The Importance of Our Gut Health
Let’s be honest, “eat more fibre” is only marginally better than “Get more roughage down you,’ which was what my mother was constantly telling me as a child. She was right. Nevertheless, my slightly green-tinged soda chunks of bread make the other kids at school stare. I would look on enviously at their floppy white marmite or cheese sandwiches in envy. Occasionally I would try and swap an organic homegrown heirloom apple for a wham bar. No one ever wanted to swap my crunch apple for the electric pink fizzy plastic-wrapped treat, no matter what other things I offered to throw into the bargain.
What I realised when I created BALM was that the fibre had to be there, but not necessarily in the brown-worthy heavy fibre that made bread boring and hard work. What we need is sexy fibre, and not just one kind .. a blend, so gorgeous, fragrant and unctuous. This, when I developed the system, can be layered.
Bread and Guts: Fibre – the ingredient that binds us together.
There is no getting away from the “discovery of the gut microbiome, and now that guts have become sexy, .. think Tim Spector and Will Bulsiewicz then we have to consider the role and diversity of microbes living in the human gut,
BALM was originally solely focused on approaching bread and getting my students to change their understanding of bacteria radically. From an early age, we’re taught that bacteria and other microorganisms cause diseases and that we should take precautions to limit our exposure to them. But now, studies of the human digestive system and the microbes living within it are suggesting that, far from being agents of disease, many species of microbes are, in fact, integral to our overall health.
I spend a significant amount of time reading studies on the gut microbiome ( you can read them here if you are interested) from research institutes and universities, as well as researching and talking to healthcare professionals. I’ve found that gut microbiota (the community of microbes living in the intestine) is involved in pretty much every aspect of our health. These microorganisms help protect us against disease, they are essential in making a range of nutrients available to our digestive system, they can neutralise drugs and carcinogens, and they play an important role in maintaining the lining of the gut. A lot of the scientific evidence I’ve been reading suggests that adopting a diet which supports a healthy gut microbiota is a vital step in supporting our own health.
The sheer volume of microbes living in our digestive system is amazing. An individual human can have hundreds of different species of bacteria present in their gut, along with yeasts, viruses and other microbes. There may be ten times more bacteria in the gut than there are living cells in the whole body. Each of us is, in fact, a complex ecosystem, reliant on a community of microbes for many essential body functions. This internal ecosystem is at its most abundant in the colon or large intestine. Many of the studies I’ve been reading indicate that having a diverse range of microbial species in your gut is related to good health. Until recently, this area has been neglected by research, but scientists are now making exciting discoveries that will have implications both for our diets and for future medical treatments.
In addition to aiding our physical health, there is research that suggests the state of gut microbiota could be a factor in our mental health, too. The human digestive system and brain communicate through pathways involving the nerves, immune system and hormones. Scientists have named this the gut–brain axis. Studies have shown that the state of the microbe community in the gut can influence behaviour and mood, and more recently, a link has been found suggesting that metabolic diseases and inflammation caused by imbalances in the digestive system are involved in the development of dementia.
Bread That Supports Gut Diversity
The community of microbes present in the gut is established early on in life. There is evidence that the process begins before birth when microbes are transferred from mother to baby via the placenta. Scientists think that around about the time of weaning, our individual gut ecosystem begins to stabilise, and once this happens, any further changes will be relatively minor. But research is beginning to show that maintaining this healthy gut microbiota is largely down to diet and other aspects of our lifestyle. Most people are omnivores, eating a wide range of foods that in turn support a diverse variety of microbes. This is important because a growing number of studies indicate that healthy individuals have high levels of gut microbe diversity.
So what should you be eating to support the diversity of microbes in your gut and optimise the health benefits they present? Simply put, your gut microbiota needs a variety of food to survive. Fibre has been shown to be especially important. Dietary fibre forms an important food source for many of the bacteria in the gut. The benefits of fibre are twofold. Firstly, it is a food source for many of the bacterial species that are able to digest it, releasing nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable to our digestive systems. But if there is too little fibre in our diets, the gut bacteria begin to damage the mucus lining of the large intestine. This compromises the gut lining and means that undigested proteins (seen as pathogens) can get into the bloodstream. These proteins may then trigger an immune system response and inflammation. The role of healthy and diverse gut microbiota in protecting against autoimmune diseases seems particularly relevant, as we are seeing diagnoses of these disorders increasing exponentially.
We must nourish, not feed, people
We need to use the understanding of the link between the gut microbiome and the brain to change the way we approach bread. Fibre in bread is deliverable to 98% of homes in the UK and it is one of the lowest cost foods.
Poor quality food underpins social inequality, and as you begin to understand the gut and the way it works, it becomes clear that it is not possible to function properly if we are not able to support our own physiological health and manage our blood sugars. When we have low blood sugar, tempers are frayed. Right now, we need to make sure that the politicians who are making big decisions on climate change and our bodies are not making them on empty bellies and senselessly – we must feed them. We must nourish, not feed, people so that they can think correctly.
Malnutrition is a condition with harmful effects on the gut microbiome and brain integrity, resulting in an increased risk of anxiety, cognitive deficiency, mental disorders, impaired mood and sleep issues. In lower-income communities, findings confirm that these households purchase foods of lower nutritional quality (fewer fruits and vegetables and more sugary beverages) compared to higher-income households due to higher food prices for higher-quality foods.
