After Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what bacteria you haveBlanca García-Orea Haro has just published her second part, entitled tell me what i eat now. “A publication whose purpose is for people to improve their microbiota, their digestion and their energy, where there is no shortage of sweet and savory recipes, and healthy menus, also for veggies, pregnant women and children, or suitable for batch cooking”, explains García-Orea Haro.
WHO
Blanca García-Orea Haro is a clinical nutritionist, specialized in digestive and hormonal nutrition, and with a master’s degree in Human Microbiota. She co-directs the Clínicas Segura medical center and teaches courses on the close relationship of the intestine with the quality of our emotions, the state of our immune system and, therefore, the disease. She is one of the most followed nutritionists on social media, with more than 660,000 followers on Instagram. In 2020 she was considered one of the 100 best influencers according to Forbes magazine. he has published Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what bacteria you have, Blanca’s recipesy Tell me what I eat now. Improve your microbiota and your energy.
Is it true that we are what we eat?
We are rather what we absorb, not just what we eat; You can eat well, but if your intestine doesn’t work regularly – which can be for many reasons, from stress to any type of pathology you have – you’re not really going to absorb food correctly. In this publication I address the subject and I refer to the microorganisms that are outside the body but that might come to live inside us and colonize it; I focus on the concentration of food, anti-inflammatory diet and the first thousand days of life, pregnancy and lactation.
What is the microbiota?
It is the set of microorganisms that lives within us; They are on the skin, in the navel, in the eyes, throughout the digestive tract… What happens is that in the large intestine we have more quantity and diversity of microorganisms. And the most interesting thing is that we have more microorganisms than human cells. Our body is the house of microorganisms. We provide them with the place where they live, which is our body, and the food they need through what we eat, because in the end they are alive and they need to eat to survive.
How to know that the microbiota is wrong? What does it depend on to work correctly?
There are some symptoms such as permanent tiredness, weakness, swelling, belching, reflux, heartburn, apathy, moodiness, etc. that can tell us that our microbiota is not working properly. Then we must consult with the specialist to solve the problem. That the microbiota is well depends on things as simple as a good diet, curbing stress, avoiding the consumption of toxins such as alcohol, tobacco, or doing a little exercise. It can also influence whether you are taking antibiotics, antacids…
“For an adult person, eating three times a day is more than enough”
How does what we eat affect these microorganisms?
What we eat is their food, although not everything serves them. If we eat improperly, with ultra-processed foods, lots of sugar, foods that are not rich in fiber, etc., these microorganisms go hungry and cannot fulfill their functions.
What functions?
In addition to digesting fiber and food that we do not have the ability to digest, microorganisms synthesize vitamins such as B and K, which are very important. In addition, they are part of our immune system. From the moment we are born, it is our microbiota that will help our immune system to differentiate what is ours from what is foreign. This differentiation is very decisive because it can help the immune system to defend us when pathogens arrive. Another of the great benefits that they provide us is that they give us energy, but if we do not feed them correctly, we are going to need to take this energy from highly processed foods.
Should we go back to the Mediterranean diet?
Not what is now called the Mediterranean diet; we are becoming more and more westernized. We must return to the real Mediterranean diet, the one made up of fruits, nuts, quality meat, fish, eggs and legumes. All that fresh food that doesn’t need packaging.
Did our elders eat better than us?
Definitely. We now have less time to make some grounded food; We are at home for a short time and we cook very little. We throw away a lot of ultra-processed foods. And eating poorly causes us more anxiety because it leads to a drop in sugar. If in the morning you have some cookies for breakfast and following half an hour you are hungry, it is because you have had a sugar rush and then the drop, hypoglycemia. This makes you feel unfocused and craving to eat.
What has happened?
That in the first meal of the day you have lacked protein, you have not included good fiber because cookies do not have it incorporated, but it comes in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes. It would be enough to have a slice with cheese and ham for breakfast.
What foods make us feel good?
It’s a power set; there are no key foods to always feel good. To be well during the day you have to regulate the glycemia peaks. This is the key to not eating every two hours and avoiding being tired and irritable.
It’s complicated?
The easiest thing is to have a salty breakfast; a toast with avocado and cheese, with ham and egg or with tomato and ham. The first meal of the day is the most important in terms of choice. If you choose milk with cookies, the day will probably not be the same. Making bad decisions from the first moment of the day is what is going to make us feel worse. The rest of the day matters too, but the first meal of the day on an empty stomach is vital.
