REPOST Part 2: Originally posted by Drink Baotic on GambiaRiverRun (May 18th 2017)
Read Part 1 – Have you got the guts?
Heroes and Villains: In 2015, the Government published an instrumental Carbohydrates and Health report, highlighting a number of dietary issues. It stressed the need for lower sugar AND higher fibre intake.
The industry, backed by key celebrities, jumped to demonise sugar and it became the villain in the pantomime of life and death. Sugar control is important, especially for many of our customers in raising healthy children. But health is about balance, and no-one sided view helps create a solution.
Unfortunately as a nation we have forgotten about the fibre. In the UK we consume on average less than 50% fibre than the daily recommended 30g guideline (NHS, UK Government 2015). This area of research also highlights that low fibre contributes to:
- Poor digestive strength including, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- Obesity, weight gain and poor weight control
- Stroke, cardiovascular and heart disease,
- High blood cholesterol
- Poor blood sugar levels
- Type 2 diabetes
Sugar was villainised. We support key industry players that promote a ‘calorie in, calorie out’ awareness to our dietary lifestyles; we need to control what we burn depending on what we consume. This area of ‘awareness’ still remains fairly new space, which we believe will become more prominent representing a true long term trend (not just a fad). But what it promotes is adjusting from demonising certain food groups to a more informed, empowering culture based on nutrition and truly understanding ‘what is good for you’.
It’s simple, everyone loves a bit of theatre, but lets create heroes and not villains!
And for us, Fibre is our super-hero. A healthy digestive system can benefit the fundamentals of a healthy body as well as our entire mood. It’s true what they say; “Good food makes you happy”.
There will always be a villain in the theatre of life, but as active people / runners we are positive people, so let’s also focus on these hero’s of health, happiness, helpfulness and wellbeing.
The ‘Micobiome’ you say? That’s Gutsy!
Only recently through improved research and technology have we truly started to realise that the secret to how our body manages food lies in our microbes and not our genes. These microbes in your gut are vital in your ability to digest food, provide key nutrients and enzymes for your metabolism, and can change the way you store fat, balance blood glucose levels, respond to hormones, and build strength in your immune system.
We inherit our mother’s microbiome ‘fingerprint’ during birth, and then diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress, medication and our environmental exposure alter our microbe divesity as we progress through life. Importantly, every person’s is unique, and that’s where the correct fibre and PRE-biotics can help – by targeting growth (like a fertiliser) for the healthy bacteria in your system.
Whist research continues to better understand the cause and effect, the improved knowledge shows us that when our microbes are out of balance it can be linked to the following issues:
- Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIS)
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Parkinsons Disease
- Alzheimers Disease
- Colon Cancer
- Pneumonia
- Arthritis
- Autism
- Asthma
- Allergies
- Leaky Gut
- Digestive, Obesity and Weight issues
- Depression, mood, stress, anxiety
- Low Immunity
Sport: Got The Runs?
If all that was not important enough for a runner? Well we all know that runners, and long distance runners, can suffer more from dodgy stomach issues. We’ve all suffered the queues for loos and many have experienced the adventure of a ‘stop’ in the woods! Research suggests that a healthy microbiome can help fight off the wobbly runners bowel, and stabilise ‘the runs’ (sorry, pun intended) giving you more confidence on race day! (or any-day!) If you want to understand more research in this area and like a good read, here’s some fascinating work in the field…
- Endurance exercise and gut microbiota (Shanghai University) – Read Article
- Cardiorespiratory fitness as a predictor of intestinal microbial diversity and distinct metagenomic functions – Read Article
- Exercise and associated dietary extremes impact on gut microbial diversity – Read Article
- Early-life exercise may promote lasting brain and metabolic health through gut bacterial metabolites – Read Article
- Effect of intestinal microbiota on exercise performance in mice – Read Article
- Can gut bacteria improve your health? Harvard Medical School – Read Article
Read more about our Lets Get Gutsy Campaign – to turn an ugly subject into a healthy one!
Good luck with your training, we hope you have the guts to smash your next PB!
Like what we do? Back our CROWDFUNDER now and help kickstart our plans for a healthy world.
Thanks for reading! Stay Healthy, Happy, and Helpful!
Paul & Isatou
#TeamBaotic
W: www.drinkbaotic.co.uk / tw: @DrinkBaotic / fb: DrinkBaotic ig: DrinkBaotic
