Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I thought of this due to coconut fiber, though a search makes me think it probably doesn't apply if the fiber is insoluble. But anyway, there's got to be particular bacteria that do a better job of processing certain foods. Tropical bacteria likely do a better job with tropical foods. Does this make any sense, or does it not really matter that much? I vaguely remember something about sea-weed and adaptations involving bacteria in Japan.

Certainly, there would be a lot of overlap, with much of the gut flora perfectly happy eating the same fibers, but are there particular ones that run optimally on more esoteric ones?

flag	asked Oct 21 2011 at 19:19 August 11.5k●4●16

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I hope you get good answers, but in my opinion gut flora is everything. – ROB Oct 21 2011 at 22:34

I'm thinking that fiber are pretty much universal, not really any esoteric varieties, specific to one food or another. With a limited number of fiber chemistries, it's not inconceivable that a limit number of microbes are able to get the job done. – Matt Oct 22 2011 at 2:03

Kasra · Answer 1 · 2011-10-21 23:11:37Z UTC

I imagine that with any consistent diet, you are creating an environment in your gut where certain bacteria are more likely to thrive. Given enough time and bacterial exposure, the bacteria best suited to your specific fiber intake will naturally occupy your gut.

Nance · Answer 2 · 2011-11-04 23:25:08Z UTC

No matter how scrupulously you clean, I'm guessing your foods are donating some bacteria to your gut and that's why we gradually seem to do better with foods we eat over time?

And if those bacteria are a good match with your gut flora, you like the foods and the opposite is also true? Probably?

Can we match the flora to the fiber?

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