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Hey everyone, Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday. This Monday, I just wanna have a chat about gut health, about metabolic health, and low carb diets. And there are just a number of sort of key points that come to mind when I'm thinking about the interlinking between all three of these. And so I thought I'd just pop them in a Mini Mikkipedia episode for you to mull over for the next sort of week or so.

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So the reason why I thought I'd chat about this is because gut health is key to overall health and that's one of the first things that you need to consider. To my mind, if you've got issues with particularly weight loss or fat loss or of course, digestive issues or any sort of inflammatory condition or autoimmune condition, then taking care

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sort of key to how the rest of the outcomes are going to look. And whilst of course it makes sense if you've got IBS that yes, you're going to have to work on your gut health, but sometimes some of the digestive issues that people have, they don't even really see as being abnormal because they've always had them. Like if you always bloat after a meal, if you always notice that you get gassy after certain foods.

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are and you don't really relate it necessarily to other overall health goals. And of course, I particularly think about fat loss because I work with so many people in that fat loss space. But your gut health can also impact on metabolic health as well. And this is one of the things that I want to chat about today is the types of bacteria that we now know can help enhance our metabolic health. Because it isn't just about, well,

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but it isn't just about being low carb for that. And speaking of low carb, low carb diets often get a bad rap when it comes to overall gut health. But there are features of low carb diet which help enhance gut health. So I just want to, I suppose provide you with a bullet point list of what these features are. So if you are following a low carb diet, then you know the types of things that you should be including

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support your overall gut health. Firstly though, what makes up a healthy gut microbiome? So, a gut microbiome refers to trillions of microorganisms that live in our digestive tract and they include bacteria, viruses, fungi, other microbes, and the balance of these things is

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other health related issues, be it brain related issues, fat loss, metabolic health, the whole lot. Now, there is no one healthy gut microbiome makeup actually. What we do think to be true, and when I say we, I mean the scientists who then inform what we think, practitioners, is that a diverse gut microbiome is healthier than one that is not diverse. But that can look really

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from individual to individual. And that difference comes from ancestral background. So what did your ancestors, what type of environment were they, did they live in, what types of foods did they have available. It's also related to your parents. So the types of foods that they were eating, when you were conceived, what their parents were eating, whether or not they were smokers,

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infection or vaginal birth is going to impact on your gut microbiome. And of course, how many rounds of antibiotics have you been on in your life that's going to affect your gut microbiome. And I think what is true to say is that, you know, our gut microbiome is really transient. So those types of bacteria that can change daily, or at least studies have shown that even four days these gut microbiome can change.

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Whilst you may have some sort of baseline gut health, there are some things that you can do that can impact positively on them. Though I do know that there are people who have struggled their entire life with their gut related health and still it's a consideration for them. So you know, I think it's really individual in that space, but there are certainly things that you can do.

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in your gut that help impact metabolic health. Because of course, gut health is super important, metabolic health so important, because this changes the trajectory of your overall disease risk as we age. Obesity, type two diabetes, neurological conditions, joint pain, how well you handle menopause, perimenopause, all that sort of thing,

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you regulate your blood sugar. And your gut health can play a super important role in that because your gut health impacts on insulin sensitivity. So there are some specific bacteria actually, which I found super interesting, which really play a role in this. Two of the most abundant bacteria in our gut is Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. And you'll probably also recognize these bacteria from their presence on yogurt containers because they are that

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They are found in fermented foods like yogurt. Both of these types of bacterias have been found to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism and help the gut produce something called short-chain fatty acids. These short-chain fatty acids are the type of fuel for your gut bacteria. So that's what makes them an important part of your overall gut health. But there's also a bacteria called acumancia.

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MuCynifera, and I've probably just butchered that, so apologies for that, is it's rather new actually, but this has also been linked to improved insulin sensitivity and reduced inflammation in both animal and human studies. And in some instances has also been found in those preclinical trials to decrease overall weight gain and increase the production of certain hormones that help promote satiety.

