The Zach Bush diet plan emphasizes the importance of the gut microbiome and its connection to overall health. This approach moves beyond simply counting calories and focuses on nourishing the ecosystem within us for optimal well-being.
A New Model for Food: Beyond the Calorie
Eating is a frequent human activity, yet often misunderstood in terms of health. Instead of focusing on macronutrients and feeding individual cells, Zach Bush, MD, suggests viewing ourselves as ecosystems that need to be maintained. He advocates understanding food as a system that integrates us into a diverse natural environment.
Dr. Bush explains that digestion, viewed through the lens of the microbiome, reveals that the mitochondria within our cells convert food into energy. This microbial process enables humans to be regenerative multicellular organisms. Therefore, condensing food into mere calories is an outdated and irrelevant approach. The majority of food we consume is processed and absorbed by the microbiome in the gut, which in turn feeds the mitochondria inside our cells.
Eating for Our Microbiome
Dr. Gemma Newman, a holistic health and plant-based medicine advocate, emphasizes that the foods we eat nourish the microbes within us. These microbes aid in digestion, hormone creation, immune system maintenance, and the function of the gut-brain axis. Medical science is increasingly recognizing the interconnectedness of these systems. Food, according to Dr. Newman, can provide some of the fastest transformations in our pursuit of a healthier lifestyle.
To care for our microbiome, it is crucial to limit antibiotics, which can destroy beneficial microbes. Limiting consumption of industrially processed animal products is also advisable due to the presence of antibiotics and chemicals. Alcohol can also strip the microbiome, and eating too late in the day can disrupt the gut microbes' circadian rhythm. Prioritizing good sleep is essential for proper nutrient absorption and the body's regenerative processes.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Emulsifiers in food and chemicals in cleaning products can also be detrimental. "Anti-microbial" products strip away beneficial microbes and disrupt the skin's acid mantle, potentially leading to skin conditions.
Prebiotics, essentially dietary fiber, are crucial for fueling the gut microbiome. Maximizing dietary fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is important. Fiber is processed in the large intestine by gut microbes, which then create short-chain fatty acids that support immune function and regulate nutrient digestion, reducing the risk of chronic illness. Foods like garlic, leeks, oats, lentils, chickpeas, bananas, and legumes are rich in prebiotics.
Dr. Bush likens fiber to coral reefs, fostering diversification within us, which is essential for good health.
Eat Seasonal. Eat Local.
Colin Hudon, an herbalist, acupuncturist, and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, emphasizes the importance of eating seasonally and locally to align our bodies with our environment. He advocates for rediscovering the complex and varied ways of eating that existed before our modern agricultural system.
The Chinese Medicine approach views food energetically, describing it as warming, cooling, drying, or lubricating. Eating foods that grow in specific seasons helps us align with those seasons. Dr. Bush adds that homogenizing our food supply diminishes the intelligent dialogue between our bodies and our environment.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Food, Hormones + Women’s Health
Dr. Mindy Pelz, a chiropractor specializing in women's health and nutrition, highlights the importance of women eating according to their hormonal cycle. During this cycle, there are times for restriction and times for increased eating to build hormones. For women with a typical 28-day cycle, carbohydrates such as beans, squash, potatoes, wild rices, seeds, and nuts are needed around day 21 to supply and build progesterone. On day 12, when estrogen surges, leafy greens, prebiotic foods, and fermented foods are important to feed the gut bacteria that break down estrogen into a usable form.
Fasting should also be cycled, with no one-size-fits-all approach. Women need to find an eating rhythm that suits their hormonal profile. Menopause requires dietary changes to match the shift in hormonal profile, as progesterone declines.
Dr. Bush explains that after menopause, sex hormones are produced in the adrenals instead of the ovaries. This shift means the body can't tolerate stress in the same way, as it over-taxes the adrenal glands. Increased stress hormones decrease sex hormone production. Menopause is designed to increase longevity and should be viewed as an important transition, not a disease.
Dr. Bush does not support the use of bio-identical hormones during menopause, as the body isn't designed to interact with them in that way. Applying growth hormones to a stressed body can be a recipe for cancer. Instead, women should focus on supporting their adrenals and managing stress levels.
