Gut Health: part 3
“All disease begins in the gut” Hippocrates of Kos, the father of modern medicine
Of the 250,000 known edible plant species, we generally use less than 200 in our diet. 75% of the world’s food comes from just 12 plants and 5 animal species. Because we eat such a narrow range of foods, it means our gut bacteria also live on a restricted diet to what they have evolved to be fed, and consequently the range of species in our gut are on the decline.
When you combine this with the amount of emulsifiers (which are like a detergent) and chemicals that are added to processed foods to extend their shelf life, this further reduces gut microbial richness, directly contributing to obesity, colitis and diabetes.
It is obviously better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables as much as possible, but as that is not always practical, why not check out the number of ingredients on the back of packets. Generally anything with more than 3 or 4 ingredients is likely to have an element of additional processing such as salt, preservative or sugars which should be avoided.
