Gut health
😴 Struggling To Sleep? Blame The Microbiome
You don’t have to be the parent of a little gremlin to have trouble getting a decent night’s sleep.
The good news, however, is that what’s good for your gut is also good for your shut-eye, so there’s a double-whammy up for grabs here.
The gut microbiome produces a number of metabolites that, directly or indirectly, affect sleep, including: short-chain fatty acids, serotonin, melatonin, tryptophan.
One observational study (PMID: 33177907) found that, compared to controls with normal sleep, people suffering from insomnia had:-
- reduced microbial richness
- a lack of SCFA-producing bacteria, and
- an increase in pathobionts (a normally harmless organisms that can cause disease if its surrounding change)
But unfortunately, it’s a vicious cycle as just 3 nights of disrupted sleep can negatively affect the composition of the gut microbiome.
However, if there’s one thing I want anyone reading this newsletter to learn, it’s that the gut microbiome is resilient and able to recover from damage.
One study of more than 2400 participants (PMID 37280140) found that eating a healthful plant-based diet i.e. lots of whole fruit and veg, rather than an unhealthful plant-based diet, was associated with better sleep quality, even after other lifestyle factors had been controlled for.
So, if you’re looking to improve your horizontal downtime, here are 3 plant-first tips:-
1️⃣ Eat more whole plants. 30 plants per week is the suggested minimum and that includes things like nuts, seeds and legumes as well as fruit and veg.
2️⃣ Try eating 1 or 2 kiwis a couple of hours before bed. One small study (PMID: 21669584) found this dosage was linked to increased time asleep and decreased time taken to fall asleep. Worth a try for the 4-5g of fiber you’d get from 2 kiwi (with the skin left on) if nothing else.
3️⃣ Magnesium L-threonate is thought to improve sleep quality, but you don’t need to buy supplements. Boost your intake by eating spinach, quinoa, brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds
And for those days when life just gets in the way of eating all the plants you’d like, you can always rely on LOAM for 10g of gut microbiome-loving dietary fiber. Its 6-plants-in-1 formulation has been designed to dissolve seamlessly into anything without leaving any taste or texture, so you won’t even notice it in your morning coffee.
GENERAL health
🧪 Protecting Yourself From Alzheimer's Risk
Around 45% of cases of Alzheimer’s Disease result from potentially modifiable factors.
That being the case, I personally want to know anything I can do now to protect myself from this most cruel of diseases in the future.
Researchers (PMID: 41478835) followed 494 individuals for nearly 4 years to ascertain how both modifiable (e.g. lifestyle) and non-modifiable (e.g. genetics, sex) factors were linked to:-
- Damage to tiny blood vessels in the brain
- Amyloid-beta proteins
- Tau proteins
Although that first outcome is distinct from Alzheimer’s Disease, the accumulation of vascular damage is known to exacerbate the onset of Alzheimer’s pathology.
Of the modifiable factors, the following were linked to increased vascular damage:-
- Smoking
- Blood pressure
- Hyperlipidemia
- Cardio-vascular disease
Of all those factors, blood pressure stands out to me as the most important. Here’s why
1️⃣ Blood pressure is easy to measure: you can buy your own monitor online for $25.
If you do need to reduce it, there are tried and tested methods you can use:-
2️⃣ Cut the salt, especially if you have hypertension. Lower than 2000mg of sodium per day
3️⃣ Get 150 minutes of aerobic exercise every week. Brisk walking counts, so aim for 20 minutes per day with an extra 10 minutes somewhere in the week and you're laughing.
4️⃣ Reduce alcohol as much as possible
5️⃣ Prioritise sleep, especially if you suffer from sleep apnea.
P.S I had a great podcast with my two friends Ayesha and Dean Sherazai who are neuroscientists and they spoke about how your brain health IS a reflection of your heart health. They too emphasise the benefits of soluble fiber for heart and by extrapolation brain health.
REFLECTIONS
📚How To Read A Book Every Week
How many of us DON’T want to read more?
If only it were that simple.
As it is, life rarely fails to get in the way of reading and we reach the end of another week wondering how we managed to only pick up that book we were reading once.
I’m still very much a work-in-progress when it comes to reading more, but here are 4 tips that will help you read one book per week.
1️⃣ Be realistic about time
Before any one of us says “I don't have time to read”, we should take a long hard look at our screentime.
The average UK adult spends 3.5 hours on their phone per day. Taking just 30 minutes out of that time (as soon as you wake up, on the bus, during lunch) might be all you need to finish a book in a week.
2️⃣ Always Have A Book On You
It doesn’t have to be a physical book. Nor do you have to spend money on book/audiobook apps on your phone.
You’ll find plenty of professional-quality audiobooks of classic literature on Youtube. You’ll also find free library apps that give you access to books on your phone as long as you have a library card.
3️⃣ Break The Rules
Here’s 2-in-1.
Growing up, how many of us internalised rules like “you have to finish the book you’re reading before you move on” and “you must only read one book at a time”?
I still find it hard to break both these rules, but doing so is essential for reading more.
If you choose one easy and one challenging book, you’ll never have the excuse that you can’t read because you’re tired.
And life really is too short to read books you’re not enjoying. If you’re prepared to scroll past short-form video that doesn’t interest you, you can do the same with books.
4️⃣ Read Stuff You Actually Want To Read
There aren’t any prizes for reading the worthy books you’re supposed to read.
You can just read what you like:- trashy novels, comics, celebrity memoirs, kids’ books (I can’t wait to read the books I enjoyed as a kid with the little gremlin, as well as more contemporary stuff).
Try just one of these tips: I hope it helps you read more!
👋 Who are you again? I’m Karan Rajan - a doctor and curious explorer of all things health and wellness. I'm the founder of LOAM Science, a microbiome company aiming to create the best fiber product in the world! I host the Dr Karan Explores Podcast, where I talk to experts in science and medicine to cut through the BS of modern health advice. If you'd like an easy way to dig through the archive, you can ask me any questions about the podcast and talk to my digital librarian here. I've also written two books "This Book May Save Your Life" and "This Is Vital Information". I'm the Chief of Science of Throne, a smart gut health tracking device.
If you feel strongly about some health things or just want to say hi? Hit reply... I’d love to hear it and hear from you! (yes I read every reply!!!)
