Greater Diversity in what we eat is good for our microbiome says professor

[Polaris]

Another very interesting piece (9 mins to 9.00 am near the very end) on radio 4 'Today' programme this morning :

bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b2gskt

A professor from Kings College speaks about the microbiome and how their research can tell more from our gut than our genes. It also explains lot about the problems we have with our diets today and the need for greater diversity in what we're eating.

[fbirder]

So, fad diets aren’t good for you.

[Polaris in reply to fbirder]

Depends what's meant by a fad diet......

As the professor says, we are all different. A gluten free diet is obviously better for coeliacs, those sensitive to gluten/gliadin or with Hashimoto's, etc.

I'll still be following a gluten free diet to keep my brain working as well as possible but continue munching bits of dill, parsley, chives, lemon balm, etc. from herb garden every day 🙂.

[fbirder in reply to Polaris]

Q. Why have we reached the stage where our gut health is not as good as it should be.

A. Everyone’s on a fad diet at the moment. They’re all gluten free, lactose free, low fat, you know, whatever. And that just means that people are reducing the pool of things that they eat.

[deniseinmilden]

Hi Polaris!

Very interesting and thank you for sharing it. I hadn't heard it and would have missed it otherwise.

It's good to hear other people's opinions on subjects as it gives us the opportunity, if we are open minded, to see the bigger picture of life as a whole. It is heartening to know that research is being done at Cambridge University level.

These scientists are the drivers for the information dissemination of tomorrow starting with the piece on the programme and hopefully working through to the heath service in time!

I, like my father, am lactose intolerant and have always been mindful of how it limits my nutrient intake so I actively work to keep it broad.

I think I became fascinated in soil, plant and animal nutrition when I found out how different herbage takes up nutrients at different rates, depending on soil availability and release potential due to cation anion exchange, etc, and so makes it more or less useful to higher order organisms in the food web.

I wonder if one of the side effects of listening to our bodies and feeding them accordingly to take away negative issues, makes us kind, positive and mild mannered?

Best wishes to all.

[Polaris in reply to deniseinmilden]

So interesting to hear your thoughts Denise I absolutely agree and live in hope that all this research will not be wasted and eventuallys filters down to the NHS. I have no real scientific training so some of the detail escapes me but can see that the whole picture is important as well as getting to the root cause, in this case, the gut.........

Three in my family have lactose issues connected with eczema, asthma, hay fever, hives, migraine etc. so, like gluten, there seems no point in continuing to ingest something that, undoubtedly, exacerbates an existing health problem and, as you say, there are plenty of other foods available to compensate for this 🙂

Yes, it definitely makes sense that a balanced and diverse diet would affect not just the gut but the brain and, therefore, our mood. This is confirmed by Dr K's neurological research into the brain/gut connection as well as the fact that being severely deficient in B12 eventually causes neurological/psychological issues.

[Polaris]

Hi Denise

Just quickly, am listening to the 'Today' programme at the moment - there is a piece on soil coming up 🤗

[deniseinmilden in reply to Polaris]

Bother - I missed it, doing GDPR stuff for my village. Iplayer here we come... again!! 😁 Thank you! x