TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Shilpa Ravella: How the food you eat affects your gut

Unscramble the Blue Letters

tlloniris of bacteria, viruses, and fungi live on or inside of us, and maanntniiig a good, balanced relationship with them is to our advantage. Together, they form the gut microbiome, a rich etoescsym that performs a vaierty of fnncitous in our bodies. The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune setysm, and poetrct against harmful grems. We don't yet have the blueprint for exactly which good bacteria a robust gut needs, but we do know that it's important for a healthy mcobmoriie to have a variety of bacterial siecpes. Many factors affect our microbiomes, including our environment, medications like abontictiis, and even whether we were delivered by C-section or not. Diet, too, is emerging as one of the leading influences on the health of our guts. And while we can't control all these factors, we can manipulate the balance of our mieobcrs by paying attention to what we eat. Dietary fiber from foods like fruits, valegtbees, nuts, legumes, and whole grains is the best fuel for gut bricteaa. When bacteria desgit fiber, they produce short chain fatty acids that nourish the gut barrier, iomvpre iunmme function, and can help peernvt inflammation, which reduces the risk of cancer. And the more fiber you ingest, the more fiber-digesting bacteria colonize your gut. In a recent study, scientists exchanged the regular high-fiber diets of a group of rural South Africans with the high-fat, meat-heavy diets of a gruop of African-Americans. After just two weeks on the high-fat, low-fiber, Western-style diet, the rural African group showed increased inflammation of the cooln, as well as a decrease of butyrate. That's a srhot chain fatty acid thought to lower risk of colon cencar. Meanwhile, the group that switched to a high-fiber, low-fat diet had the opposite result. So what goes wrong with our gut bacteria when we eat low-fiber percsosed foods? Lower febir means less fuel for the gut bacteria, essentially starving them until they die off. This rtseuls in less diversity and hungry bacteria. In fact, some can even start to feed on the mcuus lining. We also know that specific foods can affect gut bacteria. In one recent microbiome study, scientists found that fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, red wine, and dark chocolate were correlated with icnseerad bacterial diversity. These foods contain polyphenols, which are naturally occurring antioxidant compounds. On the other hand, foods high in dairy fat, like whole milk, and sugar-sweetened sodas were correlated with decreased diversity. How food is prepared also mttares. Minimally processed, fresh foods generally have more fiber and pvdoire better fuel. So lightly steamed, seéatud, or raw vegetables are typically more beneficial than fried deihss. There are also ways of prneiparg food that can actually introduce good bacteria, also known as probiotics, into your gut. Fermented foods are teeming with helpful pbtiioorc bacteria, like locbllciuaats and btdicareibfioa. oriigallny used as a way of preserving fdoos before the invention of refrigeration, fermentation remains a traditional parcctie all over the wlord. Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha provide variety and vitality to our diets. yuogrt is another fermented food that can introduce hufelpl bacteria into our guts. That doesn't necessarily mean that all yogurt is good for us, though. Brands with too much sugar and not enough bacteria may not actually help. These are just general guidelines. More research is needed before we fully understand exactly how any of these foods interact with our microbiomes. We see positive correlations, but the insides of our guts are difficult pcleas to make direct observations. For instance, we don't currently know whether these foods are directly responsible for the changes in diversity, or if something more ctcpimaoled is happening. While we're only beginning to explore the vast wilderness inside our guts, we already have a glimpse of how circual our microbiomes are for digestive health. The gerat news is we have the power to fire up the bacteria in our bellies. Fill up on fibers, fresh and fermented foods, and you can trust your gut to keep you going strong.

