Good gut microbes are crucial for our overall health, so it is important to “feed” them with the appropriate foods, namely fiber. According to scientific research, adding more fiber to one’s diet improves the microbial profile directly linked to obesity, and this eventually leads to a leaner physique and better health.
Also, it has been found that if insufficient amounts of fiber are consumed, these good and healthy microbes actually become “starved” and can start feeding themselves from the mucus lining of the gut, which can lead to very serious health conditions.
According to the findings of a research team from Stanford’s Sonnenberg lab, the proper diet is key to regulating and changing the microbiota.
The best fiber for the good gut microbes are those found in a wide variety of vegetables and whole grains, which are capable of resisting the enzymes in the digestive system and can move through to the large intestine whole, where the good and healthy microbes can feed on them.
By extracting the good nutrients and energy from these fibers, these microbes add to a general improvement of the health, strengthening of the immune system, protection against obesity and certain inflammation processes in the body.
The problem though is that today’s diet typical for the Western world is very poor in fiber and includes a mere average of 15 grams of good fiber per day. This has shifted drastically through the years, because in prehistoric times when humans were hunters and gatherers, the supposed consumption of this type of fiber must have been at least 10 times more than the current one.
But fear not, according to a new comparative nutrition research from the University of Illinois, just one fiber rich snack bar a day can make the difference and can improve your microbial profile in a couple of weeks.
Whether you choose to eat a fiber rich snack or add some natural fiber to your daily diet, it is bound to have a good effect, and to feed the healthy microbes in the gut.
Unfortunately, the best natural sources of the cellulose and fiber which is essential for our better health and leaner body are naturally found mainly in parts of vegetables and plants which we tend to throw away, such as the carrot peels, broccoli stalks, the tops of the leeks, and the bottom parts of celery and asparagus. Some other excellent natural sources are: Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root, leeks, white onions, raspberries and other delicious veggies and fruits.
So, it is never too late to add some more fiber to keep your healthy gut microbes happy, and thus to keep your body healthy and lean too.
Read more: A detailed review of good fiber and bad fiber.
I am poor, but I want to eat healthy. Fresh vegetables are too expensive for me.
For years I thought it was too expensive to purchase the volume of veggies needed to replace the amount of bad food I was eating. But that seems to only be true if your options are large chain supermarkets or small farmer’s markets (which are usually much better quality for the same price).
If you’re lucky enough to live in the vicinity of a migrant population, chances are they at least have a medium sized market, if not their own supermarket that serves their community. And believe me, the selection of fresh produce and the crazy low prices will blow your mind. I know this won’t be true for everyone (based on geographic location), but check it out if you can. Stocking up on 5 bags of fresh fruit and veggies for $26 will make your search well worth it. Plus the spice aisle alone will probably make you throw your big chain club card in the trash.
Although it definitely doesn’t qualify as healthy eating for broke people, there is low-mercury tuna available. I looked for it years ago for a friend who was pregnant and craving it a lot. Carvalho fisheries sells it and there may be others.
I have a couple of tips that slightly echo what has been said but are a tiny tweak, as well. Hope it’s helpful:
1. I always keep a huge stock pot of vegetable stew in the refrigerator. Always. It has become my “fast food.” Any day that I’m too tired or busy to cook, I zap a bow. Or two. Or as many as I like. Each week I make a huge pot, without fail.
2. Kale is the bomb lightly tossed in olive oil, sea salt, and baked. DELICIOUS tasty “chips”!
My wife has been chronically ill for about 10 years now, and good diet is not optional for her. We have had no choice but to make it work. I really think the issue most people find is that prepackaged foods and quick prep items are the real issue. When you go ‘healthy’ or organic, etc. These foods do indeed tend to drive up the bill. But the real issue is that you don’t just stop buying food from Wally world, you need to change what you are buying.
In years past there was more cardboard in the cart than veggies. But now a days our cart is often mostly veggies. If you find ways to make large batches of foods, with high percentage of veggies, it’s a win win. You have cheaper bills, and also you will have large filling dishes.
The other major factor is to take advantage of your freezer. Don’t make two plates of food. Make a whole pot. Typically large meals freeze well, and are cheaper to boot. Things like soup, casseroles, even breakfast sandwiches are great to store away.
The added benefit here too is that on those busy or lazy days… you pull out a mason jar of soup, or a container of that yummy dish from last month, and in a few quick minutes you have a meal. Save your time, save your money… but you will need to change what most folks put in the cart. It’s all good, just different.
I usually have a ton of like, quarter heads of broccoli, half heads of cabbage, etc, leftover at the end of the week and desperately want to use them before they go bad. I came up with this phenomenal soup that’s low in fat, high in vitamins (protein, too, if you want to add a can of kidney beans, which I usually skip to save my DnD group from CR 12 gas constructs).
