Fiber Fueled Summary

By Will Bulsiewicz

Having a gut feeling shouldn't just be an emotional response.

Dr. B's book Fiber Fueled, shows us that fiber is the basis of good health,
and he gives us practical and, yes, "easy-to-digest" science on the gut.
Fiber Fueled explains why fiber matters, and how best to incorporate fiber
fueled plants, and fermented foods into our diets.

Dr. B is a renowned gastroenterologist, and through years of research

and experience, he maintains that optimal health relies on a healthy gut.
And, the solution that he offers is simple; eat more fiber.

Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, or "Dr. B" for short, offers key insights into how gut
health is essential to weight management, overall health, and general
well-being. Dr. B has got your back, or in this case, he's got your gut. He
explains that our energy isn't just generated from what we eat, but from
what we absorb. So, if the gut isn't working efficiently, we're not getting
the necessary nutrients to our cells. Research shows that gut health has
a significant impact on mood, energy levels, and immunity.

This brief summary will guide us through Dr. B's 28-day "kick-start
program," which helps us benefit from a diverse plant-based diet. The
diet he proposes is high in fiber, and will restore and maintain a healthy
gut. As you know, it's often difficult to start these processes and to adopt
a shift in lifestyle, so Fiber Fueled is an excellent handbook to set you on
the way.
Signs of Poor Gut Health

There are many side effects of having poor gut health. A relatively
common condition is "leaky gut." This is a condition where small pieces of
food penetrate the intestinal wall, and enter the bloodstream. They
certainly don't belong there. This infiltration triggers a cascade of events -
all of which are bad news for us.

When food particles and other substances are absorbed incorrectly, our
immune systems go into high alert, and attack them as pathogens. This
immune response, creates inflammation in the bloodstream, which then
moves through the body. It causes digestive distress such as bloating,
heartburn, and diarrhea. Interestingly, the most common area for poor
gut health symptoms involves the brain. Insomnia, brain fog, or poor
memory can be signs of a poorly functioning digestive system.

Many of us may try very hard to be healthy, and opt for healthier options
for what we eat. However, if the gut isn't happy, essential nutrients can't
get to our cells, and we continue to feel tired and unwell.

The good news is that medical health breakthroughs are continuously

providing us with new information to help restore and optimize gut
function. When it comes to learning about our digestive health, and the
little creatures living in our guts known as microbes, knowledge is
expanding.

What Are Microbes and How Do They Impact Gut

Health?
How many of these little engine-drivers, or microbes, do you think that
you have in your digestive system? Dr. B says that there are an
astonishing thirty-nine trillion micro-organisms that take up residence in
our colons. It's difficult to conceptualize a number this enormous. So,
imagine looking up at a clear night sky, and seeing every star in the Milky
Way. Then take the number of stars you can see, and multiply this by a
hundred - that's roughly how many micro-organisms live in your colon.

What's even more mind-blowing is that the number of microbes far

exceeds the number of cells in the human body. So, if you think about it,
we're 90% bacteria, and only 10% human.

The thought of bacteria often triggers negativity. But, the truth is that
bacteria are often what makes us the most healthy. When in balance, the
bacteria in our bodies have incredible healing power. They help digestion,
and strengthen our immune system. On the other hand, when your gut
biome is unbalanced, this can cause weight gain, and increased blood
sugar and cholesterol levels.

What Causes Gut Imbalance?

When it comes to gut imbalance, there are two main culprits; medication
and poor diet.

Did you know that three out of five Americans take prescription drugs?
The problem is that these medications often wreak havoc on gut
microbes. Medication frequently wipes them out, even the good ones.
After a single course of antibiotics, our gut takes approximately four
weeks to return to its pretreatment state. And most antibiotics only treat
symptoms and not the underlying causes of the illness. Dr. B says that
we're a hyper-medicated civilization that relies on a system that focuses
on sick-care, not healthcare.

The second culprit is our increasingly poor diets. Dr. B says that the way
we eat, can be harmful to our gut and overall health. Many of us could be
in a situation where we may eat enough, but our healthy microbes could
be starving. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
approximately 32% of our calorie intake comes from animal foods, 57%
from processed plant foods, and only 11% from whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, and nuts.

Diets that are high in animal protein and processed foods, tend to feed
the inflammatory-producing bacteria, while starving the good, health-
promoting bacteria. Furthermore, high animal protein intake is associated
with an increase in inflammatory microbes. Studies show that L-carnitine,
found in red meat, egg yolk, and dairy products, causes gut bacteria that
can increase the risk of Alzheimer's, strokes, and heart disease.