Open Cloze

_________ of bacteria, viruses, and fungi live on or inside of us, and ___________ a good, balanced relationship with them is to our advantage. Together, they form the gut microbiome, a rich _________ that performs a _______ of _________ in our bodies. The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune ______, and _______ against harmful _____. We don't yet have the blueprint for exactly which good bacteria a robust gut needs, but we do know that it's important for a healthy __________ to have a variety of bacterial _______. Many factors affect our microbiomes, including our environment, medications like ___________, and even whether we were delivered by C-section or not. Diet, too, is emerging as one of the leading influences on the health of our guts. And while we can't control all these factors, we can manipulate the balance of our ________ by paying attention to what we eat. Dietary fiber from foods like fruits, __________, nuts, legumes, and whole grains is the best fuel for gut ________. When bacteria ______ fiber, they produce short chain fatty acids that nourish the gut barrier, _______ ______ function, and can help _______ inflammation, which reduces the risk of cancer. And the more fiber you ingest, the more fiber-digesting bacteria colonize your gut. In a recent study, scientists exchanged the regular high-fiber diets of a group of rural South Africans with the high-fat, meat-heavy diets of a _____ of African-Americans. After just two weeks on the high-fat, low-fiber, Western-style diet, the rural African group showed increased inflammation of the _____, as well as a decrease of butyrate. That's a _____ chain fatty acid thought to lower risk of colon ______. Meanwhile, the group that switched to a high-fiber, low-fat diet had the opposite result. So what goes wrong with our gut bacteria when we eat low-fiber _________ foods? Lower _____ means less fuel for the gut bacteria, essentially starving them until they die off. This _______ in less diversity and hungry bacteria. In fact, some can even start to feed on the _____ lining. We also know that specific foods can affect gut bacteria. In one recent microbiome study, scientists found that fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, red wine, and dark chocolate were correlated with _________ bacterial diversity. These foods contain polyphenols, which are naturally occurring antioxidant compounds. On the other hand, foods high in dairy fat, like whole milk, and sugar-sweetened sodas were correlated with decreased diversity. How food is prepared also _______. Minimally processed, fresh foods generally have more fiber and _______ better fuel. So lightly steamed, _______, or raw vegetables are typically more beneficial than fried ______. There are also ways of _________ food that can actually introduce good bacteria, also known as probiotics, into your gut. Fermented foods are teeming with helpful _________ bacteria, like _____________ and ______________. __________ used as a way of preserving _____ before the invention of refrigeration, fermentation remains a traditional ________ all over the _____. Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha provide variety and vitality to our diets. ______ is another fermented food that can introduce _______ bacteria into our guts. That doesn't necessarily mean that all yogurt is good for us, though. Brands with too much sugar and not enough bacteria may not actually help. These are just general guidelines. More research is needed before we fully understand exactly how any of these foods interact with our microbiomes. We see positive correlations, but the insides of our guts are difficult ______ to make direct observations. For instance, we don't currently know whether these foods are directly responsible for the changes in diversity, or if something more ___________ is happening. While we're only beginning to explore the vast wilderness inside our guts, we already have a glimpse of how _______ our microbiomes are for digestive health. The _____ news is we have the power to fire up the bacteria in our bellies. Fill up on fibers, fresh and fermented foods, and you can trust your gut to keep you going strong.

Solution

results
trillions
places
processed
system
microbiome
protect
group
maintaining
mucus
digest
matters
immune
prevent
preparing
fiber
microbes
originally
functions
practice
great
improve
germs
bacteria
ecosystem
foods
antibiotics
yogurt
species
dishes
cancer
short
world
complicated
helpful
variety
bifidobacteria
increased
lactobacillus
vegetables
colon
sautéed
crucial
probiotic
provide

