Good summary. And I appreciate you naming the barriers to doing the “right” thing. Even though I have the means and the access, it’s very hard to eat healthy for so many reasons. I’ve done AIP. I’ve been Paleo. I even trained as a Health Coach. I know exactly what to do.
Totally. I've tried various gut-oriented diets too with various degrees of restrictiveness and its an incredible amount of effort.
I will say though, in the last week I've been sort of casually counting my plant fibers, and I've actually found it to be one of the most liberating versions of a "diet". I realized it's because the focus is on adding more versus limiting. Adding more vegetables...but still!
The diversity of plant fibers, while interesting, wasn’t the takeaway of the documentary, at least for me. My husband is a registered dietitian and he would say that really, truly, most Americans get way too little fiber, and just being a bit more intentional about fiber intake makes a huge difference. But most people just don’t bother. Like his client yesterday, who has only eaten green beans from a can, and cannot, will not, try a fresh vegetable.
This is the standard American diet for millions of us. The long term health effects are well known, expensive, and life altering.
It’s extremely cheap to eat fiber. Oatmeal costs $3 a pound. Dried beans, canned beans, soluble fiber like bananas, apples, etc.
I do understand your point that access to fiber rich foods varies first each person, but we see that that the general level of effort to improve one’s own health outcomes is not there. This is a cultural and social problem, as well as (for many, not all) an economic/access problem.
I agree that fiber is cheaper than many realize. It's even possible to make it convenient. We eat either oatmeal or overnight oats for breakfast almost every day. With an InstantPot, we can make beans quick enough to make beans for dinner a game day decision. Same with rice. We're lucky in many other ways, like having a choice of farmer's markets, CSAs, and even local produce in the grocery store.
Still, I've been in a Walmart in an otherwise food desert, and they do have produce, although you wouldn't know it from the checkout line.
I think it has much more to do with the food economy, starting with where the USDA chooses to put its subsidy dollars.
I also think that there's just the fact of human nature...we love the tastes of sugar and fat! And there's so much of it infinitely available. It's really, really hard to make another choice sometimes!
Interesting. Based on your comment, I think we're on the same page here - most people don't get enough fiber, it seems. I hadn't previously focused on ways to get fiber more cheaply, that's interesting, the sources you point out make sense.
I'm curious what you thought some of the main takeaways of the documentary were! It's interesting how we can each watch something and take different points away based on our personal filter!
For me - the main takeaway was that your gut has an outsized role in your physical and mental health, and the modern industrial diet makes it hard for the gut to have enough diversity to do its job. And that fiber is a key, actionable component to improving the health of your gut.
Watched this last night myself. Nothing really new under the sun with this one. I too found the felt claymation very endearing, but I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know. It was definitely broad strokes as you’ve said.
Since many of your readers are dealing with chronic illness, I will say too that the answer to every gut woe is not “eat more fiber.” It is possible with certain issues to overdo it with fiber, which is what I did. I’m working with a dietitian now and I wish I had thought to do it sooner (especially because my insurance miraculously covers 100% of the sessions). I definitely recommend folks access a registered dietitian if you can. They are invaluable to helping you have a healthy approach to all foods.
Super important point that this blanket "more fiber" recommendation isn't for everyone, thanks for bringing it up. Seems like that should have made its way into the documentary too.
I know a few who work with Nutritionists and dieticians (especially the endo community and those generally wishing to improve gut health). I read the book The Migraine Miracle which is based on adopting an anti-inflammatory way of eating (plus learnt easy to understand info about migraine which really got me started on the migraine research journey). It felt really simple and easy to adopt the way it was broken down in here. Plus I pledged not to put pressure on myself at the time (the complete opposite of what I was doing my whole life before that). It opened the gateway for me to become more intuitive with my eating which helps me get a better sense of what to eat, when.
The hard part for me is definitely the "not putting pressure on myself!" Counting plant fibers has actually been one area where I can sort of do it as a light game versus an intense project. So it's a good one for me.
It’s definitely a challenging practice. It was one of those changes I made that we were discussing, that I made when I couldn’t do it any other way (like drinking). I wish I’d extended the same practice when it came to generating an income, my recovery would have been much quicker (or at least less physically painful). Anything that makes a game, a bit of playing and more joyful is in it for the win as far as I’m concerned. And we get to do that. We get to play. We get to make our own fun, find our own way - that works for us and aligns with what it is we want.