We should all know that processed foods such as white bread, rice,
pasta, and sugar-laden cereals, are highly refined and low in fiber. One of
the significant problems with this is that they're rapidly absorbed into the
small intestine, instead of being slowly digested. This quick absorption
reduces our gut microbial diversity. Inflammatory bacteria thrive on the
sugar that's produced from simple carbohydrates.

What's encouraging is that plant protein, fuels anti-inflammatory

microbes and suppresses the destructive microbes. This bonus helps us
to ward off many diseases. The need to nourish our healthy gut microbes
is paramount.

And here's the thing, you've probably heard of probiotics, but have you
heard anything about prebiotics?

What are Probiotics and Prebiotics?

Probiotics are our healthy gut bacteria, and prebiotics are the foods that
enable them to thrive. Here is where Dr. B's favorite F-word comes in.
The F-word is Fiber. Fiber is a prebiotic, and it's absolutely essential.

There's a lot of misconception around fiber and high-fiber diets. For

many of us, when we think about fiber, we think of foods that resemble
cardboard and cereals that are difficult to swallow. Many of us might
remember women in advertising, rubbing their stomachs, advocating for
a miracle product bound to keep us all "regular." But, fiber does so much
more than just passing through us, and cleaning out our systems.

The role of fiber in gut health is diverse, and we shouldn't neglect it.
Unsurprisingly, plants have a total monopoly on this nutrient. Fiber is part
of a plant's cellular structure. If you want to get fiber naturally, the only
way to do it, is via plants.

What's also important is realizing the difference between soluble and

insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is the roughage that passes through our
mouths, down to the gut. Along the way, insoluble fiber cleans things up
and finally comes out the other end. Soluble fiber is different, and from a
nutritional standpoint, it's a complex carbohydrate. Complex
carbohydrates remain unchanged as they pass from our mouths to our
stomachs, and even down the fifteen to twenty feet of your small
intestine.

By the time soluble fiber reaches our colons, it still has the same
molecular structure as when it went into our mouths. So, once in the
colon, the healthy bacteria metabolize the fiber. This stage is when the
magic happens.

What are Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Why Do We

Need Them?

The breakdown of fiber by gut bacteria unleashes what Dr. B regards as

the most healing nutrient in nature: short-chain fatty acids. Dr. B can't
say enough good things about the magic of fatty acids, and he admits his
interest in them often borders on obsession. Science now shows that
short-chain fatty acids are the dominant drivers of gut health, and benefit
the entire body.

The name describes them well. They're short-chain, chemical compounds

made up of two, three, or four carbon atoms connected in different
variations. This description may sound a bit complicated, but they're the
dominant energy source for our colon.

They also help healthy microbes grow, they repair the leaky gut, and
they're vital regarding reducing the release of bad bacteria and harmful
toxins into our systems. In short, they're the superheroes that ease gut
dysbiosis. They reduce gas, bloating, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Furthermore, they help regulate the immune system, prevent cancer,
heart disease, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes.
But, as with all things there's a bit of a catch. To get the benefits of short-
chain fatty acids, we need to eat more prebiotics, and thus more fiber. To
do that, we need to ramp up our plant consumption.

Ramping up our plant consumption may be met with a bit of an eye-roll.

Mainly at the thought of eating countless kale leaves. The key to this
approach is realizing the importance of variety, and having an open mind
about plants. One of the most extensive studies on microbes, published
by Dr. Knight in 2017, shows that the single most significant predictor of
a healthy gut microbiome, is incorporating a diverse range of plants into
our diets.

Research suggests that we should be eating up to thirty different plants

per week, to support a healthy microbiome. The good news is that every
plant type we introduce into our diet, provides a unique microbe
community, that helps our gut thrive. So the more varied our plant intake
is, the more diverse our microbiomes become.

Our food worlds can open up significantly, if we learn to appreciate and

explore the wide variety of plant ingredients available. Dr. B says that,
there are over three hundred thousand edible plants on the planet.
However, most Americans don't eat more than twenty-five. Think about
what you could be missing out on? The key idea is that plant diversity in
our menu, should be part of our planning every time we eat, and this is
where Dr. B's diet plan comes in. He provides comprehensive information,
along with a four-week diet plan to get us all fiber fueled.

Let's explore his strategy.

How To Begin Your Journey to Good Gut Health

An easy way to incorporate plants into our diets is to remember the

acronym, F-GOALS. This acronym stands for fruits and fermented foods,
greens and grains, omega-rich nuts and seeds, aromatics, legumes, and
sulforaphane.

Fruit and Fermented Foods

Remember that adage about apples and doctors? Well, Dr. B,

recommends more than just a single apple a day.

