I share a lot about gut health. This is one of the main pillars of skin health – and of overall health too, for that matter. It’s simply impossible to achieve your best possible health and well-being without paying attention to what’s going on in your gut. This is why I consider gut health to be one of the Three Pillars of Skin Health.
One of the most crucial aspects of gut health is the microbiome. This is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that call the inside of your digestive tract home. These little guys create all kinds of substances that can influence your health.
Everyone has a gut microbiome, but everyone’s microbiome is different. This is because there are a huge number of potential species that can live inside your gut. Some of these species create substances that benefit you, while others are neutral or even cause harm.
Your gut microbiome is established very early in your life, while you’re still a baby. But that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with whatever happened to find its way into your gut while you were tiny. Actually, you can have a significant impact on the balance of bacteria in your gut by changing your health habits – particularly what you eat.
Many of my clients have spent years trapped in a cycle of unhealthy habits. Now, they’d like to go on a journey of transformation. But they may be worried that it’s too late. Over the years, their microbiome has gotten really used to eating junk food. Is it really possible to reverse these changes? Or are they stuck with the microbiome they’ve been growing for so long?
Can the gut microbiome change?
The great news is that your gut microbiome definitely can change – and this can happen quickly.
In fact, your microbiome is changing all the time. Research has even found that your microbiome shifts throughout the course of each day. This happens in response to the changes in your food intake – different bacteria will grow well after you’ve eaten a meal versus when you’re fasting overnight, for example. Changes in your nervous system and your hormones throughout the day can also impact your gut microbiome.
When you’re going on a journey of transforming your health, your eating habits are often one of the first things you think about changing. So what happens after you change what you eat? How quickly can you expect your microbiome to shift?
One acclaimed study found that it can happen in just a few days. The researchers investigated both a plant-based diet (consisting of plant foods, like cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits) and an animal-based diet (consisting of meat, eggs, and cheese). People in the study followed one of these diets for five days. After a period of once again following their normal diet, they then followed the other study diet for five days. This allowed the researchers to see what happened during each type of diet change, without the lingering effects of the previous diet.
It took just one to two days after changing diets for the microbiome to change as well. This actually makes a lot of sense. Digestion doesn’t happen instantly – it takes some time for food to move through your digestive system and reach your large intestine, where the vast majority of your gut bacteria are living. That explains why a change in diet doesn’t lead to an instant shift in the microbiome. Instead, it takes a day or two.
The changes in microbiome weren’t minor, either. The study found “fold changes” in the numbers of certain types of bacteria. For example, some bacteria were ten times, twenty times, or even fifty times as common on one diet as they were on the other.
This study provides proof that your microbiome responds to what you eat, and this happens quickly. You have a lot of power to influence the balance of bacteria in your gut. If you shift what you eat, your microbiome can change within days.
Furthermore, the changes in your gut microbiome are large enough that you could expect them to have an influence on your overall health. However, in order to get those benefits, you’d need to be consistent with your new diet.
People commonly decide to get healthier, and they make huge changes all at once. But these huge changes often turn out to be unsustainable, and the person doesn’t stick with them. If you go back to your old eating habits, then your gut microbiome will shift right back to where it started – and then you won’t see any real changes in your skin, or in any other aspect of your health.
It’s consistency that will provide you with the health outcomes you’re looking for. Instead of making huge changes (like the people did in the study), make just one or two small changes at a time. After a few weeks, you can add another small change. Over time, you’ll achieve the healthy diet you’re aiming for, but in a way that’s more likely to last. If you can maintain a healthy shift in your microbiome over the long term, that’s when you’ll truly notice a difference in your skin – as well as things like your energy levels and mood.
How can you get a healthier gut microbiome?
So it’s definitely possible to shift your gut microbiome towards a healthier balance. The obvious next question is, “How can I get a healthier gut microbiome?”
The answer isn’t necessarily simple. There are lots of different influences on your microbiome, which means that there are a variety of different things you could do to work towards optimizing it. I talk a ton about this inside Mind Gut Skin Academy.
However, there are certain factors that are particularly crucial for optimizing microbiome health. One of the most important ones is what you eat. Whenever you eat, you’re feeding your gut bacteria too. Making sure that you eat things that will help the healthier species grow will keep your microbiome in a healthy balance.
Here are three ways you can shift what you’re eating for a healthier gut microbiome:
Eat more fiber. Fiber is made up of carbohydrates that your own body can’t digest – but your gut bacteria can. That means that, when you eat fiber, you’re literally feeding your gut bacteria. In fact, research has shown that increasing fiber intake increases the numbers of beneficial species of bacteria in the gut. Fiber is found in plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, and beans.
Eat fermented foods. These are foods that have undergone an aging process using live bacteria, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kombucha, and kefir. When you eat these foods, you’re also consuming the bacteria that were used to process them. This can help to add beneficial bacteria to your microbiome. To get the benefits of fermented foods, you need the bacteria to be alive. Pasteurization kills all the bacteria in the food, so make sure to choose unpasteurized fermented foods. These can be labeled as being “unpasteurized” or as containing “live and active cultures.”
Eat more polyphenols. These are a type of antioxidant. Your digestive system does absorb some polyphenols into your bloodstream, but the majority passes through and becomes available for your gut bacteria to use. Many beneficial species of bacteria can use polyphenols for energy, so eating more of them helps to keep your gut microbiome balanced. Polyphenols are found in lots of delicious foods, including dark chocolate, coffee, tea, berries, and almonds. Besides the beneficial effects of the polyphenols on your gut bacteria, you’ll also get the benefits of eating something you really enjoy!
Support for improving your gut microbiome
If you’d like to shift your gut microbiome to help support better skin health, it can be extremely helpful to have guidance. There are so many different influences on the bacteria in your gut. There’s a lot to think about when you’re trying to optimize your microbiome balance. This is a huge focus of Mind Gut Skin Academy. Inside the program, I share my entire roadmap to great gut health. The brand-new version of the program will be launching soon, and I’m really excited to share it with you.
Not only that, but even once you know what to do, actually doing it – sticking with your plan, in a way that really works in your life – can be challenging. Being connected with others who are also on a journey of transforming their health is often hugely beneficial. You can get helpful tips, ask for advice, or simply seek support as you do the hard work of improving your life. That’s why I’ve put so much effort into creating our communities – they’re beautiful places where women with chronic skin conditions can connect and support each other.
No matter how long you’ve spent trapped in a cycle of unhealthy eating habits, you can change your gut bacteria – and your health. I’ve done this myself. I spent years using food as a coping mechanism, but now I’m healthy, happy, and confident. I’m here to offer you support as you’re on this path.
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