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Known in the past as intestinal bacterial flora, the microbiota it weighs about 1-1.5 kg and is made up of hundreds of bacterial, functional and interconnected species. “A real metabolically active organ, living, present within the gastrointestinal tract ”, explains the prof. Pier Luigi Rossi, medical specialist in nutrition sciences and preventive medicine in Arezzo and author of the book “The intestine: the sixth sense of our body” (Aboca), a volume that illustrates in a simple and clear way the most up-to-date scientific findings on the vital relationship between intestine and brain.
The role of the microbiota for health
“THE bacteria that make up the microbiota – continues the expert – condition not only the intestine, with an active role in the appearance of many gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic inflammatory diseases, diverticulitis, colon cancer, but also other organs such as brain (they can cause cerebral cognitive decay, create psychic disorders and pathologies, act on our mood), on the adipose organ (they can promote obesity, the accumulation of body fat or the thinness of a person, they can reduce the our lean muscle and bone mass), on the urinary tract and on the immune system with systemic pathologies such as allergies, obesity, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis “.
An organ, therefore, that can be responsible for our state of health and disease. “Much depends from the power supply and the way we choose to feed it ”, says prof. Pier Luigi Rossi.
What to eat to feed the microbiota
The composition and the functionality of the microbiota intestinal changes over the years, although the bacterial enterotype remains the same (as well as for the blood group); it is the variable part of the microbiota that changes. “More aggressive bacterial species they can outnumber those present at a young age. This happens because, in its composition and functionality, the microbiota is modulated by the enteric digestive structure, by the personal lifestyle, from environmental chemistry (polluting chemical compounds), from the use of drugs and antibiotics, but above all from the daily diet”, Emphasizes the doctor.
“We can feed our microbiota with probiotics and with prebiotics by taking plant foods fresh, raw, which contain bacteria and carbohydrates suitable for supplying energy and carbon to intestinal bacteria ”, recommends the expert. “THE probiotics they are non-pathogenic microorganisms which, if ingested away from meals, can exert a positive and favorable action for the recovery of an altered intestinal bacterial ecosystem (dysbiosis) resulting from an incorrect diet, polluting drugs and antibiotics. Fermented foods (kefir, lactofermented vegetables…) are also very valid natural foods to nourish the microbiota well. THE prebioticson the other hand, they are carbohydrates of vegetable origin that are indigestible by our enteric and pancreatic enzymes, and represent essential nutrients for the microbiota ”.
The food day
The goal of the diet is to create the best nutritional conditions to recover and maintain intestinal hygiene and well-being, a healthy microbiota, help lose weight reducing excess body fat and maintaining a healthy weight. The latter will allow us to recover and maintain the best efficiency of the brain widespread, avoiding cerebral cognitive decay and activating a state of biological well-being and happiness ”, says the expert.
How to behave, then, at the table? “For properly nourish the microbiota and ensure excellent intestinal function – suggests prof. Rossi – it is advisable to reduce the daily amount of solid food around the 1 kg dose and increase the daily volume of liquid foods such as soups, herbal teas and centrifuged. The eating day is divided into five meals, every three hours, to control the feeling of hunger and limit digestive work.
The advice is to start the day with one hot drink based on barley, rich in inulin (water-soluble dietary fiber), or green tea to promote relaxation of the pyloric sphincter that enters food from the stomach to the intestine.
In the snacks in the morning or in the afternoon, yes to kefir following its effective probiotic intake, able to modulate the intestinal microbiota and fresh seasonal fruit or centrifuged-extracts with seasonal vegetables (80%) and fresh fruit (20%).
Lunch and dinner they follow a very specific sequence that is important to respect even if you want to lose weight and inches. The sequence consists of:
- 1 serving of raw vegetables at the beginning of the meal
- 1 plate protein o carbohydrate (proteins or carbohydrates)
- 1 serving of cooked vegetables
- Whole grain bread of rye on days with protein meals, except when eating pasta or other food with carbohydrates.
- 5. For seasoning, you can use three teaspoons of oil per meal to be used both for cooking and raw, e aromatic plants (rosemary, basil …) and spices for the beneficial activity of their essential oils on the intestinal wall, on the enteroendocrine cells, on the immune system, on the microbiota.
Green light, finally, to water, remembering to drink at least 10 glasses distributed throughout the day as soon as you wake up in the morning. The ideal one? “Mineral water with a fixed dry residue higher than 500 mg / liter and rich in bicarbonate ions with a dose higher than 600 mg / liter”, concludes prof. Pier Luigi Rossi.
MONDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); soya milk; 2 tablespoons of oat flakes; 10 almonds
MORNING SNACK: 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste; kefir
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; salad of tomatoes, olives, celery and fresh mushrooms with brown rice; grilled swordfish with light salmoriglio and capers; grilled radicchio from Treviso; extra virgin olive oil
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1 hot cup of unsweetened barley; 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste
DINNER: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; salad of red radicchio and lettuce; turkey strips with peppers, mint and almonds; courgette and pea cream with quinoa and lemon cherry tomatoes; extra virgin olive oil
TUESDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); 1 cube of Parmesan cheese or other hard cheese; 2 kiwis; 7-8 hazelnuts
MORNING SNACK: 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; ricciolina, endive, apple and date salad; lean pork escalopes with orange and aromatic herbs; potato pie; extra virgin olive oil
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1 hot cup of unsweetened barley; 1 extract of a fruit plus vegetables to taste
DINNER: 1 hot drink; rocket, apple and walnut salad with honey sauce and grated ginger; 2 soft-boiled eggs; vegetable soup with saffron barley; extra virgin olive oil
WEDNESDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); 1 portion of lean raw ham; 1 slice of wholemeal buckwheat bread; 3 walnuts
MORNING SNACK: 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; mixed salad with rocket, ginger and olives; chicken skewers with courgettes, cherry tomatoes and sesame seeds; boiled spelled; extra virgin olive oil
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1 hot cup of unsweetened barley and a fruit extract plus vegetables to taste
DINNER: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; lettuce and cherry tomato salad with julienne of carrots marinated with mint; grilled goat tomino cheese; spinach cream with millet and toasted pine nut crumbs; extra virgin olive oil
THURSDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); 1 portion of turkey breast; 2 rice or corn cakes; 7-8 hazelnuts
MORNING SNACK: 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; crunchy salad of celery, Brazilian, linseed and lemon thyme; octopus carpaccio with green beans with chives; boiled potatoes; extra virgin olive oil
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1 hot cup of unsweetened barley; 1 extract of a fruit plus vegetables to taste
DINNER: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; escarole and rocket salad with olive and caper sauce; baked rabbit saddle with aromatic herbs; vegetable soup with barley and poppy seeds; extra virgin olive oil
FRIDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); cereal flakes cream with apple juice and rice milk and 3 nuts or porridge
MORNING SNACK: 1 fresh fruit of the season to taste; 1 kefir
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; grilled red radicchio and turmeric fennel salad; black lentil salad with lemon with escarole and apple; chard with lemon; extra virgin olive oil
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1 hot cup of barley or green tea; 1 extract of a fruit plus vegetables to taste
DINNER: 1 hot drink to be taken before and during the meal; lettuce and Belgian endive salad; cream of artichokes with black rice and white barley; green beans with aromatic chopped almonds, marjoram and garlic; extra virgin olive oil
SATURDAY
BREAKFAST: 1 hot drink (green tea or barley drink or herbal tea, or water and lemon); 2 egg whites omelette; 1 slice of wholemeal rye bread; 10 almonds
MORNING SNACK: 1 seasonal fruit to taste; kefir
LUNCH: 1 hot drink to take …
