We all know that we humans are hosts to billions of bugs in our GI tract.
These can either help you stay lean or ensure that you put on more and more fat via increased cravings and constant uncontrollable hunger signals.
What you eat on a regular basis determines which type of bacteria flourishes and which one is vanquished in the digestive tract.
To reiterate, if the bad bacteria is more than the good ones, you will get strong junk food cravings, can get fat much easier, and you generally feel horrible all day long.
Also too much bad bacteria may make you lethargic and thus affect your daily calorie burn i.e. you eat the same amount as before, but you move around less as you feel sluggish and this causes you to gain excess fat. This can be a double whammy as you eat more, move less, thus causing an uncontrollable weight gain spiral!
To overcome this, you should have pre-biotic food regularly. Now what is pre-biotic food? Is it the same as probiotic food? Let me answer that straight away!
Probiotics are live bacteria, found in foods live-culture yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut. Prebiotics are foods that the good bacteria feeds on – dietary fibers like inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) found in vegetables, fruits and legumes.
Research suggests that including pre-biotic food shields you from the dire consequences of acute stressful events ( life the passing away of a loved one, heart break, failing an exam etc.). Rats in the study were divided into groups and one was given a pre-biotic enriched diet where as the other group was not. Then they were exposed to severe stress in the experiment. Rats in the pre-biotic fed group maintained their gut microbiome balance and also recovered healthier sleep patterns sooner than the other normal diet rats.
Ideally include the below foods to ensure a pre-biotic enriched diet. However supplements containing inulin can work too!
Examples of Pre-Biotic food regularly found in Indian households:
Beans
Oats
Garlic
Onions
Apples
Cocoa
Cabbage
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Bananas
If you are on the MetaboliX Fullfit Plan, please plan intake of high carbohydrate pre-biotic foods listed above as per the timing specified in your customized plan and avoid any high carbohydrate food intake close to sleep time unless specifically mentioned.
While the study was conducted on rats in 2017, it won't hurt to include pre-biotic foods regularly to shield yourself against the consequences of acute stress like sleep disruption and loss of good/bad bacteria balance in the GI tract!
To work on your health issues inside out, please Whatsapp us on +91 9321539167 to get your program under the guidance of Coach Juily Wagle.
For more details please visit www.metabolix.in/programs
REFERENCE
Robert S. Thompson, et al. Dietary Prebiotics and Bioactive Milk Fractions Improve NREM Sleep, Enhance REM Sleep Rebound and Attenuate the Stress-Induced Decrease in Diurnal Temperature and Gut Microbial Alpha Diversity. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2017