Dr. Newman encourages reframing menopause as an opportunity for a new beginning. She suggests limiting excess hormones in food and including tofu, tempeh, edamame, and miso in the diet, as they deliver phyto-estrogens and selective estrogen receptor modulators. These foods can also help men regulate their hormones. It's best to gradually improve gut health, building up the gut lining and microbiome over time.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP
How to Eat for Peak Performance
Alex Guerrero, co-founder of TB12, emphasizes that everyone is an athlete and can benefit from good nutrition and a healthy biome. He helps elite athletes unlearn the calorie model and discover how a plant-based diet can sustain peak performance. He encourages seasonal eating and nurturing the microbiome, which aids in metabolizing lactic acid and promoting recovery.
Nutritional protocols should be individualized based on how people break down nutrients. He helps people find the most nutrient-dense foods available locally. Eating to support hormones is also essential for healthy endocrine function and regulated insulin levels, which keep inflammation down. Foods like sweet potatoes, root vegetables, squashes, nuts, legumes, and seeds are beneficial.
Dr. Bush recommends the documentary "Game Changers," which demonstrates the power of a plant-based diet for athletes. Romaine lettuce, for example, is a highly bioavailable source of iron, containing significantly more than kale or beef. Animals have high nutrient levels due to their interaction with the microbiome and their plant-based diets. Vitamin B12 is also produced through the microbiome, and our bodies are capable of making it with a healthy microbiome. Rebuilding the microbiome after a high antibiotic diet takes time, so it's important to be patient and reconstruct your relationship with food and nutrition.
Eating for Brain Health
Dr. Peter Cummings emphasizes the importance of brain health, especially in an environment that can be taxing on the neurologic system. He notes the increasing rates of Alzheimer's, autism, and ADD, and the earlier presentation of neurodegenerative conditions. He realized that the food most people eat is not only making them feel bad, but it is literally killing them. He advocates for lifestyle as medicine.
Dr. Cummings agrees that the concept of calories in and calories out is an oversimplified approach to nutrition. The way energy is assimilated into the body varies depending on several factors.
Dr. Bush emphasizes that planetary health directly affects our bodily health.
In regards to the gut-brain axis, the body functions holistically. Changes in the brain affect the gut, and vice versa. This communication is essential for overall health.
The 12 cranial nerves enable essential functions like feeding, fighting, flight, and procreation, and also connect to our emotions, which affect muscle function. The vagus nerve, the largest cranial nerve, connects the brainstem to the gut, providing a two-way neurological connection. Our emotions and emotional response to food play a significant role in what we eat. Stress, for example, decreases vagus nerve tone and increases the sympathetic nervous system, disrupting gut permeability and creating negative outputs within the body.
Dr. Cummings explains that neuropathology conditions result from energy imbalances within brain cells. Astrocytes, which are nurse cells for neurons, store glycogen. Neurons use lactate, broken down from glycogen, for fuel. The human body is a recycling plant; for instance, the brain uses lactate produced during exercise to fuel itself. Brain dysfunction occurs when there is a breakdown in the relationship between astrocytes, neurons, and the ability to energize neurons.
How We Get Addicted to Food
Since the 1950s, the combination of fat, salt, and sugar in the Western diet has induced exaggerated dopamine responses in the brain, similar to the effect of cocaine. This creates a cycle of diminishing returns, requiring more food to achieve the same neurological reward.
The Microbiome: An Overview
Zach Bush, MD, explains that the microbiome is a vast and diverse ecosystem of microorganisms that enable energy metabolism and communication between cells. This community of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and parasites exists within and around us, determining our genetics, energy production, and mental health. We are primarily microbes, with microbial cells outnumbering human cells by a factor of ten.
Our microbiome aids in digestion, regulates immune function, and produces essential nutrients for protein production. Our well-being depends on a balanced and diverse microbiome, which communicates with intestinal cells to maintain a strong gut barrier for the immune system and prevents monoculture overgrowth. A dysfunctional microbiome can contribute to impaired immune health, digestive issues, brain fog, and chronic disorders.
A healthy space to live is essential for the microbiome to thrive, with the gut lining as the foundation. This barrier, the epithelial layer, is only one cell layer thick and is held together by tight junctions, coated in a mucosal "terrain" where the gut microbiome lives.
ION* Gut Support: Science and Benefits
Factory farming, processed foods, and widespread antibiotic use have contributed to the decline of microbiome diversity and overall health, leading to the widespread phenomenon of leaky gut. Glyphosate, a chemical herbicide, acts as an antibiotic, killing microbiome diversity in soil and water systems and disrupting tight junctions in our intestines.