Whatever solid, cooking vegetables you have in the fridge (My usual ensemble is Cauliflower (1/4 head), Broccoli (1-2 handfuls florets and finely diced stems, chuck the very bottom/browning part of the stem or feed it to your animals), finely sliced carrots, 2-3 handfuls spinaches or chopped cabbage, 1 ear of corn’s worth of kernels (one small can will do, too!), peas are fine, though I usually skip them. For your base, use 1 (1 ltr) bottle of V8 Spicy, and 1/2 that bottle filled with water. Add 2-3 tbs worcestershire, 2T black pepper, 2T curry powder, 1T brown sugar (adds a bit of depth), 1T apple cider vinegar, 2T basil. Continue seasoning to taste. Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream (if you like) and a hunk of bread (if carbs aren’t a problem on your diet). 2c is about 200 – 300 calories (More if you have beans in there or high starch vegetables, starch = sugar = calories).
Eat seasonally – right now cabbage is cheap. Come spring, it will be tender greens. Don’t forget Costco. Especially for frozen veggies and fruits.
A large bag of anything frozen lasts forever. Costco’s chicken is also a decent value and can be used to make stock for other things. Go in with some friends and buy 1/2 a cow.
Bones and organs are often overlooked. But they have awesome value. You can eat healthy and cheap if you add them to your diet.
1. Bones
I get bones weekly (especially in winter) from the local farmers market. I roast them in the oven, draw off the melted fat, then put them in a big pot of water (with a little vinegar to draw out their boniness into the broth), throw in some whole seed spices, & some root vegetables to enrich the broth – which i let simmer for about 6 hours. The veggies get composted (as all their flavor is then in the stock).
The bones are then picked for their meat, and then discarded. Check it out: a bag of bones costs around $4-6 depending on the size, number, purveyor, and local demand. This yields:
– Beautiful, rich fat (poured out of the pan after roasting) to cook other food in.
– The meat, picked of the bones after simmering.
– A gallon or two of “rocket fuel”.
– Intensely nourishing broth. Replace water with broth as you cook grains, or braise vegetables, or make soup.
2. Organs.
Shop your local farmers markets. Find the niches. People want meat and look straight past the organs, which come from every animal. Help the farmers know that the whole animal is being valued and used. Meanwhile, you get to eat the most nutrient dense parts of the animal. Flesh is filler. Organs support the fundamentals of life. Organs from local grass-feeding farms are beautiful and delicious. Do NOT get organs from industrially farmed animals. Do NOT support industrial farming (period) – as best as you are able. I love Liver best of the organs. A quick sear on both sides in oil in an onion-y pan – after a fast dredge in a touch of flour, salt and spice is awesome. Organs too, are mostly cheaper than meat.
Awesome value, nutritionally dense, and (when from local farmers practicing beautiful stewardship) part of a local and regenerative food system.
Cook some bacon and then break it into bits. Then add the bits of bacon to kale and steam. Incredibly easy and tastes awesome.
If do you do have a steamer, fear not! To steam on the cheap, fill a pot (with lid) with water and then place a sheet of tin-foil over the pan. Push in on the foil to make it slightly concaved, then secure it around the pot’s edge. Now take a toothpick or fork and poke a bunch of holes all around the inside of the tin foil. Start boiling the water in the pot, put the food you want to steam in the concaved “pocket” created by the tin foil, and cover with the pan lid. As the water boils, the steam will be forced up through the holes you made in the tin-foil and will “steam” your veggies in the process.
Cabbage is one of my favorite foods and I have lots of family recipes using cabbage. I would also like to point out that for people trying to decrease calories or reduce hunger watermelon and cucumber are GREAT because the high water content fills you up.
Another bit of savings on red meat can be found by buying the “Manager’s Special”. These are typically bits of meat that are at or nearing their sell by date. My food science buddy tells me that if it’s red, it’s OK. If it’s brown, it’s still OK, just cook it immediately when you get home.
The bacteria (that is present on ALL meat) is starting to break down the tissue (same thing happens in dry aging that the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts spend $$$$ on).
And if it’s green… Well, this is real life, not Dr Seuss, so don’t eat it!
My father is a butcher and what you friend says is very true. Red is good meat, brown is alright (but can be questionable) and green should be thrown away (though with ground beef in a package it could just need air).
I would recommend learning how to smell the difference between good and bad meat. There is a distinct difference as soon as something goes bad.
The best advice I’d recommend is shop around eBay or Craigslist for a second-hand freezer. The ability to buy food in bulk when you find it cheap and store it for a long time is a big help. Then budget accordingly – out of your weekly food budget, leave a small portion unallocated as a hunter-gatherer allowance.
There are U-Pick-Em berry farms in my area that typically have organic berries (strawberries and blueberries, mostly) for the same cost or cheaper than the conventional berries at the super market.
Also, blackberries grow wild all around here (southeast), so in the summer you can eat berries till you’re sick of ’em. In the fall, I highly recommend taking a walk in the woods near a river or stream, there you might find paw-paws (Asimina triloba). They can be hard to find since all the critters will try to get to them first!
If you live in a rural area, and you have a freezer, you may be able to get grass-fed and/or organic meat a LOT cheaper than you can from the store, by buying a half or quarter animal directly from a local farmer.
We did this last year, and are still eating our way through half a cow. We eat a lot of stew and ragu – things you can make with tough cuts or ground beef that turn out gorgeous with long, slow cooking.