I’m not sure I’d be drawn to this one but it’s in my Boyf’s list so may give it a go. He considers himself to be a bio hacker. The term means little to me though appears to be similar in some interpretations as to the way I’ve approached it - incremental changes, teeny tiny and one at a time. Not with a view to fixing or managing health, but with a view to improving longer term health. Really imbedding each change before moving on to the next one. As little pressure as poss. There’s no way I eat 30 different types of veg a week. I haven’t in any way adopted a perfect diet. In fact, i embraced a perfectly imperfect one (to make it intentionally easier on myself). My goal was to reduce inflammation in my body and this is what I achieved. I also feel it can be a myth to assume it’s more expensive to eat well. In my own personal case I didn’t spend any more money because I ate less overall. But that is coming from a former binge eater who constantly grazed all day. The changes I made saw me fuller for longer, more satisfied by my diet, taste buds improved and inflammation reduced significantly. So i ate less. Because I made it as easy and flexible as possible for myself, within a year or so it felt like I could continue eating this way for the rest of my life. I shop on our cheapest supermarkets here in the uk (Lidl and Aldi) so not all foods are available all of the time. But it’s like our conversation on the podcast recently, I started where I was and worked with what I’d got. That included food that wasn’t the perfect diet, non-organic etc. it still achieved what I set out for it to achieve.
I find it really interesting that there seems to be somewhat gendered terminology to talk about similar approaches--"bio hacking" versus "incremental changes." The term bio hacking is such a turn-off for me, but you're right that it kind of means the same thing!
I hear you. When I learned of it I felt it sounded very masculine. Though i was looking for someone in a partner who was also on a health journey in their own way. And them “doing the work”, living the practices and with a vision of their own was what I was looking for. It took me some getting to know and understand. He calls his home a “biohacking heaven” it’s essentially as chemical free as you can get, designed and set up for clean living. With a long term focus on (true) health and longevity. Neither of us are perfect but we celebrate this. And remind one another often “I am enough”. (Well he has to remind me more than him when I am doing my nit picking 😆)
I watched this doc last night myself and they seem to conflate veggies with plant-based food. In other words, I had previously heard we should aim for 20-30 different plant foods within a week - not just veggies. Beans, nuts/seeds, fruit, and grains count too. I bet you come a lot closer to the target counting all that?
Agree! The veggie vs. plant fiber thing was not clear in the film. When I've heard this recommendation before, it has definitely included all plant fibers.
I’m not so sure. I’d say maybe that might push it to half that amount? Max 20. At a guess and off the top off my head. I’ve done it well but in no way perfectly. Science would probably tell me I’ve got it all wrong and I also saw with the level of carb intake I was having (as I’m generally high fats, protein and less carbs) that the keto way claimed it impossible to lose weight the way I was doing it. But big (10lb) chunks fell off (2stone overall). I believe we can go easier on ourselves than we’re led to believe or tell ourselves. Though this is a practice in and of itself. And change still needs to happen. I had to break a lot of old habits but one by one and slowly slowly I did.
I haven’t watched it and after reading your review I don’t think I will. And I’m with you on the word “hack” - there’s no quick fixes for your gut health as I discovered myself when I had a pretty horrific intestinal infection. Took my gut 2 years to recover (to 80% of what it was) 🙁
Sounds like a long journey, Lisa! Yes, one thing about the gut is it's notoriously hard to impact, lots of inertia. So I think the title is misleading.
Ha. Now my inner list making scientist wants to look in the fridge and see how many plant based fibers I'm currently eating. And we're off to the races!
I watched the psuedo-documentary. As mentioned in this article, the show lacked a solid scientific framework, but did cover many of the very interesting concepts being discovered. The show was written more for a small child rather than an adult, i.e. a typically netflix documentary. Also, it was disappointing that only vegetarian solutions were presented. I guess they aren't aware of vit B12 although like vegetarian apes, eating feces was included.
I agree this film glossed over a lot. It was probably helpful to someone with zero information coming in just to get to the point they would not be embarrassed to talk about poop. I thought the thread about the woman eating her boyfriend’s poop was totally unresolved and kind of dangerous to leave hanging (no pun intended).
Good summary. And I appreciate you naming the barriers to doing the “right” thing. Even though I have the means and the access, it’s very hard to eat healthy for so many reasons. I’ve done AIP. I’ve been Paleo. I even trained as a Health Coach. I know exactly what to do.
