The benefits of a healthy gut

Our diet affects our well-being on several levels: 

• The energy we have for all kinds of tasks, both physical and cognitive – for example, it can be easier to concentrate on your assignment or get to the third floor without losing your breath;
• Our quality of sleep(with a balanced diet, we may find it easier to wake up in the morning);
• Our apearance and the state of our skin and body; 
• Our mood: recent studies (1, 2) show that there is a connection between the composition of our gut microbiota and the amount of serotonin produced by our brain; so, some might say, eating more balanced meals is one sure way to feel happier on a regular basis. 

There aren’t many things in our lives that we can directly control – for instance, the levels of stress are hardly something we can influence – but, luckily, our diet falls within the limited number of factors that we actually can change. And the even better news is that it doesn’t have to be a drastic, overnight change, either.

One habit at a time

In fact, one common mistake people make when trying to eat healthier is dropping every bad habit at once: quitting all snacks, fast food, and anything else they deem “unhealthy.” Apart from being quite a source of stress in itself, this is hardly the way to make sustainable, long-lasting changes. 

“Our body craves stability and routines: say, meals at regular times every day, or breaks between meals instead of constant snacking. So, it’s natural that, having started a new, “healthy,” life on a Monday, dropping everything we are used to for greens, or some limited number of “good” products, by Thursday or Friday we will most often struggle to keep this up. The trick is in gradual changes: decide to do one new thing every week, for instance, and notice how this new habit feels for you. Gradual steps last longer than overnight 180 turns,” says Anastasia Antonova.

What are some simple habits you can try out?

• One salad (any kind) a day – it can be just some greens or vegetables thrown together;
• One meal a day eaten without a screen – set your phone to “do not disturb” and try to concentrate on your food; 
• One unusual product during your grocery run: look at the produce section and choose something you haven’t tried before or simply something atypical – maybe you have never eaten an eggplant or forgot when was the last time you bought a bell pepper. Make one such non-obvious choice during your regular stock-up;
• Keep a food diary for a week: just write down what you eat and add a few notes on whether you enjoyed the meal.

Choose the habit that feels easiest to stick with – or, even better, find a friend or a colleague who’d like to practice it with you. Maybe you will eat together once a week and it will be a salad or a meal cooked with new ingredients; over it, you can share your impressions of your new habit or discuss your struggles. This journey is easier to accomplish when you are doing it alongside someone else. 

“The main point is not to let this become another anxiety-inducing factor. If you are doing this to try out a new lifestyle, take it easy, there is no need to stress. Healthy eating is about diversity of foods – tasty foods that you enjoy. You don’t have to ban entire food groups, like sweets or chips, from your life; what you can do instead is focus on enriching your meals with new ingredients, even one a day, and then notice how this makes you feel. Even though it may be hard at the start, our bodies want to be healthy – every new habit will be easier and easier to maintain,” adds Anastasia Antonova. 

Visible changes: our experiment

As an example of what changes in your mood and well-being you can expect, I have conducted a two-fold experiment: first, I tried to adopt some typical “bad” habits for a week – a habit a day – and then essentially went back to my healthy-ish starting point (three meals with vegetables or greens daily), also day by day.

My “bad” habits may not seem like much: chips for dinner, a skipped meal, and snacks/sweets instead of a full meal for several days. However, even with those, I did notice some changes compared to my “regular” days – after a week of such atypical choices, I had a little less energy during the day and no chocolate bar was safe in my presence. Another effect was a generally lower mood; though, here, of course, multiple factors could have contributed, so I am not claiming it was all down to food. Finally, at the end of the week, I noticed a couple of new breakouts on my face – which was the final straw; I was glad to start my journey back to a healthier routine.

It’s been almost a week of good habits: I am letting go of daily cookies and, meal by meal, going back to salads and greens. One new habit I am trying out is eating a meal a day without a screen – and I seem to need surprisingly less food than I thought!

Naturally, a week isn’t enough for drastic changes, good or bad, but my main takeaway is that experiments with food are fun: new choices on both weeks felt exhilarating and brought more flexibility and freedom. I hope that you also experience this if you decide to try out the healthy habits mentioned in this article!

If you are looking to read more on the topic, take a look at this tag on microbiome-related research or this article tackling common food myths.