Gut Microbiome

I am so excited! I only learned about it this morning, and the course has already begun - a free on-line course on Coursera about the human gut microbiome. Of course the lead professor is from Australia (I assume from his accent) because that is where I originally heard about 'transpoosions'. On a Radiolab podcast interviewing folks in Australia who were doing leading edge research on the bacteria in our digestive tracks.

I spend a lot of time now experimenting with fermenting foods. I have some pickles going right now, plus some yogurt and some asparagus. I recently read that asparagus is particularly good as a pre-biotic, the food we eat which our gut microbiome wants as their food. Other prebiotics include foods such as Jerusalem artichokes and raw onions. (I have been adding raw onions to my salads much to the dismay of my house guests.)

I just found this list of prebiotic foods:

Dandelion greens.
Garlic and onions (and any vegetables in that family, e.g. leeks)
Asparagus.
Bananas.
Chicory (used in coffee substitutes)

We need to find a lawn with lots of dandelions now, don't we?

Here is a link to one of the Radiolab podcasts on the subject. Poop the Magic Gut Cure I am not sure this is the one I first heard, but I love Radiolab, so I am sure it'll be a great listen.

The course is based out of Colorado.



And here one can see the pickles, the asparagus, the kombucha and my attempt at hard cider....