Restaurant, doctor promote menu for healthy digestion

Gut instincts could lead diners to Méli-Mélo Creperie in Greenwich.

Dr. Elena A. Ivanina, an integrative gastroenterologist, partnered with the restaurant to create a Gut Love menu that prioritizes gut health and, she says, sustainability. Offerings include buckwheat crepes, salads and smoothies made without dairy, gluten or refined sugar.

“[I wanted to] raise awareness and catch people who may not be necessarily focusing on gut health,” Ivanina said. “Méli-Mélo is such a central meeting place in Greenwich ... It’s a great place to spread awareness.”

For Méli-Mélo owner Marc Penvenne, the collaboration made sense in more than one way. The restaurant prioritizes community by working with local artists and now a local doctor. Ivanina grew up in Greenwich, frequenting the creperie, and now has a medical practice in New York City.

“Our food is made from fresh ingredients,” Penvenne said via email, noting that when he opened Méli-Mélo in 1994, it had a juice bar before those were common across the country.

Méli-Mélo isn’t the only place turning its attention to gut-friendly options. An April survey from the International Food Information Council reports 32 percent of respondents seek gut health from their food choices. The Smoothie King chain, with locations in Orange, Branford, Wallingford and Newington, has added a gut health enhancer to its menu. The Remedy’s Cultured Cafe in New Haven also promises gut health benefits in some of its menu items.

Key to gut health is a robust, diverse microbiome, a collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in our digestive system.

“Gut health is one of the pillars of total body of well being,” Ivanina said. “The microbiome enhances pretty much all of our body functions, from weight optimization, metabolic health, from the gut-brain axis and depression, anxiety and mental health, and so many other things. And so, you know, truly food is what feeds your microbiome. Therefore, food is medicine.”

She says that some basic guidelines are to try to eat 30 different plants per week, and 30 to 40 grams of fiber per day. Doing so can fit into other types of diets, like keto, vegan or gluten free. She encourages fiber-rich foods like leafy greens, lentils and kiwi, as well as functional ingredients like garlic, turmeric and ginger. Variety, she says, is crucial.

“Different fibers feed different bacteria,” Ivanina said. “So, the more different types of plants that are eaten, the more diverse the microbiome. And study and study again have shown that it really all comes back to having a diverse microbiome.”

Ivanina stresses that a gut-friendly diet can also be more planet-friendly, both by reducing red meat consumption and increasing the diversity of plants consumed.

“More and more, we learn about … regenerative farming and what’s good for the soil. And it’s planting different types of plants,” she said.