Totally. I've tried various gut-oriented diets too with various degrees of restrictiveness and its an incredible amount of effort.
I will say though, in the last week I've been sort of casually counting my plant fibers, and I've actually found it to be one of the most liberating versions of a "diet". I realized it's because the focus is on adding more versus limiting. Adding more vegetables...but still!
Adding vs limiting. I like that!
The diversity of plant fibers, while interesting, wasn’t the takeaway of the documentary, at least for me. My husband is a registered dietitian and he would say that really, truly, most Americans get way too little fiber, and just being a bit more intentional about fiber intake makes a huge difference. But most people just don’t bother. Like his client yesterday, who has only eaten green beans from a can, and cannot, will not, try a fresh vegetable.
This is the standard American diet for millions of us. The long term health effects are well known, expensive, and life altering.
It’s extremely cheap to eat fiber. Oatmeal costs $3 a pound. Dried beans, canned beans, soluble fiber like bananas, apples, etc.
I do understand your point that access to fiber rich foods varies first each person, but we see that that the general level of effort to improve one’s own health outcomes is not there. This is a cultural and social problem, as well as (for many, not all) an economic/access problem.
Plant-based here!
I agree that fiber is cheaper than many realize. It's even possible to make it convenient. We eat either oatmeal or overnight oats for breakfast almost every day. With an InstantPot, we can make beans quick enough to make beans for dinner a game day decision. Same with rice. We're lucky in many other ways, like having a choice of farmer's markets, CSAs, and even local produce in the grocery store.
Still, I've been in a Walmart in an otherwise food desert, and they do have produce, although you wouldn't know it from the checkout line.
I think it has much more to do with the food economy, starting with where the USDA chooses to put its subsidy dollars.
I also think that there's just the fact of human nature...we love the tastes of sugar and fat! And there's so much of it infinitely available. It's really, really hard to make another choice sometimes!
Oh, so true! We're designed for scarcity and don't always make the best choices when offered abundance. (Hides the bag of corn chips and the beer!)
Interesting. Based on your comment, I think we're on the same page here - most people don't get enough fiber, it seems. I hadn't previously focused on ways to get fiber more cheaply, that's interesting, the sources you point out make sense.
I'm curious what you thought some of the main takeaways of the documentary were! It's interesting how we can each watch something and take different points away based on our personal filter!
For me - the main takeaway was that your gut has an outsized role in your physical and mental health, and the modern industrial diet makes it hard for the gut to have enough diversity to do its job. And that fiber is a key, actionable component to improving the health of your gut.
Watched this last night myself. Nothing really new under the sun with this one. I too found the felt claymation very endearing, but I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know. It was definitely broad strokes as you’ve said.
Since many of your readers are dealing with chronic illness, I will say too that the answer to every gut woe is not “eat more fiber.” It is possible with certain issues to overdo it with fiber, which is what I did. I’m working with a dietitian now and I wish I had thought to do it sooner (especially because my insurance miraculously covers 100% of the sessions). I definitely recommend folks access a registered dietitian if you can. They are invaluable to helping you have a healthy approach to all foods.
Super important point that this blanket "more fiber" recommendation isn't for everyone, thanks for bringing it up. Seems like that should have made its way into the documentary too.
And wow, a rare win for insurance! Amazing!!
I know a few who work with Nutritionists and dieticians (especially the endo community and those generally wishing to improve gut health). I read the book The Migraine Miracle which is based on adopting an anti-inflammatory way of eating (plus learnt easy to understand info about migraine which really got me started on the migraine research journey). It felt really simple and easy to adopt the way it was broken down in here. Plus I pledged not to put pressure on myself at the time (the complete opposite of what I was doing my whole life before that). It opened the gateway for me to become more intuitive with my eating which helps me get a better sense of what to eat, when.
The hard part for me is definitely the "not putting pressure on myself!" Counting plant fibers has actually been one area where I can sort of do it as a light game versus an intense project. So it's a good one for me.
It’s definitely a challenging practice. It was one of those changes I made that we were discussing, that I made when I couldn’t do it any other way (like drinking). I wish I’d extended the same practice when it came to generating an income, my recovery would have been much quicker (or at least less physically painful). Anything that makes a game, a bit of playing and more joyful is in it for the win as far as I’m concerned. And we get to do that. We get to play. We get to make our own fun, find our own way - that works for us and aligns with what it is we want.
