobacteria as a probiotic supplement), you risk that, for example, akkermansia cannot thrive, which reduces your chance that your brain receives all the signals that these bacteria can send via the brain-gut axis and thus can have a good influence on your health.

Always make sure that your diet and intestinal supplements have taken into account the various "bio-actors" - or if we continue in forest terminology, you must make sure that the fertilizer you throw into the forest not only benefits the trees and animals that you are most concerned about, but also the small animals and plants that provide a good overall climate.

When choosing tonight's dish, it's important that you don't choose the same vegetables or foods that you always use – for example, try replacing grated carrots with pan-fried asparagus once in a while.

However, always remember to listen to your body and pay attention to the signals it is sending you. There is a good chance that these signals are coming from your inner forest.
TRUST YOUR GUT.