We also know that certain aspects of the Western diet – those high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and low in whole foods and wholegrains – have been shown to decrease health-promoting bacteria important to microbiome function, increasing harmful bacteria and promoting inflammation. People also reached for more UPFs during the COVID-19 lockdown in contrast to pre-pandemic times, because of the pandemic’s impact on household economy, reducing food affordability and thus food quality.
Fibre and Brain Function
Calories from wheat bread make up most diets as the third most widely consumed staple food. When we process our foods to make them more appealing to our palates and extend their shelf life, we discard the nutrients that support brain structure. Ground-breaking research published last year looked at how dietary fibre deficiency can affect brain function in a mouse model. Three different experiments were run in the study. The first one was run to mimic a sustained low fibre intake in humans using sixty mice – half were fed a ‘control diet’ containing 20 per cent dietary fibre (by weight) derived from plant sources, and the other group of mice received a ‘fibre-deficient diet’ high in sucrose and simple starches. The mice were examined at one of two time points: seven days (short term) or fifteen weeks (long term). Rapid changes in the gut were seen early in the experiment with the short-term fibre-deficient diet group before any cognitive impairments were observed. The long-term diet mice were put through tests on building (how well they organised a nest when supplied with the material) and memory (remembering the location and order of objects). Not surprisingly, the low-fibre group performed poorly on both tests and exhibited gut microbiota dysbiosis – Bacteroidetes phylum was decreased, and the organisms in the Proteobacteria phylum increased – which is significantly linked to cognitive deficits.
Furthermore, the mice showed leaky guts and reduced short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production (bacterial metabolites that play an important role in gut–brain communication and function) – both of which contribute to neuroinflammation. To test the correlation of SCFAs on cognitive decline, the researchers did a second experiment, repeating the procedures above but adding a third group of mice fed a low-fibre diet with the addition of a liquid SCFA cocktail. After fifteen weeks, the results of this experiment showed that SCFA supplementation prevented fibre-deficiency-induced cognitive decline. In the end, the researchers hope to show the proven benefits of added fibre in our diets as a protective measure in the development of diet-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Fibre – the ingredient that binds us together.
According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2020, nearly two-thirds (65%) of Americans say the federal government is not doing enough to address key aspects of the environment, from protecting water or air quality to reducing the effects of climate change. This includes developing alternative sources of energy over the expansion of fossil fuel sources. Results from a recent Bain & Company survey show similar numbers among European consumers – 80% say they are concerned about sustainability, and 87% would pay more for products made in an environmentally and socially responsible way.
Our current food environment is structured in such a way that it actively and effectively encourages unhealthier choices because there is a strong commercial incentive for the food industry to ensure highly processed products are purchased, which also encourages overconsumption.
According to the UK government’s own estimates, the NHS spent £6.1 billion on diet-related ill health in 2014–2015, and will potentially spend £9.7 billion by 2050, while the overall cost of obesity to wider society is estimated at £27 billion. It’s time for the government to be held accountable, provide resources and enforce the right legislation to put food policy on the political plate.
Consumers and bakers have the power to demand socially responsible and nutritious products. This could lead to manufacturers bringing new, healthy products to market, motivating investors to fund companies producing these types of products, and empowering farmers to adopt agricultural practices to meet health and nutritional needs. It could also put pressure on governments to lay down the right food regulations (e.g. removing harmful chemicals associated with health risks) and agricultural incentives (focusing on soil health, a reduction in chemical use, correct crop placement and encouraging agroforestry are just a few of the examples outlined by the Soil Association for how governments can help).
Children
Many children do not consume enough wholegrains, which could impact their health adversely. What’s more, children are increasingly eating ultra-processed foods, such as breakfast cereals and industrially-made bread – all of which contain less fibre and fewer nutrients than their wholegrain counterparts.
A study by Imperial College London found that UPFs, including mass-produced packaged bread, make up 40% of children’s dietary intake in grams and 60% of their calories. Worse still, the higher the proportion of UPFs they consume, the greater their risk of becoming overweight or obese.
In light of this, researchers and governments alike are constantly seeking new, innovative ways to encourage better nutritional choices in the foods children eat. In one Dutch study, researchers investigated whether the shape of bread rolls could influence children’s food choices for the better, nudging them towards wholewheat bread over white. To this end, the research team provided twelve schools with an assortment of white and wholewheat bread rolls, some ‘fun’ shaped and others ‘normal’ shaped. The children were allowed to pick as they pleased. Interestingly, presenting fun-shaped wholewheat bread rolls almost doubled the consumption of wholewheat bread, especially when the simultaneously presented white bread rolls had a regular shape. Overall, the study suggests that presenting healthy food options in entertaining or novel ways may help nudge children towards eating more wholegrains, thereby levelling the playing field in the fight against refined, ultra-processed alternatives.
In another study deciphering two years of dietary intake data of 2,723 subjects (aged one and a half to ninety-four years) who took part in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), researchers were able to identify 915 commercially produced foods and beverages that qualified for fibre enrichment. Upon analysis of the intake, it was concluded that twice as many children (aged ten and younger) and 50% more adults could potentially meet daily fibre requirements, showing the potential public health benefits of reformulating food products.
We must strive for a future where everyone has access to foods that are affordable and nutritious and produced in a manner that restores and protects the planet with zero food waste: a future where farmers have the right resources, knowledge, recognition and incentive for growing food aimed at human health and environmental sustainability.
