LIFELONG HEALTH IS MORE THAN A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

As a culinary medicine and family physician, I believe that the best New Year’s resolution people can make is to improve their gut health.

When 70 percent of the immune system lies in our gut, we have the power to engage with lifelong health beyond just a New Year’s goal. As the co-medical director of California Schools VEBA, my goal is to meet our members at any stage of their health journey and our culinary medicine team (made up of a physician, chef and registered dietician) believes that opportunity can start at your next meal. I co-teach a condition-specific class each month with our executive chef Leslie Myers, and just as all roads lead to Rome, all health conditions lead to the honorable microbiome. In fact, every year we start and end with this important topic.

So let’s dive in. The microbiome is defined as a specific collection of microorganisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that exist in a particular environment. Our gastrointestinal system is estimated to house 39 trillion microbial cells which is more than the 30 trillion human cells in our body. Newer data is showing that your microbiome forms in the womb. In a recent 2020 study, bacterial byproducts were found in fetal samples, which are largely thought to be transferred via the placenta from the maternal microbiome. This exposure teaches the immune system which bacteria are dangerous and which are beneficial. Over the last two years, I have promoted eating more plants with weekly recipes on my social media platform @Flavors4WellnessMD. However, this next year, I’m focusing on plant diversity.

Ongoing research done through the American Gut Project with UC San Diego scientists and collaborators have revealed that the robustness of the gut microbiota is correlated with greater microbial diversity. So I now recommend consuming 30-plus different plants per week. The variety of fibers in plants are digested by the microbiome and help prevent dysbiosis or imbalance in the microbial shifts that can affect everything from autoimmune conditions, insulin resistance, cancer, cardiovascular disease, mental health disorders and even the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.

This plant-forward approach is something I teach through my social media posts, our “level-up” recipes that can be found on vebaresourcecenter.com and throughout the year in our cooking classes. It can be as simple as adding delicious taco toppings like cabbage, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, pickled carrots/jalapeños, seeds, avocado and a variety of salsas. Choosing an even more plant-forward approach would be to ask for a plant-based protein like beans, lentils, tofu or tempeh.

In my family, we have a game we play at each meal. My 4- and 8-year-old boys are quick to count how many different plants we have in our meal. The importance in showing that a “superhero’s health” can come from eating a variety of plants is one that I take pride in. If we taught these nutrition concepts of optimal gut health in school, like we do art, math and science, our world would be a better place. For now, our classes at our VEBA Resource Center are playing a role in education by empowering those who are shaping little minds the most, California school employees.

And it’s not just food that contributes to our microbiome, it’s our interaction with the world around us.

Spending time in nature not only has a profound effect on our mental health, but also affects our microbiome. A recent study of preschool children noted improvement measurements in perceived stress scales and microbiome modulations after regular exposure to nature over the course of two months. This suggested that nature and food can help influence psychosocial behavior.

Speaking of nature, climate change continues to be the biggest public health threat, and the pandemic is just a dress rehearsal for what is to come when we don’t listen to evidenced-based science. I am part of a growing group of health-care professionals that continues to voice concerns that climate health is a continual public health threat and putting pressure on those who can ensure the next generation has a habitable future. However, we can all play a role in planetary health, and connecting the dots between food, medicine and climate health has been my passion, so whether you are picking New Year’s goals for your health, your family or the planet, optimizing your gut health will be a win-win!

We have a game we play at each meal. My 4- and 8-year-old boys are quick to count how many different plants we have in our meal. The importance in showing that a ‘superhero’s health’ can come from eating a variety of plants is one I take pride in.

Neison