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And I don't know about you, but I've actually seen over the last few years, this acomancia bacteria to be advertised as a weight loss product, which is super interesting. Another type of bacteria, probably going to butcher this name as well, Fascella bacterium prosnitzi, could be something completely different, has been shown to decrease inflammation in

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insulin sensitivity in some studies. So these types of bacteria or this type of information provides evidence of the role that the gut has on metabolic health. So if you do struggle with blood sugar regulation, weight gain, inability to lose fat, focusing on your gut health is super

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that these bacteria do help produce something called short chain fatty acids. And I do just want to touch on this briefly. So short chain fatty acids is a type of fuel produced by the bacteria that help fuel your gut bacteria itself. And interestingly, some studies and one in particular has shown that a zero carb diet actually can be protective in that it helped

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these short chain fatty acids and also reduced markers of inflammation. So, and this is what I mean about when you see diet, you see in the media that, you know, low carb diets are negative for gut health. That's not necessarily true. And whilst of course, that was quite an extreme example, this one paper that looked at sort of zero carb diets in relation to gut health, it just does show you that there are many different ways with which what we eat

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impacts our overall gut makeup. And I would encourage listeners, if you're interested in understanding this seemingly sort of, not paradoxical, but you know, it's, you know, carnivore diet, for example, has no fiber yet could be helpful for gut health. You know, what on earth, where does that come from? Well, my mate, Tommy Woods, who I've had on the podcast a couple of times, him and his

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this study, which sort of showed that there are many different ways with which we can reach gut health, enhanced gut health, and isn't necessarily just on a high fiber, high grain diet alone, as some might suggest. Now your gut health is related to overall health, as I mentioned, via other pathways as well. And if you have gut issues, then it's likely that you've got increased inflammation.

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And inflammation that stems from the gut can very quickly become systemic. And this might manifest in gut related issues, or it could be sore joints, it could be brain fog, it could be skin inflammation, so rashes or eczema or something like that. And enhancing the health of your gut can help improve these symptoms.

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metabolic health is only going to be improved. I mentioned the type of bacteria which can be super impactful with regards to insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. There are things or features of low carb diets that can help enhance that as well. And of course, whilst you might not be getting very much fiber from grain based foods when you're following a low carb approach,

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and seeds can all be so beneficial for your gut health. Firstly, fiber in general, there are a few different types. So you've got insoluble fiber, soluble fiber, resistant starch, these are all carbohydrate. Now soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms like a gel-like substance in the gut. And this is made up of about 70% of the type of fiber that you find in fruits and vegetables,

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grains. This is a type of fiber that actually helps because it dissolves in into water and forms a gel like substance in your gut. This type of fiber is associated with a reduction in cholesterol as well. So I mean cholesterol whether or not you need to reduce that is a topic for another mini Wikipedia episode. However, can be super helpful for cholesterol. Insoluble fiber makes up about

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vegetables and this speeds the transit of material through the digestive tract and provides bulk to your stool. So you know a lot of people find when they go on a low carb diet that actually their bowel movements change and not for the better and this is why one of the recommendations is to totally bump up your intake of vegetables which are going to provide both that soluble but

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well, in addition to of course, water and salt. And I think that as well is probably the topic of another Minimicapedia episode. So if you have a well formulated low carb diet, you're going to be incorporating plenty of fiber in your diet. You do not need it necessarily from those grain based foods that you've just cut out. However, some of these vegetables, they also contain prebiotics

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We are unable to digest, so it's left to be digested by our gut microbiome and provide the fuel that produces those short chain fatty acids. Foods like onions, garlic, leek, asparagus, bananas and apples all contain this type of resistant starch. I would say as well that types of resistant starch you find in low carb products is an

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types of foods like inulin, that's the type of starch that I'm referring to, you'll see this as an ingredient in low carb foods. But there is, you know, there is a difference between getting your fiber from a fiber supplement and getting it from the entire food matrix that also brings with it other important constituents or healthy things that you will find in those foods. So my preference

