Our intestine is teeming with micro-organisms (about 100,000 billion…) essential to our survival. Most are bacteria, associated with some yeasts, responsible, among other things, for completing digestion. Long called “intestinal flora”, this proliferation is now promoted to the rank of an organ in its own right: the microbiota.
The intestinal flora, a question of balance
It is he who, unbalanced, makes “bloat” by producing gas; increase in size by facilitating storage; plunge your hand into the packet of sweets if it has been overflowed by yeasts (digestive mycosis). Since 2004, researchers have known that the microbiota of an obese mouse can make a thin mouse obese, and vice versa. Human studies follow the same path. It is therefore on our flora that our silhouette depends, at least in part.
Sugar cravings? a yeast problem
But what is “good flora”? “It is a diversified flora, which encourages eating in the overall interest of the body and not for its own interest, advances Maxime Mességué. Poor flora encourages feeding for it, as in the case of digestive mycoses. Indeed, present in too large quantities, certain yeasts, such as Candida albicans, send messages to the brain to push us to eat sugar: urges and cravings torment us. Finally, some bacteria manage to get more nutrients and energy from our food. Under their influence, we “benefit” better from carbohydrates and fats, the liver produces more fat…
How to fight? By cutting out refined sugars and limiting starchy foods to starve the yeast. We favor proteins (eggs, meat, etc.) and green vegetables. You can add a natural antifungal: cinnamon essential oil or grapefruit seed extract (talk to your pharmacist).
We focus on polyphenols (tea, red fruits, citrus fruits), but also on soft fibers that are good for the intestine: spirulina or aloe vera gel (organic shops).
Stubbornly overweight: a bacteria problem
No attraction for sweets, but you store everything? ” The microbiota is responsible for 10% of overweight, estimates the nutritionist. The rest is 80% behavior and 10% genetics. The microbiota becomes unbalanced for various reasons: antibiotic or psychotropic treatments, excessive hygiene (bactericidal wipes or soaps, antibacterial mouthwashes, etc.). Also in question are industrial foods containing preservatives (these are antimicrobials, therefore “antiflora”), sweeteners (they destroy the flora), poor quality meat (animals having received too many antibiotics). »
Other manager: repeated dietary errors. The less varied we eat, the more we eat sweet, the more the flora adapts to this environment and demands it.
How to fight? ” We cannot have a good flora if we ingest industrial products, cooked and annealed, says our expert. You have to eat fresh (or frozen) and nature: no prepared meals, lots of vegetables, a little omega-3 (nut oils, rapeseed, flax, chia seeds, oily fish once a week). And cook yourself as often as possible by multiplying the food families. No more pasta or steak frites every day: we vary! We also think of consuming a fermented food rich in natural probiotics every day (see box opposite), friendly bacteria lending a hand to ours. And plants providing prebiotic fibers, which serve as “fertilizer” for good bacteria: whole grains, artichoke hearts, asparagus… basics for a balanced flora.
Good reflexes for the intestinal flora, according to Danièle Festy, microbiota specialist, pharmacist
- Compose your plate with 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 whole grain starch and 1/4 protein.
- Avoid single dish, which contains only one or two foods in large quantities (pasta Bolognese, shepherd’s pie). And serve it with green vegetables.
- Include fermented foods, naturally full of probiotics, which promote the balance of the flora, in your menus every day.
Your choice: sauerkraut, miso (soy bean paste), lemon confit with salt, pickles, kefir, soy sauce, pickles, yogurt… -
take probiotics when the imbalance of the microbiota is proven: rebellious overweight, cravings for sweets, candidiasis (infection due to a fungus). We choose specific strains, in food supplements (capsules or sachets, in cure).
Lactibiane Tolerance (Pileje), in case of food intolerance; Normafilus (Codifra), especially if you have bloating on the occasion of a change badly experienced by the body (travel, season, treatment…); Ibsium (Lesaffre), in case of irritable intestines and gas.
Read also:
- Adopting a balanced diet is not that complicated!
- How to lose 3 kilos?
- Eat better to live longer in good health