If the diet is not good, the medicine does not work?
With a healthy diet, the patient will better assimilate the medication and reduce inflammation, which is very useful in any pathology. You have to regulate it, and with food we can lower it, which will improve the immune system that can take care of other things.
Five, three… How many times do we have to eat a day?
What they tell us regarding five times a day is not real; It’s something that the industry has sold us because in the end if you don’t take the mid-morning snacks there are fewer sales for them. I always say that it is important to look at the physiology of the body. We have an intestinal self-cleaning system in the body. Every time we stop eating for four or five hours, the process is activated and sweeps away the remains of the previous feeding. This means that we improve our digestion, that we are not so bloated, that we do not have gas, because when we eat continuously, this self-cleaning does not occur. It is difficult for someone who really eats well and includes enough fat in their diet to be hungry within four hours. If you are hungry before, something is wrong and you have to review your diet. The ideal is to eat three times a day in adults and even two. In addition, it is not regarding eating less, but the same but divided into three times. What inflames us is eating continuously, because our digestive system needs between 4 and 5 hours of fasting between each meal.
“You have to go back to all that fresh food that doesn’t need packaging”
Is the intestine our second brain?
Although we think that we only have neurons in the brain, the truth is that they are also in the intestine, although to a lesser extent. Between these neurons there is a communication, intestine-brain, which is bidirectional. That is to say, if I feel hungry, the neurons of my intestine will communicate with those of my brain so that that sensation of having to eat appears. In addition, up to 90% of serotonin, the so-called happiness hormone, and 50% of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter of reward, of pleasure, is produced in the intestine. This is very important. If we take care of our microbiota, we will be taking care of our brain. It’s important for people to know that our gut is more than just a warehouse for shit. And it is that intestinal microorganisms regulate the immune system, fight infections and diseases as long as its operation is optimal. For this reason, the microbiota regulates the development and function of the brain, which is why it can be the cause of stress and even neurodegenerative pathologies.
Light or zero foods are in fashion. Do you recommend them?
No Neither of the two. All these claims are a hoax because they fill you with sweeteners that are also not good for the microbiota; They are full of bad additives. For example, choosing a light yogurt makes no sense. If you remove the fat from a yogurt, which contains very little, you will not absorb vitamin D, because it needs fat to be absorbed. The fat that yogurt contains is what will make you feel satisfied. A whole yogurt is much better than fat free.
Should we gradually reduce meat consumption?
Fish is better for every day. But if the meat is of quality, eating it three times a week wouldn’t be bad either; if it were not of quality, it would be necessary to avoid its consumption. The meat of a pastured animal that improves the lipid profile of the meat, contains the good fat, Omega 3, is not the same as that of one that is not fed like this. At the cardiovascular level it will be much worse. Therefore, if the meat is not of quality, it must be removed from our daily diet.
Should we bet on seasonal products and zero kilometer ones?
Undoubtedly. All foods have more vitamins. When I go shopping I always look to see if they are from here; as local as possible and try to make them seasonal; both for our health and for encouraging local production and trade.
Is it necessary to learn to eat well from childhood?
In Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what bacteria you have I talk regarding diet during pregnancy, because what is eaten during that period will determine what the baby will want to eat. The flavors will be familiar to you, and even more so if you are breastfeeding followingwards. Although these two situations have not occurred, what you accustom a child to eating is very important because the palate is made to it. Adults can also get used to the flavors, it will be difficult at first but following two weeks the palate adapts to everything. There are many people who do not like vegetables, but little by little they are adapting, although the older it will be, the more difficult.
What would you like to achieve with your book?
Changing the food paradigm. It seems that anything goes when it comes to eating. I write my books to emphasize that food goes beyond gaining weight and losing weight. Food is very important for the immune system; If you improve your diet, the microbiota will do better and you will have a better quality of life. The diet cannot be limited to foods that make you fat or lose weight; it’s something more complex. If you only think regarding the calories in food, you will not be on the right track. Because a coke has the same calories as an avocado, with the difference that the first inflames you and the second provides you with nutrients and improves your microbiota; the effects are totally different even if they have the same calories.