I’m not sure I’d be drawn to this one but it’s in my Boyf’s list so may give it a go. He considers himself to be a bio hacker. The term means little to me though appears to be similar in some interpretations as to the way I’ve approached it - incremental changes, teeny tiny and one at a time. Not with a view to fixing or managing health, but with a view to improving longer term health. Really imbedding each change before moving on to the next one. As little pressure as poss. There’s no way I eat 30 different types of veg a week. I haven’t in any way adopted a perfect diet. In fact, i embraced a perfectly imperfect one (to make it intentionally easier on myself). My goal was to reduce inflammation in my body and this is what I achieved. I also feel it can be a myth to assume it’s more expensive to eat well. In my own personal case I didn’t spend any more money because I ate less overall. But that is coming from a former binge eater who constantly grazed all day. The changes I made saw me fuller for longer, more satisfied by my diet, taste buds improved and inflammation reduced significantly. So i ate less. Because I made it as easy and flexible as possible for myself, within a year or so it felt like I could continue eating this way for the rest of my life. I shop on our cheapest supermarkets here in the uk (Lidl and Aldi) so not all foods are available all of the time. But it’s like our conversation on the podcast recently, I started where I was and worked with what I’d got. That included food that wasn’t the perfect diet, non-organic etc. it still achieved what I set out for it to achieve.
I find it really interesting that there seems to be somewhat gendered terminology to talk about similar approaches--"bio hacking" versus "incremental changes." The term bio hacking is such a turn-off for me, but you're right that it kind of means the same thing!
I hear you. When I learned of it I felt it sounded very masculine. Though i was looking for someone in a partner who was also on a health journey in their own way. And them “doing the work”, living the practices and with a vision of their own was what I was looking for. It took me some getting to know and understand. He calls his home a “biohacking heaven” it’s essentially as chemical free as you can get, designed and set up for clean living. With a long term focus on (true) health and longevity. Neither of us are perfect but we celebrate this. And remind one another often “I am enough”. (Well he has to remind me more than him when I am doing my nit picking 😆)
I watched this doc last night myself and they seem to conflate veggies with plant-based food. In other words, I had previously heard we should aim for 20-30 different plant foods within a week - not just veggies. Beans, nuts/seeds, fruit, and grains count too. I bet you come a lot closer to the target counting all that?
Agree! The veggie vs. plant fiber thing was not clear in the film. When I've heard this recommendation before, it has definitely included all plant fibers.
I’m not so sure. I’d say maybe that might push it to half that amount? Max 20. At a guess and off the top off my head. I’ve done it well but in no way perfectly. Science would probably tell me I’ve got it all wrong and I also saw with the level of carb intake I was having (as I’m generally high fats, protein and less carbs) that the keto way claimed it impossible to lose weight the way I was doing it. But big (10lb) chunks fell off (2stone overall). I believe we can go easier on ourselves than we’re led to believe or tell ourselves. Though this is a practice in and of itself. And change still needs to happen. I had to break a lot of old habits but one by one and slowly slowly I did.
I haven’t watched it and after reading your review I don’t think I will. And I’m with you on the word “hack” - there’s no quick fixes for your gut health as I discovered myself when I had a pretty horrific intestinal infection. Took my gut 2 years to recover (to 80% of what it was) 🙁
Sounds like a long journey, Lisa! Yes, one thing about the gut is it's notoriously hard to impact, lots of inertia. So I think the title is misleading.
Ha. Now my inner list making scientist wants to look in the fridge and see how many plant based fibers I'm currently eating. And we're off to the races!
I've found it can be kind of a fun game, as long as I'm not taking it too seriously! Just one extra thing here and there feels like a win.
Great time saver. Thanks.
I watched the psuedo-documentary. As mentioned in this article, the show lacked a solid scientific framework, but did cover many of the very interesting concepts being discovered. The show was written more for a small child rather than an adult, i.e. a typically netflix documentary. Also, it was disappointing that only vegetarian solutions were presented. I guess they aren't aware of vit B12 although like vegetarian apes, eating feces was included.
I agree this film glossed over a lot. It was probably helpful to someone with zero information coming in just to get to the point they would not be embarrassed to talk about poop. I thought the thread about the woman eating her boyfriend’s poop was totally unresolved and kind of dangerous to leave hanging (no pun intended).