I’m sure you’ve heard of the gut/brain connection. Current research has proved that when our gut is healthy, our brain and mind are healthy. This is because they have discovered that the gut produces 95% of our neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, GABA and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters are the ones that help us to feel good and balanced emotionally, give us energy,motivation and a sense of reward. Scientists are now calling the gut the “second brain”. In his book “Fiber Fueled” Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, M.D. MSCI reports that “There are over five hundred million nerves in your intestines sending feedback to you brain through the vagus nerve… A healthy gut microbiome is able to extend its influence across the blood-brain barrier to keep our minds sharp, our energy level high and our mood relaxed. But on the flip side, damage to the gut microbiome has been associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue, autism, and ADHD. With the gut acting as home base for these neurotransmitters, you can see how mental health conditions like depression and anxiety emerge when there’s a problem in the gut… It is now clear that when you have alterations or damage to the gut bacteria, you alter serotonin balance, and thereby alter both mood and gut motility.” Unfortunately, scientists are also finding that most people in the Western world have damage to their gut due to all the ultra-processed, sugar laden and fiber empty foods. These foods have been stripped of the nutrients our body requires to function properly such as vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and fiber. In fact, I would say that fiber is one of the most important macronutrients we should be eating to have a healthy gut. Our bodies require fiber in order to feed that good gut bacteria that breaks down our food and helps our body absorb and use all the vitamins and minerals our body needs to function. Without fiber, the nasty gut bacteria that causes disease takes over and kills the good gut bacteria.
But what is fiber anyway? When you think of fiber you might automatically think of the powder your grandma stirs into water everyday to have a bowel movement. While that is fiber, that’s not the way God intended us to get our fiber and keep our guthealthy. All plant foods contain fiber. The closer those foods are to how they are grown, the more healthy fiber thereis. Dr. Bulsiewicz says that the key to health is plant diversity. There is so much more to these plants that are good for us besides fiber such as polyphenols, antioxidants etc. but for this blog we will focus on Fiber. Dr. Casey Means, M.D. in her book “Good Energy” has this to say about fiber “Fiber is a type of carbohydrate food in plants that is not fully broken down by the body…the gut microbiome ferments fiber into beneficial “postbiotic” bi-products like short-chain fatty acids…that regulate metabolism and improve insulin and glucose levels, regulate hunger and appetite, as well as promote anti-inflammatory effects in the gut and body. Fiber can help protect the gut’s lining and mucus membrane, and slow digestions and absorption of nutrients.” She goes on to say that most people are severely deficient in fiber and “Ideally, we should aim to consume 50 grams or more of fiber daily”. She reports “The American Gut Project showed that people with the healthiest gut microbiomes eat at least thirty different plant foods per week. Remember: conditions like depression and schizophrenia are so tied to poor gut bacteria that researchers can identify a person with depression or schizophrenia just by analyzing their gut-bacteria composition.”
So, what foods should you be eating to get all that fiber into your gut? Plants, plants, and more plants. Green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, cauliflower, resistant starches such as sweet potatoes and yams, nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, seeds such as chia, flax, pumpkin seeds, beans such as black beans, pinto beans, red beans, white beans, legumes such as lentils and split peas, fruits such as avocados, apples, berries. This list could go on and on. Most people struggle to know what to do with all these plant foods and how to get 50 grams per day. In this and future blogs, I will include fiber rich plant food recipes to help you start adding these gut improving, brain saving, and mood lifting foods into your diet. These recipes will be full of flavor, and many will be kid approved so you can feed your whole family.
Today I will include a recipe for one of my daily favorite fiber rich foods- Liesl’s Healthier Granola. It’s healthier because I use healthy fats and the less refined sweetener maple syrup. Before I give you the recipe I will give you some interesting facts about the ingredients. Each item is included for its health benefits. I use olive oil and coconut oil as a fat because it is cold pressed and less refined and full of polyphenols and healthy fatty acids our brains need. Coconut flakes are full of antioxidants, help control blood sugar, boost energy, improve blood pressure, heart health, improve diabetes and is high in dietary fiber. Chia seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids, and tryptophan which is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. They are also high in fiber, calcium and zinc. Also included for their fiber and tryptophan content are pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and sun flower seeds. There are several varieties of nuts included that are high in fiber, healthy fats and protein such as pecans, almonds, and cashews. You can add any nuts you like. You can eat this granola on its own with milk, nut milk or soymilk or add it to Greek yogurt with berries.
Liesl’s Healthier Granola
Ingredients
1½ cups oats (sprouted organic)
2 cups Pecans
1½ cups almonds
1cup coconut flakes
1 cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 cup hemp seeds
½ cup chia seeds
¾ cup melted coconut oil(or split with olive oil)
½-¾ cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 300° Mix everything together in large bowl until everything is fully coated with oil/syrup. Spread out on parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool a bit before breaking up and placing into canister.
