Happy Gut, Healthy Weight

We live in an era where human kind has developed more diets than have ever been known to mankind. The irony is that, on this journey of evolution, we are now the heaviest in size known to mankind. - Dr Arun Dhir, Health and Wellness Reformist, Gastro Intestinal Surgeon Is your microbiome in good shape? The answer lies in the balance of “bad bacteria” versus “good bacteria.” The bugs in our gut are like those in a rain forest, forming a diverse and interdependent ecosystem. For our system to stay resilient and function optimally, our gut must contain a higher ratio of gut-friendly “bugs” to outnumber those that are harmful. In fact, a healthy gut contains a balance of about 85% goodies and 15% baddies. When these microbes are kept at this ratio, our body and mind perform at peak efficiency: our immune system functions at full force, our heart works better, our brain is sharper, our moods are more even-keeled and cheerful, and, importantly for our discussion at hand, our metabolism – the engine of life – works at peak efficiency to help us burn calories so that we can maintain our normal weight. Unfortunately, the modern diet of processed food, high sugar – bad bacteria thrive on sugar! – high stress, little exercise, overuse of drugs/medications, and especially antibiotics (which kill not only bad bacteria, but disease-fighting “friendly” bacteria, as well) results in a microbiome that becomes home to many billions of potentially dangerous bacteria, fungi, yeast, and pathogens that set up a cascade of inflammation. And inflammation – as we will see in Chapter 2 – is the seat of all of our modern-day killers: cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, and obesity. As we pay the price of civilization with disease, the roots of this suffering could be traced to a poor gut microbiome and poor gut health. Highly processed foods (pre-packaged foods, not the way nature made them) change our microbiome and upset the balance. This is where, in comparison to our forefathers, the microbiome of a modern Westerner can be seen as not only out of balance, but less diverse, too. The Microbiome: The Driver of Your Metabolism Do you know that your body has potential energy that could fuel the power needs of an entire city for at least a week? Yes, you heard me right! A week’s worth of energy, the amount needed to run a city, is stored within this powerhouse – your amazing body. Within your body rests an amazing nuclear reactor that allows energy to be effortlessly derived from the raw materials – otherwise known as food – and which provides fuel for the body’s machinery. Ultimately, the interplay between our genome (Good genes vs. Bad genes), our microbiome (Balanced vs. Imbalanced), and the neurobiome (mental state – relaxed vs. stressed) makes up the determinant of our biological destiny. While we humans are not subjected to the experiments we subject animals to in a laboratory, we do in a very real way live in this huge laboratory called life. So, here’s to your health and wellness as you unlock the doors to your best self and also tap into the power of your gut microbiome – taking inspiration from the concepts in this book.