OhMyGut in an interview - delicious and healthy for your intestines

After we at Kombuchery spoke with nutritionist Adrienne Tonner about our kombucha, I took the opportunity to ask Adrienne from OhMyGut a few questions about her passion for gut-healthy nutrition. I'd like to share her insightful answers with you here. You'll learn more about the impact of gut health on our immune system and our psyche , how amazing gut-friendly nutrition can taste, and how you can easily take the first steps toward your gut health . Below, you'll find Adrienne's Immune Booster Bowl with our delicious kombucha.

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

My name is Adrienne. I'm a nutritionist, cookbook author, and knowledge and food blogger at ohmygut.de , the healthy food blog dedicated to gut-friendly nutrition. When I completed my training as a nutritionist, I truly realized the importance of the gut for our holistic health . It's closely connected to our entire organism. For a long time, however, the gut was a neglected organ that deserves much more attention. As I specialized in the topic, I found a lot of specialist literature on gut health, but unfortunately, very little culinary inspiration that truly inspires a gut-friendly diet. So I thought, "Good. Adrienne, then you should take care of it now and show how fantastic a gut-friendly diet can taste! "

I'd like to discuss the topic of gut health with you for Kombuchery. How important is the gut for our health, well-being, and mental health?

This is extremely important. Over 70% of our immune defense cells lie dormant in the intestines. If our intestinal mucosa is healthy and our intestinal flora is in balance, then our immune system is also stronger. We are less susceptible to infectious diseases, which is becoming increasingly important these days.

Our gut is also the only organ that can function independently of the brain and has its own nervous system. According to research, it is largely composed of tissues that are also found in the brain. Furthermore, the gut is able to communicate with the brain via neurotransmitters. These are hormones like dopamine, adrenaline, or serotonin. This occurs via the so-called gut-brain axis . As a result, our gut has a direct influence on our psyche , our thoughts, 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 produce serotonin, then we can literally eat ourselves happy with the help of our gut . Crazy, right?

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

1. There's a lot of talk about inflammation in the body. Is this also important for healthy people? Also with regard to intestinal health?

In our Western diet, we actually tend 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 inflammation in the body.

You have to understand: Our body is an incredibly fascinating machine that is constantly regenerating itself and trying to eradicate minor inflammations. However, constant exposure to inflammatory foods like trans fats, alcohol, sugar, saturated animal fats, or preservatives and emulsifiers that attack our intestinal mucosa can overwhelm the body in the long term. This can then lead to persistent inflammation. We often don't even notice the inflammation in the intestines directly. It often manifests itself through completely different symptoms far removed from the intestines: fatigue, bad mood, difficulty concentrating, skin problems, atopic dermatitis, susceptibility to infection, allergies, etc. At first glance, you wouldn't think of inflammation in the intestines. I always recommend being mindful of yourself and questioning your diet and how it makes you feel. If I, as a “healthy person,” notice that I’m following a diet that tends to promote inflammation and am beginning to notice physical reactions to it, then it certainly wouldn’t be wrong to pay more attention to my gut health, reduce inflammation-promoting foods, and eat more gut-friendly foods.

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

Sugar

Sugar is a tricky thing. There are many sugar alternatives on the market that make us feel good about eating a bit healthier. But in fact, agave syrup, maple syrup, honey, rice syrup, cane sugar, etc. are also just sugar. Like sugar, they consist of simple, rapidly metabolized sugar molecules: fructose and glucose. Sure, dates or honey contain a few minerals in addition to sugar, which is obviously better than highly processed, refined sugar, which is completely devoid of vital nutrients. But in the end, it's still sugar. It disrupts blood sugar levels, promotes cravings, promotes inflammation, and inhibits fat burning.

The only exception I can truly recommend for sweetening is yacon syrup . Here, the fructose molecules are present as long, tightly linked fructose chains. These are called fructans. These are metabolized in the intestines not like sugar, but like prebiotic fiber . Fiber provides food for intestinal bacteria, which promotes a healthy intestinal flora and also keeps blood sugar levels stable. For anyone interested in yacon, I would recommend yacomo-food.com . They offer sustainably packaged, organic yacon syrup at a fair price.