Original Text

Trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi live on or inside of us, and maintaining a good, balanced relationship with them is to our advantage. Together, they form the gut microbiome, a rich ecosystem that performs a variety of functions in our bodies. The bacteria in our guts can break down food the body can't digest, produce important nutrients, regulate the immune system, and protect against harmful germs. We don't yet have the blueprint for exactly which good bacteria a robust gut needs, but we do know that it's important for a healthy microbiome to have a variety of bacterial species. Many factors affect our microbiomes, including our environment, medications like antibiotics, and even whether we were delivered by C-section or not. Diet, too, is emerging as one of the leading influences on the health of our guts. And while we can't control all these factors, we can manipulate the balance of our microbes by paying attention to what we eat. Dietary fiber from foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains is the best fuel for gut bacteria. When bacteria digest fiber, they produce short chain fatty acids that nourish the gut barrier, improve immune function, and can help prevent inflammation, which reduces the risk of cancer. And the more fiber you ingest, the more fiber-digesting bacteria colonize your gut. In a recent study, scientists exchanged the regular high-fiber diets of a group of rural South Africans with the high-fat, meat-heavy diets of a group of African-Americans. After just two weeks on the high-fat, low-fiber, Western-style diet, the rural African group showed increased inflammation of the colon, as well as a decrease of butyrate. That's a short chain fatty acid thought to lower risk of colon cancer. Meanwhile, the group that switched to a high-fiber, low-fat diet had the opposite result. So what goes wrong with our gut bacteria when we eat low-fiber processed foods? Lower fiber means less fuel for the gut bacteria, essentially starving them until they die off. This results in less diversity and hungry bacteria. In fact, some can even start to feed on the mucus lining. We also know that specific foods can affect gut bacteria. In one recent microbiome study, scientists found that fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, red wine, and dark chocolate were correlated with increased bacterial diversity. These foods contain polyphenols, which are naturally occurring antioxidant compounds. On the other hand, foods high in dairy fat, like whole milk, and sugar-sweetened sodas were correlated with decreased diversity. How food is prepared also matters. Minimally processed, fresh foods generally have more fiber and provide better fuel. So lightly steamed, sautéed, or raw vegetables are typically more beneficial than fried dishes. There are also ways of preparing food that can actually introduce good bacteria, also known as probiotics, into your gut. Fermented foods are teeming with helpful probiotic bacteria, like lactobacillus and bifidobacteria. Originally used as a way of preserving foods before the invention of refrigeration, fermentation remains a traditional practice all over the world. Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, and kombucha provide variety and vitality to our diets. Yogurt is another fermented food that can introduce helpful bacteria into our guts. That doesn't necessarily mean that all yogurt is good for us, though. Brands with too much sugar and not enough bacteria may not actually help. These are just general guidelines. More research is needed before we fully understand exactly how any of these foods interact with our microbiomes. We see positive correlations, but the insides of our guts are difficult places to make direct observations. For instance, we don't currently know whether these foods are directly responsible for the changes in diversity, or if something more complicated is happening. While we're only beginning to explore the vast wilderness inside our guts, we already have a glimpse of how crucial our microbiomes are for digestive health. The great news is we have the power to fire up the bacteria in our bellies. Fill up on fibers, fresh and fermented foods, and you can trust your gut to keep you going strong.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
gut bacteria	3
short chain	2
chain fatty	2

ngrams of length 3

collocation	frequency
short chain fatty	2

Important Words

acid
acids
advantage
affect
african
africans
antibiotics
antioxidant
attention
bacteria
bacterial
balance
balanced
barrier
beginning
bellies
beneficial
bifidobacteria
blueprint
bodies
body
brands
break
butyrate
cancer
chain
chocolate
coffee
colon
colonize
complicated
compounds
control
correlated
correlations
crucial
dairy
dark
decrease
decreased
delivered
die
diet
dietary
diets
difficult
digest
digestive
direct
dishes
diversity
eat
ecosystem
emerging
environment
essentially
exchanged
explore
fact
factors
fat
fatty
feed
fermentation
fermented
fiber
fibers
fill
fire
food
foods
form
fresh
fried
fruits
fuel
fully
function
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fungi
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generally
germs
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good
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great
group
guidelines
gut
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happening
harmful
health
healthy
helpful
high
hungry
immune
important
improve
including
increased
inflammation
influences
ingest
insides
instance
interact
introduce
invention
kimchi
kombucha
lactobacillus
leading
legumes
lightly
lining
live
maintaining
manipulate
matters
means
medications
microbes
microbiome
microbiomes
milk
minimally
mucus
naturally
necessarily
needed
news
nourish
nutrients
nuts
observations
occurring
originally
paying
performs
places
polyphenols
positive
power
practice
prepared
preparing
preserving
prevent
probiotic
probiotics
processed
produce
protect
provide
raw
red
reduces
refrigeration
regular
regulate
relationship
remains
research
responsible
result
results
rich
risk
robust
rural
sauerkraut
sautéed
scientists
short
showed
sodas
south
species
specific
start
starving
steamed
strong
study
sugar
switched
system
tea
teeming
tempeh
thought
traditional
trillions
trust
typically
understand
variety
vast
vegetables
viruses
vitality
ways
weeks
wilderness
wine
world
wrong
yogurt