What is the Microbiome Diet?

What is the Microbiome Diet? Well, it’s a step by step road map to repair your gut health (aka your microbiome) in a book written by Dr. Raphael Kellman.   A healthy microbiome is more important than we ever imagined and researchers have learned it is essential for optimal weight and health.

At the forefront of research, Dr. Kellman provides a scientifically proven way to restore the health of your gut. Dr. Kellman is the founder of the Kellman Center and specializes in Functional and Integrative Medicine while residing in Manhattan, New York.

What is Your Microbiome?

The microbiome is a the trillions of organisms (bacteria) that live in your gut and on your body. There are so many bacteria, they outnumber our human cells 9 to 1. Altogether, they weigh about 3 lbs! There is a whole ecological system that lives in our digestive tract that is not human.

I remember thinking all bacteria were bad, now we understand that there are good and bad bacteria. What we eat feeds different strains of bacteria – fiber and prebioitics are a favorite among the good bacteria. Without enough fiber and prebioitics, our good bacteria dwindle and the bad bacteria thrive. We need a balance of good bacteria for optimal health.

The whole idea of a bacterial ecosystem in my digestive track kind of grossed me out at first – I’m not going to lie. When I learned how important these organisms where, to my health, weight and well being – my thinking shifted. I wanted to learn all about my microbiome and was curious about the effect my diet had on my microbiome.

Who The Microbiome Diet is For?

If you struggle with sugar cravings, food cravings, the inability to lose weight – the Microbiome Diet can transform your life. It did for me.

Have you ever noticed some people seem to be able to maintain their weight effortlessly? And rarely get sick? I always wondered what their secret was.

I was one of those people who struggled with their weight and got sick all the time. Someone got sick, I inevitably got it too. Then I met the Microbiome Diet and now I easily maintain my ideal weight and rarely get sick.

This program is important to those with autoimmune diseases as inflammation is often the heart of the issue. The microbiome helps reduce inflammation. I believe Diabetes sufferers would see drastic improvement by following Dr. Kellman’s protocol.

Imbalanced Microbiome? Symptoms Associated with an Imbalance

If the balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria is not aligned – it can create a variety of symptoms. Your microbiome has a delicate balance. Symptoms of an imbalanced microbiome include (and some may surprise you)

• Food Cravings
• Inability to lose weight and/or keep the weight off
• Acne
• Sluggish metabolism
• Depression
• Brain Fog
• Unbalanced Hormones (and all the symptoms that go with it)
• Escema
• Chronic Inflammation
• Digestive Disorders
• Getting sick often
• Inability to properly extract nutrients from the food we eat (dysboisis) resulting in vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Everyone’s microbiome is unique to them – though greatly influenced by the microbiome of those around you. Since the average lifespan of the bacteria is about 20 minutes, it can change for the good or bad fairly quickly.

Through our diet, without thinking we are feeding the bacteria we want to thrive. Unfortunately the standard American diet cultivates the bad bacteria.

The Enormous Impact of Your Microbiome

Could an unbalanced microbiome and the obesity epidemic be related? Research has shown a correlation. When our microbiome craves  certain foods (think sugar or fried foods), so do we. Craving the wrong foods – makes us eat the wrong foods – in turn makes us fat.

With a healthy microbiome balance, we crave the right foods for your health and our waste line. Food cravings become a thing of the past (I am a reformed skeptic). With a healthy microbiome balance we are to digest our food to get key nutrients instead of constantly feeling hungry without getting the nutrition we need. I was plagued with food cravings, especially for sugar!

Dr. Kellman says “Metabolism is the key to weight loss. And the microbiome is the key to metabolism.” Pretty profound! For lasting weight loss and optimal health – a healthy microbiome is essential.

Along with a healthy weight, the majority of our immune system is controlled by our microbiome. With good bacteria in control – they line our digestive track to keep they bad guys from taking hold – keeping us healthy.

The balance of bacteria in your gut also has a large influence on your mood, the health of your organs, mental clarity, and proper development of your bones. The good bacteria also produce their own natural antibiotics!!

Here is a quote directly from the Microbiome Diet that I felt was well worth repeating.

“The vast majority of the cells within your body are not human. Within your intestinal tract lies a whole separate ecology that is inextricably involved with yours. When there microscopic organisms flourish, you flourish. When they struggle, you struggle. When they crave sugar, so do you. And when they operate at peak efficiency, so does your metabolism.”

Scientifically Proven Way To Repair Your Microbiome

Dr. Kellman provides three phases to walk you through restoration of your gut health. He encourages you to add microbiome superfoods to your diet.

The program has three phases:

Phase 1 is the 4 R’s where you will remove, replace, reinoculate and repair to restore your microbiome. This phase lasts 21 days.

In Phase 2 you will give your metabolism a boost and are able to reintroduce certain foods. Phase 2 is 4 weeks in length.

Finally, Phase 3 is the Lifetime Tune-Up where you learn to eat for life to maintain a healthy microbiome.

Read more about the Microbiome Diet Food List and Dr. Kellman’s recommended supplements.

The Good and The Challenging

You will eat real foods throughout, there is:

NO COUNTING CALORIES
NO COUNTING CARBS OR FATS

The challenging part is you will be eating real food. Sounds simple right?

The challenge is we are so accustomed to already prepared foods, boxed foods, etc. Take a step back and think – is that really food? Or a highly processed resemblance of something that once was food? The more processed a  food is, the more confusing it is for our body to digest it and creates all kinds of imbalances, particularly in your microbiome.

The first few weeks of the program will be a little challenging, your body is adjusting to a new way of eating. I found my food cravings subsided fairly quickly and the program became much easier. You’ll be cutting out dairy, gluten, soy and eggs.

The good news is after the first few weeks – your microbiome will be getting much stronger. If you eat according to the Microbiome diet 70% of the time – the other 30% you are free to eat what you wish. As long as your microbiome is strong – your body can handle these foods in moderation.

You will need to devote time to meal preparation. The meals are simple, nothing elaborate. But you do have to cook them. Your health and how you feel will be worth it!

Where Can I Get The Microbiome Diet?

The Microbiome Diet is available most places books are sold. Amazon is always my go to – you can get it for less than $10. Change your life for $10 – what are you waiting for??!!

Pick up your copy today and get started – a smaller waist line, clearer thinking, clear skin and more energy await you!