But now let's come to kombucha. I think it's a really exciting product. Firstly, you have to consider that the sugar in this product has a real raison d'être because it's the breeding ground for fermentation. A large part of the sugar is converted during the fermentation process. Fortunately, what's left over in kombucha isn't very sugar. Kombucha can contain up to 10% sugar. Kombucha is much lower, which is why I like to recommend it as a soda alternative . The combination of little sugar paired with live microorganisms and nutrients is a great mix. In my opinion, the small amount of sugar is totally acceptable. It's the sum that counts in the end. I also think kombucha is really exciting for vegans. Because fermentation produces vitamin B12 , which is difficult to absorb from natural sources.

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

Fiber

Fiber is plant matter that cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes. Thus, it passes undigested into the large intestine, where most of our gut bacteria live. It serves as food for our bacteria. Just as it does for us humans, food helps bacteria grow and thrive. The healthier the good, beneficial bacteria are, the better off we are, too. That's why we should always include sufficient fiber in our diet . However, according to a national consumption study, many Germans are below the recommended minimum of 30 g of fiber per day. Unfortunately.

Prebiotics

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

Probiotics

Probiotics are living bacterial cultures that arise, for example, through fermentation or a long maturation process. They are like guest workers that make their way to the intestines via the food we ingest. However, for them to have a positive effect on the intestinal flora, they must be eaten, drunk, or ingested in sufficient quantities and, above all, regularly. This is because external probiotics have a much harder time establishing a foothold in the intestines. The already established bacteria defend their territory.

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

First of all, it must be mentioned that the classic good-or-bad mentality isn't entirely accurate. Sure, there are bacteria that have more beneficial effects than others. Some produce anti-inflammatory end products, others more pro-inflammatory ones. However, it's not the bacteria and their properties alone that determine our well-being, but rather the correct ratio of bacteria to one another. Every bacterium has its right to exist in our gut. Just as in a healthy society, diversity is important in the gut too! The more different bacterial strains we have, the better.

It's important that the bacteria that are particularly good for us always maintain the upper hand . The more they control the scepter, the more our health benefits. With the right diet, we can specifically control this ratio. Different bacteria also have different culinary preferences. Particularly beneficial bacteria like bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and Akkermansia muciniphila, for example, love prebiotics. Eating plenty of them is already making a significant first contribution to better intestinal balance.

What do you think about probiotics? Are there any 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, researchers can only cultivate a small portion of the bacteria found in our gut in the lab. Therefore, taking probiotics can never supply the gut with all the relevant bacteria that might be beneficial, but only with a fraction of the microbes.

A tip: A microbiome analysis is often a good idea beforehand. This way, you can identify any imbalances and specifically supplement the probiotics you're lacking.

Another tip: If you want to supplement with probiotics, you should look for a particularly high bacterial count (20 billion, for example) and opt for a synbiotic. A synbiotic is a mixture of probiotics and prebiotics. This way, the probiotics receive food from the bacteria, making it easier to establish a colony.

What is the basis of all gut-friendly recipes?

In short: a prebiotic, probiotic and anti-inflammatory diet that builds up beneficial bacteria in the gut over the long term and reduces hidden inflammation.

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 by eating a largely plant-based, wholesome diet that is enriched with fermented foods and omega-3 sources, you can get lots of important nutrients without having to take pills or supplements. In exceptional cases such as veganism, pregnancy, breastfeeding or deficiencies due to illness, this can of course still make sense. But I believe that a healthy person can achieve a lot with nutrition. And fermented foods should also be an important part of this diet . Plus, they are really delicious from a culinary perspective. I think many people aren’t aware of how many probiotic foods we eat every day. It’s not just kombucha , it’s also grandma’s sauerkraut , Korean kimchi , Asian soy sauce , fresh yogurt in the morning or pickled cucumbers for dinner. All of this is delicious and rich in live microorganisms if it hasn’t been specially heat-treated.

What can everyone easily start doing to improve their intestinal health?

To ensure everyone can do something, I've written a guide to better gut health in my book. You have to understand that there are numerous factors that influence our gut. It's not just diet that plays a role. Mental health is also important.

Turning everything upside down all at once is often difficult. I'm convinced that taking small steps is always the best approach. For example, simply look among the numerous nutrition and lifestyle tips in the book and see what seems quickly achievable for you.

A few tangible examples

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

Adrienne's Immune Booster Bowl

You can find many more tips and inspiration on Adrienne's blog . For anyone who enjoys browsing cookbooks and trying out new recipes, I can also heartily recommend her cookbook "OH MY GOOD, THAT'S DELICIOUS!" (You can also find the cookbook here .)

Good luck with the preparation and good health!