A study from Cornell University shows that eating combinations of fruit,

results in increased antioxidant activity in the body. Berries are incredibly
nutrient-rich, and one study shows that eating two servings of berries
per week, can reduce Parkinson's disease by 23%.

And as with most things, don't take shortcuts. All of those juice fads you
read about, will never match the benefits of eating the whole fruit. For
example, one orange contains 45 calories, 2.5 grams of fiber, and 9
grams of sugar. Orange juice, on the other hand, contains 134 calories,
0.5 grams of fiber, and 23.3 grams of sugar. So orange juice contains
more than double the calories and sugar of a whole orange, without the
fiber.

You may have noticed, there's been a massive resurgence in the

popularity of fermented foods. This is one fad that should become a
lifestyle. Fermented foods are rich in healthy bacteria, or probiotics.
Almost every culture on earth, has fermented foods as part of their food
tradition because it's an excellent preservation method.

This abundance of options is good news when you're looking for

fermented foods in your local grocery store. Be adventurous with
experimenting with these ingredients. Dr. B's suggestion for an afternoon
energy boost is to replace coffee with a cup of miso. Miso is a fermented
soybean paste with a salty flavor. It's packed with calcium to promote
healthy bones and can ward off cancer.

Greens and Grains

We all know that greens are excellent for our health; Popeye and the Jolly
Green Giant have been touting their benefits for years. The trouble with
greens, is that they can have a bad reputation with regards to taste. This
reputation may have a lot to do with us generally eating over boiled
greens.

There's so much diversity when it comes to eating, and preparing, our

daily greens. Even the leaves of some root veggies like beetroot, turnip,
radish, and carrots are edible. Popeye was right about spinach. Eating
one cup of spinach offers 36% of our daily iron intake, 11% of our daily
protein, 4 grams of fiber, and a host of vitamins and minerals.

When it comes to grains, it's pretty intuitive. Drop the refined stuff, such
as white rice and highly processed bread, but don't be carb-phobic. Dr. B
says that if you want a healthy gut, whole grains are essential.

To back this up, Dr. B provides numerous studies. One particular ten-year
study of dietary patterns examined 37 different food groups and showed
that whole grain consumption had the most potent anti-inflammatory
effect on the body. Those consuming whole grains saw their
inflammation measure, the C-reactive protein, drop by 21%. Those who
eliminated whole grains saw theirs increase by 12%. The evidence is
clear; whole grains are anti-inflammatory, so it's time to end the war on
carbs and enjoy that slice of freshly baked sourdough.

Omega-3

The most efficient way to get more Omega-3 is by incorporating more

seeds into your diet. Dr. B suggests adding flaxseed, chia seeds, and
hemp seeds to your daily diet. The great thing about seeds is that they're
easy to incorporate into salad dressings, porridge, or just as a sprinkling
to add texture.

Aromatics

Foods such as onions, leeks, and garlic do more than ward off vampires.
Aromatics such as these contain an enzyme called allianase, which is anti-
viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic. But, to activate this enzyme, we
need to pause after chopping these vegetables. Dr. B calls this the "Chop
and Stop" method. Chop up your garlic or onion, then wait 10 minutes
before adding it to the frying pan.

Legumes

Legumes are packed with fiber. Even your typical green peas are full of
fiber; a cup of peas has 7 grams of fiber. Lentils contain a whopping 16
grams, so why not combine various legumes with a whole grain like
brown rice? In this way, you can create a complete protein.

Sulforaphane

It sounds like a bit of a mouthful, but studies show that this compound
creates healthy microbes and restores harmony to the gut. But, what's
sulforaphane, and where can you find it? Sulforaphane is unique to the
cruciferous family of vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and
cabbage.

In Conclusion

When you think of the F word, it's time to start thinking about fiber. Dr. B
offers us the science behind why fiber and gut health are both the way
towards a healthier lifestyle, but he also gives us a solid plan to follow to
reach optimum health.

And yes, transitioning to a plant-based diet may admittedly be

challenging to start. There may also be some unwanted side effects,
associated with upping beans and cruciferous veggies, such as gas and
bloating. Dr. B's advice is to start low and go slow. Begin the process by
slowly adding small quantities of fiber to your diet, so the gut can adapt
to processing this efficiently.
Dr. B argues that we're only as healthy as our guts, and often we neglect
just how important they're to overall health and wellness. To support the
gut, we need to look after our microbes. We also need to be aware of the
adverse effects that medication and poor diet can cause. Although it may
seem prescriptive, following a plant-based diet is all about variety. So
embrace diversity, consume a high-fiber plant-based diet that includesan
abundance of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.