{"id":31567,"date":"2022-08-24T18:53:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T18:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/?p=31567"},"modified":"2024-12-09T18:27:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T18:27:01","slug":"microbiome-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humnutrition.com\/blog\/microbiome-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"I Tried the Microbiome Diet for 21 Days. Here\u2019s My Honest Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking to heal your gut? The Microbiome Diet promises to seriously benefit your belly\u2014but does it work? I tried it for 21 days to find out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Over the past few months, I\u2019ve been looking for ways to revamp my diet to beat fatigue, brain fog, and a general feeling of heaviness. (TMI alert: While I was prone to poobris<\/em> in years past\u2014that is, hubris pertaining to my poop quality\u2014these days, my BMs aren\u2019t quite as impressive as they used to be.) That said, I\u2019m picky about diet plans. The ones I\u2019ve tried in earnest in the past are ones that allow for a modicum of freedom, including Weight Watchers and intermittent fasting\u2014the latter of which I\u2019ve been practicing for the past 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n

With that in mind, when I heard about the Microbiome Diet<\/a>, I thought it was very much up my alley given its relative flexibility, emphasis on eating more gut-friendly foods (versus restricting food intake on the whole), and its purported ability to heal my wellness woes through gut restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n

Below, I\u2019ll get into the basics of this gut-first diet plan\u2014including which foods are and aren\u2019t permitted\u2014as well as my Microbiome Diet review.<\/p>\n\n\n

Why Try the Microbiome Diet?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"what<\/figure>\n\n\n

Given my work as a wellness writer, I\u2019m well aware of the benefits of a balanced gut microbiome<\/a>. Not only can gut balance support healthy digestion<\/a>, but it can also yield improvements in skin<\/a>, mood and cognition<\/a>, and so much more. As a 2019 review in the medical journal Nutrients<\/em><\/a> summarizes, \u201cThe gut microbiome plays an important role in human health and influences the development of chronic diseases ranging from metabolic disease to gastrointestinal disorders.\u201d And this only scratches the surface of how crucial gut health<\/a> is for overall well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n

Essentially, a balanced gut is one that\u2019s diverse, high in good (friendly) bacteria, and low in bad (pathogenic) bacteria. Naturally, diet is a major factor in how balanced and resilient your gut microbiome is. \u201cNutrition has profound effects on microbial composition, in turn affecting wide-ranging metabolic, hormonal, and neurological processes,\u201d according to a 2020 medical review<\/a>. In this regard, nutrition choices can either help or hinder gut health: While the likes of probiotics and fiber<\/a> (among many other nutrients) are known to boost gut health, items such as sugar and processed foods\u2014which are all too common in the Standard American Diet<\/a>\u2014can lead to issues for your gut and greater well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n

With this in mind, the idea of a more structured plan that laid out exactly how <\/em>to get belly benefits was appealing to me, so I tried the Microbiome Diet. Here\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n

How the Microbiome Diet Works<\/h2>\n\n\n

The Microbiome Diet was created by Raphael Kellman, MD<\/a>, an internist and functional medicine physician. His 2015 book<\/a> sharing the ins and outs of this diet plan has maintained a steady following in the years since publication and boasts many five-star reviews\u2014with praises ranging from \u201ca gem for your health\u201d and \u201cfascinating science\u201d to \u201cnothing short of miraculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

The Microbiome Diet is based on what Dr. Kellman calls \u201cthe four R\u2019s\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Remove<\/strong> foods that interfere with healthy microbial balance, as well as allow parasites and bad bacteria to thrive<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Replace<\/strong> the stomach acid and enzymes you need to effectively break down food<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Reinoculate<\/strong> with probiotics<\/a> (good bacteria) and prebiotics (which feed probiotics)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Repair<\/strong> the gut wall and intestinal lining via nutrients that reduce inflammation<\/a>, restore gut integrity, and re-establish intestinal balance<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n

    The full Microbiome Diet entails three stages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. A 21-day elimination diet<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. A four-week metabolic boost plan with 90 percent compliance and more approved foods<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. A lifetime tune-up with 70 percent compliance and even more flexibility<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n

      I decided to try the first phase of the diet, which is the most restrictive. Read on to see what happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

      Foods to Avoid on the Microbiome Diet<\/h3>\n\n\n

      Foods to remove for the first stage of the Microbiome Diet include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n