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than necessarily a fiber supplement. So focus on those non-starchy veggies if you're going low carb. Leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers, low carb, they're high in fiber. Incorporate berries, these are a low carb friend. People love, and I love berries as well, very low carbohydrate. Not only are they high in antioxidants, which we love, but also contain high amounts of fiber

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Nuts and seeds, these are high fiber, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and also contain good amounts of healthy fats. High fiber, low carb flours like coconut, most of the carbohydrate you see in coconut is fiber. And almond flour is also low in carbohydrate, high fiber. So there's no reason why your low carb diet can't be filled with an abundance of these

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foods that help support your gut health. So not only have you lowered your carbs to help improve your metabolic health, you have bumped up foods which support your gut health that help do that as well. So it's sort of like a win-win, right? Along with that, I just want to mention a couple of different things you could include, or at least, you know, bearing in mind these two things which can feature in a low carb diet that can also support gut health. And of course,

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foods come into them. So fermented foods have probiotics, which help sort of feed and boost your gut microbiome. Now, prebiotics are the things which feed the bacteria in your gut, probiotics, they're live microorganisms, which are typically bacteria, which help change the diversity of your gut microbiome. And you can get these from foods and not just supplements.

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very good. Fermented vegetables is the first thing that comes to mind. Sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles, naturally rich in probiotics and naturally low in carbohydrate. In addition, you've got products such as raw apple cider vinegar, helps improve blood glucose control, actually. When you incorporate it as part of a meal, it changes your post-prandial or post-meal

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high in probiotics as well. So certainly incorporating that into your diet. Dairy products, I mentioned the lactobacillus and bifidobacterium bacteria. You see that most often in dairy like yogurt and kefir as well. Milk kefir, water kefir, these probiotics or these types of probiotics you can incorporate and you'd want to have them in more tonic amounts rather than

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like a water kefir, kombucha would fall into the same category, amounts of about 150 mls is appropriate. So when you have a type of diet like a low carb diet that incorporates these foods, you're going to improve your gut health, which will impact positively on your metabolic health. And this can help enhance your fat loss efforts if that is one of the things you want to be focusing on.

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Improving your gut health helps improve digestion. When you improve your digestion and you remove a lot of the bloat or sort of the gas or anything like that which is impacting on how you digest and absorb nutrients, then you're going to have a much better chance of absorbing the nutrients you need that help support energy metabolism and therefore help with fat loss efforts.

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there are certain bacteria which help promote satiety. These bacteria include acomancia, mucinifera, that word again, this increases the production of certain hormones such as glucagon like peptide 1, GLP1, peptide YY, PYY. Even though these have just been in preclinical

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fullness. Bifidobacterium has also been linked to an increased production of these two hormones as well as decreased levels of ghrelin which is a hormone that stimulates appetite. Firmicutes is a type of bacteria linked to increased satiety in some studies and Previtala increased satiety has been found and decreased calorie intake as well in some studies. So this is research that hasn't

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or it's not as robust as other research in and around the probiotics and the sort of gut microbiome. But when you get it right and you have these bacteria in abundance, then it's only going to help you feel more full and therefore make that lower calorie approach that you're following easier to adhere to. And of course, I mentioned that reduced inflammation.

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range of health issues as you know. When your healthy gut reduces the inflammatory response throughout the body, this is going to help support weight loss and metabolic functions. So there's a lot there. So team, these are just some thoughts on your gut health, on how a low carb diet can support your gut health, but also how your gut health can enhance

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But don't go thinking that a low carb diet is not great for your gut, because that is not true. There are so many ways with which a low carb diet will enhance your gut health through the mechanisms by which it's enhancing your metabolic health. Which makes sense right, because these aren't isolated systems in the body that work in silo, they all interact. I will pop a link to that study that I mentioned.

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by Dr. Tommy Woods and Lucy Meiling. And I will see you, well I won't see you, you can listen to me again next Monday for another mini-Micipedia episode. Have a great week.