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Gut Biome imbalances can be pretty common and can happen occasionally. The gut biome can also become imbalanced even when our diet is perfect. Some of the reasons for a gut biome imbalance may be:
1. Inflammatory diet
2. Diet too rich in sugar and refined carbohydrates
3. Diet too rich in artificial sweeteners
4. Prolonged periods of stress
5. Too much alcohol consumption
6. Usage of medication and antibiotics (antibiotics), which means anti - against, bio - life. Antibiotics treat infections and other conditions by killing off bacteria. However, antibiotics do not discriminate against good or bad bacteria in the system and unfortunately wipe out all forms.
7. A diet low in good bacteria. Good bacteria are found in fermented and cultured food products.
8. A diet low in prebiotics, which is the food that bacteria consume to repopulate.
8. Underlying medical conditions.
To help address gut biome imbalances, you may wish to avoid the foods highlighted in red and orange for 6 - 8 weeks to ease any internal inflammation. Inflammation can happen even if we do not feel or see it, and it can have a compounding effect over time.
You can also eliminate or reduce your consumption of refined carbohydrates, sugars, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners. Introducing prebiotic foods into your diet (not to be confused with pro-biotics) can also help the beneficial bacteria in your biome repopulate quicker. Examples of prebiotic foods can be found HERE.
Probiotics are the actual bacteria themselves. Probiotics can be cultured in fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut (raw and usually homemade), kefir, and natto. Some people choose to consume probiotic supplements containing the strains that may be in deficit, as seen in their results.