OhMyGut in an interview - delicious and healthy for your intestines

After talking to nutritionist Adrienne Tonner from Kombuchery about our kombucha, I took the opportunity to ask Adrienne from OhMyGut a few questions about her specialty: gut-healthy nutrition. I would like to share her insightful answers with you here. You will learn more about the impact of gut health on our immune system and our psyche, how fantastic gut-friendly nutrition can taste, and how you can easily get started with the first steps for your gut health. Afterwards, you will find Adrienne's Immunobooster Bowl with our delicious kombucha.

Would you briefly introduce yourself and explain the core of your work or passion?

I am Adrienne. I am a nutritionist, cookbook author, and knowledge and food blogger at ohmygut.de, the healthy food blog where everything revolves around gut-friendly nutrition. When I was training to be a nutritionist, I really became aware of the importance of the gut for our holistic health. It is closely connected to our entire organism. Yet, the gut has long been a little-noticed organ, which should be given much more attention. In my specialization on the topic, I found a lot of literature on gut health, but unfortunately less culinary inspiration that really makes you want to eat gut-friendly food. So I thought: "Okay. Adrienne, now you take care of it and show how fantastic gut-friendly nutrition can taste!"

I would like to discuss gut health with you for Kombuchery. How important is the gut for our health, well-being, and psyche?

Extremely important. Over 70% of our immune defense cells reside in the gut. If our intestinal lining is healthy and the gut flora is in a healthy balance, then our immune system is also stronger. We are not as susceptible to infectious diseases, which is becoming increasingly important in today's times.

Our gut is also the only organ that can work independently of the brain and has its own nervous system. According to research, it consists largely of tissue substances also found in the brain. In addition, the gut is able to communicate with the brain via neurotransmitters. These are hormones such as dopamine, adrenaline, or serotonin. This happens via the so-called gut-brain axis. As a result, our gut has a direct influence on our psyche, our thinking, and our feelings.

A small example: About 95% of the feel-good hormone serotonin is produced in the gut. If we eat well and thus help our body with serotonin production, then we can literally eat ourselves happy with the help of our gut. Crazy, isn't it?

In particular, the topics of anti-inflammation and the influence of sugar and sugar substitutes have increasingly come into focus.

1. There is always talk of inflammatory foci in the body. Is this also important for healthy people? Also with regard to gut health?

In our Western diet, we factually have a tendency to eat too many pro-inflammatory substances and too few anti-inflammatory foods. This leads to an imbalance and can promote the development of hidden inflammations in the body.

It is important to know: Our body is an incredibly fascinating apparatus that constantly regenerates and tries to eliminate small inflammations. However, constant fueling with pro-inflammatory foods such as trans fats, alcohol, sugar, animal saturated fats, or preservatives and emulsifiers that attack our intestinal lining can overwhelm the body in the long run. Then inflammations can persist. Often we don't even directly notice inflammations in the gut. They often express themselves through completely different symptoms far away from the gut: fatigue, bad mood, difficulty concentrating, skin problems, neurodermatitis, susceptibility to infections, allergies, etc. At first glance, one would not think of inflammation in the gut here. I always recommend being very mindful of oneself and questioning one's diet and how one feels about it. If, as a "healthy person," I notice that I live a rather pro-inflammatory diet and perceive initial physical reactions to it, then it certainly would not be wrong to pay more attention to my gut health, reduce pro-inflammatory factors, and eat more gut-friendly.

2. Do you think the different types of sugar have different effects on the body? Can you imagine that the relatively low sugar content in our kombucha seems almost insignificant when you consider the wealth of nutrients and good bacteria it provides us with?

Sugar

Sugar is a tricky thing. There are many sugar alternatives on the market that give us the good feeling of eating a little healthier. But in fact, agave syrup, maple syrup, honey, rice syrup, cane sugar, etc. are also just sugar. Like sugar, they consist of simple, quickly metabolized sugar molecules: fructose and glucose. Of course, a date or honey also contain a few minerals besides sugar, which is naturally better than a highly processed refined sugar that is completely devoid of vital substances. But in the end, it remains sugar. It messes up blood sugar levels, promotes cravings, is pro-inflammatory, and inhibits fat burning.

The only exception I can truly recommend for sweetening is Yacon Syrup. Here, the fructose molecules are present as long, firmly connected fructose chains. These are called fructans. And these are metabolized by the gut not like sugar, but like prebiotic fiber. Fiber provides food for gut bacteria, which promotes a healthy gut flora and also keeps blood sugar levels stable. For anyone interested in Yacon, I recommend yacomo-food.com. Here you can find sustainably packaged organic Yacon Syrup at a fair price.

But now let's talk about kombucha. I think it's a really exciting product. On the one hand, you have to consider that the sugar in this product has a real right to exist because it is the nutrient base for fermentation. The sugar is largely converted in the fermentation process. What remains at Kombuchery is, fortunately, very little sugar. Kombucha can contain up to 10% sugar. Kombuchery is far below that, which is why I like to recommend it as a soda alternative. The combination of low sugar paired with living microorganisms and nutrients is a great mix. The small amount of sugar is totally acceptable in my opinion. By the way, I also find kombucha very exciting for vegans. Because fermentation produces vitamin B12, which is difficult to absorb from natural sources.

