Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome

At the crossroads of our gut microbiota and food lies fermentation. What happens inside a jar of fermenting sauerkraut is a microcosm of what’s happening inside our guts.

Microbial metabolism leads to biochemical transformation of the food. In many cases, the healthy bacteria (let’s call them probiotic) will reward us by molding our food into something that reduces inflammation and promotes health and balance. We call the health-promoting compounds created by our microbes postbiotics. But the opposite can also be tr

And while we’re on the topic, have you ever wondered why we kiss? It’s actually an expression of love to share your microbiome with another person. Every time we kiss we exchange eighty million microbes with our partner, and vice versa.

Celiac is a genetically motivated disease. This means that you must carry the gene for celiac to get it. If you don’t have the gene, you can’t have the disease. About 35 percent of Americans carry the gene for celiac but only 1 percent manifest the disease. In the last fifty years we’ve seen a 500 percent increase in celiac disease. So what explain

In short, probiotics are living bacteria that have been demonstrated to have beneficial qualities to us humans. Prebiotics induce the growth or beneficial qualities of the probiotics. They’re essentially food for the good bugs. Postbiotics are the healthy compounds produced by bacterial metabolism.

What we discovered when we learned to study gut bacteria is a shockingly broad, expansive community of microorganisms that live inside us in harmony, in balance, and with a purpose. We call this community the “gut microbiota.” If we’re referring specifically to the genetic code of this community, then we use the expression “microbiome.” There are f

If you permanently remove a food group, the microbes that thrive on that food will starve into extinction. They are procreating so quickly that the food choices you make in twenty-four hours will alter the evolution of fifty generations of microbes. It doesn’t take days or even weeks to change your microbes; it only takes one bite. But you control

It’s all about the cruciferous veggies, specifically broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. But there is one food that dominates all others in terms of offering more sulforaphane: broccoli sprouts. These are essentially immature broccoli, where the seed has just recently hatched and we have the earliest thing beyond a seed. The

Diversity of plants is the number one predictor of a healthy gut microbiota

F: Fruit & Fermented G: Greens & Grains O: Omega-3 Super Seeds A: Aromatics (onions, garlic) L: Legumes S: Sulforaphane (broccoli sprouts and other cruciferous veggies)