Is Cheese Good For Gut Bacteria?
When it comes to eating cheese, there is an underlying myth that your tummy will go haywire as an aftermath of it. However, several researchers have concluded that certain kinds of cheese including brie, cheddar, rogue fort, and gouda can have hugely beneficial effects on your health.
What Does Cheese Do For Gut Bacteria?
Not every kind of cheese goes easy on your stomach. Here is a basic guideline on how to choose the right kind of cheese.
- You should always have raw and natural cheese because processed ones can have an adverse effect on your health. The FDA in the United States of America allows the sales of raw cheeses as long as it has been aged for at least 60 days.
- Always choose European cheese over their American counterparts as the former ones are of higher quality and better in taste as well.
- Cheeses made from cow milk contain a very low amount of saturated fat and sodium. Furthermore, the cheese should be derived only from the milk of grass-fed cows.
- Look for the USDA grade shield on the label. A better grade means more improvement in the quality, taste, and texture of cheese.
- Aged cheese is full of live micro-organisms which can help in increasing the number of good bacteria in your gut. Avoid fresh cheese, if possible.
Benefits Of Cheese On Gut Bacteria :
In Repairing The Gut Layer – According to new research published in the American Journal of Pathology, it is found that natural cheese contains a special sort of polypeptide called transforming growth factor-beta (TGFB) which is very powerful and critical for the rejuvenation of the inner layer within our intestinal wall. The epithelial cells within the intestinal wall need to go through a constant process of rejuvenation because they come into contact with minerals and toxins mixed with foods and beverages you consume on a regular basis. These toxins and minerals slowly start to kill the good bacteria by depriving them of the essential nutrients. On the other hand, when you use antibiotics frequently, it can also hamper the growth of the necessary micro-organisms in your gut. As a survival mechanism, gut bacteria start to form a thick layer of calcium compound around them. Over time these calcium layers cause intestinal stone which is very hard to diagnose and a hassle to get rid of as well. Without TGFB the epithelial layer can never be restored.
Antibody Production – Aged cheese directly interacts with various kinds of T-cells, such as regulatory T cells as well as other immune cells. T-cells are the guard cells that live in your entire body, but a large amount of them exist in the intestine. Probiotics from cheese react with these immune cells and trigger them to regulate antibody production in the gut in order to prevent the overgrowth of certain harmful bacteria while increasing the amount of some good ones.
In Regulating Visceral Fat – When you are eating copious amounts of saturated and trans fat while consuming not as many starches as you are supposed to, the upper part of your gut biome feeds on the fat. This causes a plethora of good bacteria to disappear from the gut biome. Ultimately you have this skewed and inadequate ratio of bacterial growth in the upper and lower abdomen. If you have raw cheese, it can potentially bring down the inconsistent overgrowth or undergrowth of some bacteria, bringing the biome back into balance. This process plays a big role in ketone production and in the reduction of the visceral fat stored around the intestine.