ION* is based on the discovery that diverse microbiomes in soil systems produce a communication system that can support human systems. This liquid supplement promotes the body's capacity for regeneration and repair by enhancing the communication network of the microbiome. In the gut, it supports rapid production of tight junction proteins needed to repair barrier systems.
ION* is a humic extract from ancient soil, rich in fulvate and trace minerals and amino acids that fortify tight junctions via redox signaling support. The bacterial metabolites in this ancient soil are the same used in the gut to foster healthy communication between the microbial and human aspects of ourselves, promoting a healthy adaptive response to our environment.
Regularly taking ION* can lead to enhanced mood, healthy digestion, optimal regularity, and healthier skin by supporting reinforced tight junctions and enhancing microbiome diversity.
For those with leaky gut, Dr. Bush recommends:
- Eating organic or regenerative plant-based foods whenever possible.
- Reducing foods like gluten and dairy that can promote immune imbalances.
- Using ION* Gut Support three times daily to reinforce gut lining integrity, and adding ION* Sinus Support to enhance the resilience of the sinuses and health of the microbiome of the airways and upper gastrointestinal system.
The Gut-Brain Connection
Approximately 15% of our gut lining is composed of enteric endocrine cells, which produce over 90% of the serotonin and over 50% of the dopamine our bodies use. The gut, not the brain, produces these neurotransmitters, marking a paradigm shift in understanding brain function.
Damage to the microbiome and intestinal lining is often associated with neurologic issues. The gut barrier is the first line of defense against intestinal pathogens and toxins, regulating the passage of water, electrolytes, and nutrients. Proper gut function is essential for the body and mind to function correctly.
Zach Bush's Biohacks and Lifestyle Tips
Dr. Bush emphasizes the importance of connecting with nature daily by breathing in biodiversity, spending at least 15 minutes in the sunshine with bare feet on the ground.
He recommends ensuring clear nasal breathing, a happy gut, and a resilient gut/brain axis for good sleep. Lifestyle and environment choices, including food, hydration, and engagement with nature, affect sleep quality.
He suggests focusing on a plant-based, whole food, organic diet and limiting caffeine and alcohol. Regular exercise helps stabilize mood and decompress the mind, improving sleep.
Our mindset upon waking also sets the tone for the day. Taking a few moments to think about things we are thankful for can help us accept the challenges of the day.
Brain Nutrition: Essential Elements
Improving brain function involves simple lifestyle modifications, including proper brain nutrition focused on hydration, limiting inflammation, and promoting brain health.
The brain is 75% water, and dehydration impairs brain function. Water is essential for biochemical reactions in the nervous system and the conversion of food to energy in neurons. Dehydration can cause trouble concentrating, remembering things, and performing complex cognitive tasks. It can also worsen anxiety symptoms and trigger panic attacks by releasing the stress hormone cortisol.
Drinking water has a calming effect and improves mood stabilization during stress. A general guideline is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily, with an additional 12 ounces for every 30 minutes of activity.
Foods that limit inflammation are also important for brain function. Green leafy vegetables, berries, dark chocolate (in moderation), and whole grains contain high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can reduce the risk of cognitive decline and improve memory and cerebral blood flow. Eating a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables is beneficial.
Fatty fish, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, which are vital for neuron cell wall health, neuronal connections, and brain plasticity.
Staying Hydrated: Key to Overall Health
Staying hydrated is a fundamental aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Water acts as a detergent and cleaning agent for our bodies. Dehydration can decrease mood and cognitive performance and cause problems in the brain when electrolyte levels fall too low.
Without adequate fluid, the kidneys can't expel breakdown products and toxins, potentially leading to kidney stone formation. Insufficient fluid can also contribute to low blood pressure, resulting in headaches, fatigue, eye strain, decreased sex drive, and decreased sleep quality.
Adequate hydration is crucial for gut function and healthy skin. Women need approximately 11.5 cups of water a day, while men need 15.5 cups.
Tips for staying hydrated include scheduling times to drink water, monitoring bathroom breaks (urine should be light yellow), adding flavor to water, and consuming water-rich foods. While coffee and alcohol technically count toward fluid intake, they can also have a diuretic effect. Increased water-carrying veggies are needed to offset the potential dehydrating effect of a high-protein diet.