READER’S DIGESTdeplete healthy bacterial strains and
make your gut less diverse in general,
says Chang. If you were to suddenly
stop having salads and instead eat
fries, he adds, “Your microbiome
would change within 24 hours, with
a decrease in the healthy microbes
that plant fibre promotes.”
- Go easy on antibiotics
Antibiotics are a lifesaver when
needed, but they tend to throw our gut
microbiome off balance by killing
even the healthy bacteria that help
maintain the gut wall. Usually, they
are able to crowd out bacteria that
can make you sick, just as it’s harder
for weeds to establish themselves in
a lush lawn than in unplanted soil.
But when antibiotics do their job of
destruction, bad bacteria can take
over before the good have a chance
to reestablish themselves. Then, the
clue that something is wrong is often
diarrhoea. While most healthy gut
microbiomes can bounce back from
that, if yours is already unbalanced,
Gibbons says antibiotics could lead to
issues like IBS.
To help prevent antibiotic-caused
diarrhoea, talk to your doctor about
taking a probiotic the same day you
start your antibiotics. A 2017
University of Copenhagen review
found that only eight per cent of
people who took probiotics developed
diarrhoea when they took antibiotics,
compared with 18 per cent of those
who took placebos.
Most importantly, make sure you
really need an antibiotic before you
take it. According to the US-based
Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention, at least 30 per cent of
antibiotic prescriptions are
completely unnecessary.- Consider probiotics
Probiotics may also protect against
diarrhoea when we travel to
countries where the bacteria in the
food and water are different from
those at home. And, as mentioned,
probiotics could help people with
IBS. It’s best to try them at the
direction of a health-care provider,
who can suggest specific types.
In the meantime, scientists are
working to better understand
probiotics. “Within the next five
to ten years, I believe we’ll start
to see medical grade probiotics
on the market,” says Gibbons. - Stay active
Regular exercise improves your
gut microbiome. A 2016 UBC study
found that athletes with the best
cardiorespiratory fitness levels—a
marker that measures how well your
body can move oxygen to where it’s
needed—also had more diversity in
their gut. Another study, from Spain,
found that women who did three
hours of exercise a week—even just
brisk walking—significantly
improved the composition of their
gut microbiome. Q
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