The health of the macrobiotic material in your gut is one of the most discussed topics in the realm of functional and integrative medicine.

That’s because we’ve come to understand that what happens in the gut plays a huge role in how the rest of your body feels and behaves.

A number of years ago, researchers discovered certain bacteria found in the gut are actually beneficial for both gut health and total health. Their discovery that bacteria found in fermented foods, such as kimchi, yogurt, and sauerkraut could actually help to change your health has been heralded as a breakthrough.

And it’s those discoveries which have driven researchers to find out how other foods containing these bacteria can help improve the gut-brain connection.

Their research has also led them to complete their understanding on how other foods will affect gut health, whether positively or negatively.

And that’s why this recent study on how wine affects the health of gut bacteria is so interesting.

Dutch Researchers’ Incredible Discovery Relating to Wine’s Effect On Gut Health

Researchers from the Netherlands were curious to see if wine (and a few other beverages) would harm the amount of bacteria needed to maintain a healthy gut.

What they discovered (after examining the stool samples of 1,000 individuals) was wine actually had a beneficial impact on those important bacteria. This is contrary to what many people in the medical community would have expected to hear (as alcohol typically destroys “good things” in the body).

Dr. Alexandra Zhernakova, a researcher at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands (and the first author of the study), said, “There is good correlation between diversity [of macrobiotic material in the gut] and health; greater diversity is better.”

On top of that researchers also discovered coffee and certain teas produced the same positive effects on gut bacteria. On the other hand, carbohydrates and sugars had a detrimental effect on these probiotics, so it’s not recommended to add significant amounts of sugar to any of these beverages as that’ll compromise their health boosting effects.

They’re discovery doesn’t necessarily translate into recommendations everyone should drink these beverages…

However the bottom line is this: drinking wine, coffee, and tea won’t hurt these bacteria and seems to indicate they’ll do wonders to help build and grow healthy populations of healthy gut bacteria.

As you can guess the reason this matters evidence supports the belief high amounts of diversity in the gut will produce superior health. Especially compared to those who have a smaller diversity of macrobiotic material.

This high amount of diversity could help reduce your chances of developing certain diseases.

As Zhernakova said, “Disease often occurs as the result of many factors…most of these factors, like your genes or your age, are not things you can change. But you can change the diversity of your microbiome through adapting your diet or medication.”

More research is needed to determine precisely why wine helps improve the health of the microbiome. Yet, it’s important to remember it can, and it does.

Of course, it should also be said wine should be consumed in moderation; too much wine (more than one glass a day) will produce unwanted health complications, as opposed to actually improving health.

Talk soon,

Dr. Wiggy
www.HealthAsItOughtToBe.com