We have all heard the saying "you are what you eat" but we are also "what our gut microbes tell us to eat."

Our microbes have dietary preferences, and if we feed them what they want, they will send signals to our brain asking for more of those specific foods. "Some microbes prefer carbohydrates and sugars (like yeasts), some dietary fibers (like Bifidobacteria), whilst others prefer fats (like Bacteroidetes)."

Just like any living creature on this planet, the microbes in your stomach are competing to survive; they compete with other microbes for their preferred foods. This type of behavior can be beneficial or harmful for the host depending on which microbes survive.

The bacteria in our gut communicate to our brain via the gut-brain axis through the vagus nerve. So, if we feel crummy due to specific bad microbes overcrowding good microbes in our gut, they might send signals to our brain for sugary foods to make us feel happy.

These microbes can also control our food choices by modifying receptors in the gut. "For example, the microbes that prefer sugar trigger the body to spike the number of sweet receptors in the gut. As the number of these receptors in the body increase, so does the craving for more sugar."

You are correct to think this sounds like a snowball effect. By feeding your microbes lots of a specific food (i.e. sugar), the population of sugar-loving microbes will grow, which will also support the recruitment of higher numbers of microbes that crave sugar. It is easy to see how this can lead to temptation and loss of self-control over dietary choices.

To take control over your cravings and produce a healthier microbiome, be sure to increase the diversity of healthy foods in your diet by eating plenty of fibrous and nutrient-dense foods to keep your good gut microbes happy!

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