Looking for an ultimate chronic pain solution? Focus on flexibility and diversity 2
Feb 26, 2020
Part two - food diversity
Food is an important factor in the body's resistance. It influences more than 50% of the composition of the microbiota, trillions of tiny beasties (microorganisms) that we carry in our guts. The collective behaviour of our microbiota influences many processes in our body: production of neurotransmitters, bioavailability of nutrients, influencing the immune response, to name a few. At least since birth, each of us - as hosts to trillions of other living things - has had various life experiences that have shaped the evolving entity that is the microbiome. The relationship, however, is bidirectional. These tiny creatures also have the ability to orchestrate us - humans, the crown of creation - through food cravings. They trick us into eating the food they need to reproduce. Of course they can trick us, they have been on this planet for billions of years, but we humans have only been here for a few hundred thousand years.
Big microbiota manipulators with experimental backgrounds that act as potential "bad influencers":.
FOOD - high sugar diet combined with high fat, especially omega 6; insufficient consumption of fibre and resistant starch.
ANTIBIOTICS - too frequent use, "just in case" or repeated without bacterial analysis.
DISTRESS - any physical and/or mental demand that exceeds homeostatic capacity.
SLEEP DISTURBANCE - the result of a disturbance of the microbiota, but also a cause
A healthy, diverse microbiota is an important link to our overall resilience and health, and makes us less likely to break down physically and/or mentally in times of distress.
The biggest influencing factor on the microbiota of any human organism is the mother's microbiota (we get it at birth) or the lack of it if the baby is delivered by caesarean section. This is an important factor to consider and possibly the reason why there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to proper nutrition. Finding an effective microbiome analysis in combination with solid advice about the state of your gut is no piece of cake. Many people wonder what to do with the flood of information about the importance of the microbiome in almost all non-communicable diseases, accompanied by a lack of skillful clinical advice on how to use the wealth of knowledge to the benefit of many who are ill. Speaking of high-tech research and professional advice, why not simply research your mother's and grandmother's eating habits to learn more about where your microbiome comes from?
It's been shown that people with fibromyalgia have a less diverse microbiome compared to healthy controls. The reason for this? It could be due to nature - genes or inherited microbiota through birth, or nurture - through early environment. The microbiota shows stable characteristics at age three, the environment of the first three years of life obviously plays a big role. But the environment as a whole - think of all the "bad influencers" mentioned above. The studies show that a diet low in whole food diversity, especially low in fibre, produces a less diverse microbiota at the bacterial level. A less diverse microbial composition of the microbiome gives more room for inhabitants that don't provide us with good stuff we need to nourish the body's resilience. But nutrition is not the only important early environmental influence that shapes body resilience, more on complex environments, stress and resilience in the next posts.
Do you remember/know anything about nutrition in your early environment? It might help to understand your condition today.
Nature or nurture? Dietary change is responsible for more than 50% of the change in microbiota composition, but genes for about 10%. Short term changes in microbiota composition with dietary change can be observed in as little as 24 hours.
At first glance, the solution seems to be a specific diet to manipulate the bacterial populations we carry around. But remember that any kind of dietary change causes discomfort, physically or mentally, a kind of stress, consider it also a reaction of the microbiota to your decision to change what you provide to the community in your guts. Discomfort with eliminating or extremely reducing sugar is a good example of a microbiota revolt. On the other hand, there are foods or food components that your body doesn't really do well with, the elimination of which can show immediate benefits (gluten, dairy, lectins, or nightshade vegetables). And there are foods that are an integral part of culture or the standard Western diet but don't have much nutritional value and cause long-term health problems (processed foods with a high glycemic index that promote insulin resistance, an excess of foods high in omega-6 that promote inflammation). Abstaining from these foods can lead to a violation of the social norm and thus social rejection or difficulty in following through with the behaviour change, which hurts some people more than others.
**If diet-everything we take into our bodies through our mouths -decisively shapes the microbiome, so too is our eating behaviour a part of our overall personality and a consequence of cultural influences.
Theoretically, the most sensible idea for a microbiota transformation seems to be: first eliminate (clean house) and then gradually introduce foods (bring in new things). Elimination is possible through elimination diets, fasting mimicking diets, or true fasting. Before the elimination phase, it is important to gradually transition to a low glycemic index diet, which allows for a smoother transition to further elimination through fasting. The plan to introduce "new foods" is best implemented through coaching. Mindful eating is another option that allows for a closer connexion to a genuine and healthful instinct that guides us in deciding which food to introduce next after the elimination phase. The ultimate goal is to expand the variety of healthy whole foods in "eating plans" to nourish a diverse microbiota that supports the body and eat according to instinct. Yes - that's what we all want - don't think, just eat. Willpower is necessary in the transitional stages. In between, it's important to take as much time as you need to get used to the changes and listen more and more consciously to the instinct that supports your health and body.
If you start your journey at the level of very poor eating habits and poor psychophysical state, taming the dysfunctional microbiota into a health-supportive one may seem like an impossible mission. Well, it depends on how much you have already suffered from health problems (pain, fatigue, insomnia, immunity problems) and have realised the connexion with the distorted microbiota. The daily stress level of your current life is another very important point to consider, keeping you from connecting with your health-promoting instincts and pushing you towards comfort food and junk food cravings.
**Summarising.
The more diverse the whole foods you can instinctively enjoy, the more diverse the microbiome that does your body good. Rigidity (prescribed dieting that triggers cravings) can be useful for short periods of time on the journey - in the beginning, when you're eliminating and shifting your eating patterns, and in between, when you feel strong enough to do more. Rivalling the trillion population of gut microbiota for too long at a stretch, with the sheer hand of willpower, is not a smart idea! We humans don't stand a chance, the long term effects of The Biggest Loser speak for themselves.The process of changing eating habits and automating good instincts takes time from 1 - 3 years. Be prepared for junk food cravings and other microbiota uprisings, emotional flashbacks, and numerous temporary physical and psychological ailments using coaching, mindful eating, and journaling.The gradual automation of making peace between instincts and the body's biological needs is a long-term, life-saving project. Enjoying the journey (owning each step of the process) more than the end goal (no pain, weight loss) makes it different!
You are welcome to read other posts from this series:
[Looking for the ultimate solution to chronic pain? Focus on Flexibility and Variety: Metabolic Flexibility] (https://soundnsafe.com/blog/looking-ultimate-chronic-pain-solution-focus-flexibility-and-diversity)
