He’s not evil; he’s just misunderstood.

In recent years, carbohydrates have become the ultimate dietary scapegoat, blamed for everything from obesity to chronic disease.

But is this true?

This has been particularly prominent in the weight loss community, where carbohydrates are often unfairly accused of being the primary culprit behind the obesity epidemic and digestive disorders. A common misconception is that carbohydrates primarily "feed bad bacteria," leading to dysbiosis and digestive issues. 

However, this oversimplified view ignores carbohydrates' complex role in human health, particularly maintaining a healthy gut ecosystem. Scientific evidence consistently demonstrates their crucial role in maintaining gut health and overall digestive function. 

When we say 'carbs'’, we refer to whole food, real, single-ingredient carb sources like vegetables, fruits, berries, and quality-made bread.

Processed, packaged 'carbs' contain many more ingredients than just carbs ... Plus, the caloric value of plant fats found in processed foods is often higher than that of carbohydrates.

So, the main causes of gut problems and overweight are:

1. Overeating (Increased single meal).

2. Excessive calorie intake.

3. Overconsumption of plant fats (linoleic acid provokes inflammatory processes).

4. Predominance in the diet of fast carbohydrates over slow carbohydrates.

Five reasons why carbohydrates improve gut health:

1. Protect the gut barrier - Glucose from carbohydrates actively protects the gut endothelium against stress and helps maintain gut barrier integrity. The proper function of the gut endothelium is essential for digestion and maintaining a balance in the gut microbiome.

2. Produce protective gastrointestinal mucous - Appropriate levels of mucus in the gut is vital for maintaining a healthy gut environment and supporting overall digestive health. Five important roles of mucus in the gut include:

   Protection - The mucus acts as a barrier that protects the intestinal lining from mechanical damage, pathogens, and toxins.
   Lubrication - It helps facilitate the passage of food and waste through the digestive tract, making digestion and excretion smoother.
   Immune function - Mucus contains antibodies and antimicrobial proteins that help defend against infections by neutralizing harmful bacteria and viruses.
   Microbiome support - It provides a habitat for beneficial gut bacteria essential for digestion, nutrient absorption, and overall gut health.
   Hydration - Mucus helps maintain moisture in the gut, which is important for proper digestive function.

CARBS and PROTEIN are the building blocks of this important mucus layer. The major building blocks in mucus are mucins, which are large, highly glycosylated proteins. Glycosylated proteins have sugar molecules (glycans) attached to them.

3. Speed up transit time - Research consistently shows that carbohydrate consumption improves thyroid health, and better thyroid health leads to faster gastric emptying times.

   Proper gut motility and a relatively fast emptying time are crucial for preventing conditions like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). 

   Poor gut motility leads to stagnation, resulting in bacterial overgrowth and fermentation in the wrong spots along the digestive tract. This can lead to pain, bloating, food intolerances, and other digestive issues.

4. Increases poop frequency and bulk - Pooping every single day is a must! Poop isn't just food waste; it contains a variety of other components, including bacteria, cellular debris, toxins, used hormones, and bile salts.
   You don’t have to go out of your way to go cray overboard in consuming fiber, but moderate amounts through the consumption of whole foods is well documented in the literature to support and improve overall gut health.

5. Keep the microbiome balanced, naturally - While it is near impossible to define what the ideal microbiome should look like (resident microbes are highly diverse, vary between individuals, and change with diet), recent evidence supports that the ideal gut microbiome should be dominated by obligate anaerobic bacteria that can break down nonusable fibers, with lower levels of facultative organisms.

   Obligate anaerobic bacteria specialize in fiber consumption and help maintain the right internal conditions to support healthy gut bacteria.

Avoid restrictive extremes.

Rather than taking extreme measures or attempting to micromanage the gut microbiome, a more balanced, holistic approach is recommended:

1. Focus on improving overall metabolic rate and systemic function, which involves including dietary carbs that will address intestinal motility. Give preference to cooking fiber-rich vegetables. But remember that legumes and cabbage, for example, can also be triggers for the gut.

2. Include foods containing resistant starch.

3. Control the number of calories in your portion; don't overeat.

4. Remove gut-irritating foods for your unique gut.

5. Temporarily eliminate individual trigger foods.

6. Provide adequate energy and nutrients.

7. Allow the body's natural healing mechanisms to work.

So, what carbs work best for you? The goal is to identify foods that can be more fully digested and thus minimize digestive discomfort. Not all carbs will work for everyone! If certain foods don't agree with you right now (which can totally change as gut health and thyroid health improves), avoid them for the time being.

The key is to choose the right types of carbohydrates that work for you and understand that gut health is part of a larger systemic picture involving energy production and metabolism.

As we always say, moderation is the key.

Explore the awesome newsletters 👇

From our archive:

Missed this gem? Discover the carbs and gut health more:

🐇 Introducing carbs - simple about complex

🐇 Resistant starch: top 7 your benefits

🐇 5 eating habits for better you

Happy New Year!