We can boost our gut with fiber, probiotics, and prebiotics. Would you briefly explain these three terms?

Fiber

Fiber consists of plant components that cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes. They reach the large intestine undigested, where most of our gut bacteria reside. They serve as food for our bacteria. Just like with us humans, food helps bacteria to grow and thrive. The better the good, beneficial bacteria are doing, the better we are doing too. That's why we should always include enough fiber in our diet. According to a National Consumption Study, however, many Germans consume less than the recommended minimum of 30g of fiber per day. Unfortunately.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are a special form of fiber. They are not only bacterial food, they also increase the activity of bacteria and stimulate their growth and multiplication. The digestion of prebiotics produces acids that have a positive effect on our intestinal lining and create a favorable climate for the beneficial bacteria in our gut.

Probiotics

Probiotics are living bacterial cultures that are produced, for example, through fermentation or a long maturation process. They are like guest workers who make their way to the intestine via food. In order for them to have a positive effect on the gut flora, however, they must be eaten, drunk, or taken in sufficient quantities and, above all, regularly. Because probiotics from outside find it much more difficult to colonize the intestine. The already established bacteria defend their territory.

How can we imagine the right ratio of good to bad gut bacteria?

First of all, it must be mentioned that the classic good-and-evil thinking is not entirely correct. Sure, there are bacteria that are more beneficial than others. Some produce anti-inflammatory end products, others more pro-inflammatory ones. However, it is not the bacterium and its properties alone that determine how we feel, but above all the right ratio of bacteria to each other. Every bacterium has its right to exist in our gut. As in a healthy society, "diversity" is also important in the gut! The more different bacterial strains we harbor, the better.

It is important that the bacteria that do us particular good always have the upper hand. The more they are in control, the more our health benefits. With the right diet, we can specifically control this ratio. Because different bacteria also have different culinary preferences. The particularly beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, Akkermansia muciniphila, for example, love prebiotics. Anyone who eats a lot of them already makes a great first contribution to a better gut balance.

What do you think of probiotics? Are there characteristics of a good probiotic that everyone should look for, and do you recommend taking them?

I believe probiotics will play a major role in nutritional medicine in the future. Currently, however, research can only reproduce a small fraction of the bacteria we harbor in the gut in the lab. So, when taking probiotics, you can never supply the gut with all the relevant bacteria that might do you good, but only with a fraction of the microbes.

A tip: A microbiome analysis is often a good idea beforehand. This way, you know where an imbalance exists and can specifically supplement the probiotics you are lacking.

Another tip: If you want to supplement with probiotics, you should look for a particularly high bacterial count (20 billion, for example) and rather opt for a synbiotic. A synbiotic is a mixture of pro- and prebiotics. This way, the probiotics are supplied with bacterial food right away and can colonize more easily.

What is the basis of all gut-friendly recipes?

In short: a prebiotic, probiotic, and anti-inflammatory diet that sustainably builds up beneficial bacteria in the gut and reduces hidden inflammations.

How important are fermented products in our diet?

I am a big fan of consuming important nutrients that are good for us as naturally as possible. This means that a mostly plant-based, whole-food diet, enriched with fermented foods and omega-3 sources, can provide you with many important nutrients - without having to take pills or supplements. In exceptional cases such as veganism, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or illness-related deficiencies, this can of course still be useful. But I believe that a healthy person can achieve a lot with diet alone. And fermented foods should also be an important part of this diet. In addition, they are also culinarily really delicious. I think many people are not even aware of how many probiotic foods we eat every day. It's not just Kombucha, it's also the sauerkraut at grandma's, the kimchi at the Korean restaurant, the soy sauce at the Asian restaurant, the fresh yogurt in the morning, or the pickled cucumbers for dinner. All of that is delicious and rich in living microorganisms, provided it hasn't been heat-treated.

What can everyone easily start with to do something for their gut health?

To ensure that everyone can do something, I have written a guide for better gut health in my book. You need to know that there are numerous factors that affect our gut. Not only nutrition plays a role. Mental health is also important.

Turning everything upside down at once is often difficult. I am convinced that the path of small steps is always the best. For example, you can simply look at the numerous nutrition and lifestyle tips in the book and see what seems easy to implement for you.

A few tangible examples

• Eating less meat, for example, is an important thing to reduce pro-inflammatory factors. Here you could, for example, start by saying: "Okay, from now on I'll eat vegetarian or even vegan more often. I'll try that now."
• Eating more prebiotics and probiotics is often also very easy to implement. Simply look at the list of all pre- and probiotic foods. What do you find delicious? Then simply incorporate it more often into your diet or get inspired by ready-made recipes on my blog or in my book.
• Fewer preservatives in food is another point. The best way is to cook fresh. But that is often time-consuming. The solution: meal prep – planning and preparing meals. That's why my book also contains various meal prep ideas.

Adrienne's Immune Booster Bowl

Many more tips and inspiration on what else you can do can also be found on Adrienne's blog. For all those who also have a soft spot for browsing cookbooks and trying new recipes, I can also wholeheartedly recommend her cookbook "OH MY GUT, IS THAT DELICIOUS!" (The cookbook can also be found here.)

Good luck with the preparation and good health!