High in fat and
salt, but low in fiber, vitamins and nutrients, fast food is not good for you.
Thanks to countless scientific studies and documentaries, like Morgan
Spurlock’s Oscar-winning Supersize Me, most people are aware that fast food
contributes to obesity and can cause a wide range of health issues. But what
most people don’t know is how fast food destroys the bacterial community that
resides in your gut.
The Bacteria Battle
Approximately
100 trillion microorganisms live in your gut. These good bacteria keep the
digestive system healthy. When you don’t have enough good bacteria in the gut,
bad bacteria begin to flourish, and the balance is disrupted, leading to a
range of digestive problems.
Dr. Spector
discusses how fast food negatively impacts your gut microbiome in his book, "The
Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat." Spector’s son also put
himself on a diet of just fast food for ten days. After this, his gut
microbiome was stripped of around a third of its 3,500 bacterial species. On
the other hand, the obesity-linked bacteria soared.
So what can you
do?
Many studies
have shown that eating certain foods and avoiding others can improve levels of
good bacteria in the gut.
Foods to Boost Good Bacteria
- Inulin: Inulin
is a type of fiber, found in leeks, wheat, barley and garlic. It promotes the
production of butyrate, which is an acid that feeds cells and regulates
inflammation. It also promotes bifodobacteria, another healthy microorganism.
- Yogurt: The
bacteria that’s found in yogurt, and other fermented foods promotes healthy gut
bacteria. A study that looked at the effect of yogurt on the microbiome of
mice, and discovered it promoted the production of butyrate, which fights
inflammation.
- Caffeine: Many
studies have noted that caffeine boosts good bacteria. One study in 2009
concluded that drinking three cups of coffee per day boosted levels of
bifidobacteria.
- Dark
Chocolate: A study from the University of Reading found that participants that
consumed cocoa extracts for four weeks saw a significant increase in healthy
stomach bacteria.
Foods to Avoid
- High Fat Foods
Diets high in
fat increase bad gut bacteria. A 2014 study looked at the dietary differences
between people living in rural areas of South Africa, and the diets of African
Americans in Pittsburgh.
The African diet
was high in fiber, but low in fat, and it included foods like root vegetables
and cornmeal porridge. On the other hand, the American diet was low in fiber
and high in fat, and included foods like meat and fried foods.
The Africans
were switched to the high fat, low fiber diet, and the Americans were switched
to the low fat, high fiber diet. After just two weeks, of eating a
“westernized” diet, the microbiomes in the African participants only produced around
half of the levels of butyrate they were producing before they started the new
diet.
Levels of a
group of bacteria called bacteroidetes, which have been linked to obesity, also
increased. On the other hand, the Americans doubled their butyrate production
after following the African diet.
- Artificial
Sweeteners
Aspartame and
other artificial sweeteners are linked to an increase in bacteria that are
associated with type 2 diabetes and in the obesity-associated bacteroidetes.