Gut Health by Choice, Not Chance

I spent much time fueling my body by chance instead of by choice. Sure, there were fleeting moments of something akin to a regiment, like the latest fad diet.

Nothing lasted longer than the duration of a weight loss contest or until I grew tired of eating only hot dogs and broccoli (true story- diet from my earlier years).

There was a time when my eating habits and attention to my health closely resembled being a contestant on The Price is Right, using the venerable bid of “One Dollar, Bob” to win a trip on stage, and ultimately climbing the step ladder to play Plinko.

Drop the chip and watch it ping-pong down the board to its final resting place and that’s the prize you ended up with. In my Plinko game, “Good Health” occupied the $5000 slot and the remaining eight spots included among others, obesity, metabolic disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

Bob Barker handed me four chips and I dropped a chip in every one of the aforementioned maladies, in that order. (Sound Up)

Then, after some fortuitous medical intervention, education, and some good old-fashioned luck, I set out to start operating from a checklist of sorts. I traded chance for choice.

Where had I learned and implemented this before?

I previously spent a lot of time in a cockpit that required some planning, the use of a checklist, and developing consistent habits that directly impacted my health.

All those switches, instruments, and lights, couldn’t be treated like a Plinko game where you dropped a chip and hoped for the best.

With an established gut health diet, built on a foundation of whole foods, loads of fiber, fermented foods, and lean protein, one item I wanted to increase was leafy greens.

I was tripping over article after article highlighting the nutritional powerhouse of leafy greens. The micronutrients, fiber, and polyphenols were a bonanza for gut bacteria and are quite an effective cholesterol management tool.

Sure I eat salads on an occasional basis but not nearly as often as I’d like. My leafy greens intake was pretty much left to chance.

I chose to incorporate leafy greens into my daily diet, as two large handfuls of a “spring mix” were either snacked on or dropped in a protein smoothie.

This relegated the occasional leafy green salad to icing on the proverbial cake.

How did it work out?

Since I have the blessing AND curse of having regular 90-day ish bloodwork drawn for Type 2 diabetic medication surveillance, I saw some significant improvements.

And since I eat largely the same way 5 to 6 days a week, intentionally and regularly adding something as specific as a similar quantity of leafy greens, I lend a little more credence to my results despite not being a double-blind, randomized controlled study….yada, yada, yada.

After all, I’m just an anecdotal study of one person.

The cholesterol numbers from my lipid panel were particularly interesting since the drops were the largest I’ve recorded in years. Leafy greens are wonderful in a supporting role for bile acids and the binding of cholesterol to clear the bloodstream and my beta test sure seemed to confirm those tendencies.

Toss in the lowest Hemoglobin A1C and estimated average glucose readings of my storied diabetic career and I think I’ve stumbled onto a permanent staple in my diet.

Vote for Leafy Greens in 2024.

Make an honest effort to choose how you eat and don’t leave it up to chance. Your gut can help you in so many ways if you feed it what it needs. Run as many fermented foods as you can through your system to have a robust and diverse microbiome.

And feed the bacteria with as much dietary fiber as you can tolerate. If you’re still struggling to find a balanced lineup of tolerable dietary fiber sources, here is a great resource:

Since we talked about The Price Is Right earlier, consider yourself a game show contestant with a parting gift ( I could not believe my eyes). If your ’90s music game is strong enough, feel free to comment on the artist and song title those words were lifted from.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff