Gut health and intermittent fasting: Practical tips to stay happy and healthy
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00:00Welcome back to the second episode of My Dubai Presents, food for thought in association
00:07with Al-Adil Trading and Waterfront Market.
00:10Hey guys, thank you so much for your lovely feedback.
00:21We love your comments.
00:22We love your feedback.
00:23Well, joining me once again today is our renowned nutritionist, Rashi Chaudhary.
00:27Hi, Rashi.
00:28Welcome back.
00:29And like they say, food is an art.
00:32One has to eat very intelligently.
00:35So let me begin by asking you, what did you have for breakfast this morning?
00:38Wow, something that you probably wouldn't be interested in.
00:41Why?
00:42Because, you know, I am literally a creature of habit.
00:45So for the past, I don't know how many years, I start my day with a butter coffee because
00:49I really believe in fat first.
00:50And post that, I'll do some protein and fat.
00:52So there will be, you know, some eggs, or it'll be a protein shake, or it'll be a chia
00:56pudding or something like that.
00:57But most often, it's just a whole lot of eggs with vegetables.
01:00See, there you go.
01:01Breakfast or eating right is so subjective, and it's so different, so varied.
01:05So what should one eat and how should one eat?
01:08Yeah.
01:09You know, if you've noticed, what should somebody eat depends a lot on how they perceive food.
01:14Correct.
01:15Some live to eat.
01:16Some eat to live.
01:17Some are emotional eaters.
01:18And we've all been there.
01:19Yes, yes.
01:20And some are so careful about how their body looks and feels, that they will count their
01:26macros down to the last gram and then eat that way, which is so sad.
01:31I think it's a very restrictive way of living, but each to its own.
01:33Yeah.
01:34So there's different ways of actually eating.
01:36100%.
01:37There are so many different ways.
01:38What you think is right depends on what is right for you, specifically.
01:42I like to look at food a little differently.
01:44I don't think food is calories.
01:45I don't think food is fuel.
01:47Right.
01:48I think food is information.
01:51And when I say that, what I mean is, every time we eat, the food goes into our system.
01:56It's a whole lot of information that our genes take up.
01:58And they translate this into cellular instructions.
02:01So based on what we eat, we can actually program our body to function a certain way.
02:06My question was, how do we eat and what do we eat to make our body function better?
02:11Yeah.
02:12Now, there are so many different ways of looking at this.
02:13But one of the biggest ways these days, which is trending a lot, and for good reason, is
02:17taking care of your gut.
02:18You've heard about the gut health, right?
02:20Gut.
02:21I mean, everybody's talking about gut.
02:22But I mean, I have no knowledge about gut.
02:24What is gut health, Rashi?
02:26What is it all about?
02:27Tell our viewers.
02:28So your gut is an accumulation of a whole lot of organs together.
02:30It's your mouth, your esophagus, your stomach, your small intestines, your rectum, all of
02:34this together makes up the gut.
02:36What is gaining a lot of importance right now is the gut lining and the health of the
02:40gut lining.
02:41What is a gut lining?
02:42I'll tell you.
02:43But the thing is, when we talk about gut, your gut health is how well you moderate your
02:48gut microbiome or your gut bacteria.
02:50There are so many reasons to take care of the gut.
02:53And I want to very quickly talk about four reasons, which I find the most important.
02:57Okay.
02:58Number one, we spoke about this the other day, where I was telling you how our gut is
03:02literally the home to 100 trillion bacteria.
03:07We have an entire ecosystem of bacteria and viruses inside us.
03:10How well balanced this ecosystem is, that decides how well balanced we are.
03:15So if there's an imbalance of the gut bacteria, the microbiome, which means that there's more
03:19bad than good, it's going to have a negative effect on our body and the way we behave.
03:24So it's one of the reasons to take care of the gut.
03:26We are actually, if you go to see, if you count the number of cells, we are 90% bacteria,
03:31only 10% human.
03:32So we better take care of this gut microbiome, you know.
03:35Listen to your gut like they say.
03:36A hundred percent.
03:37But for that, you need to make sure if your gut feelings have to be right, you got to
03:41feed your gut the right way.
03:42So how do we feed our gut the right way?
03:44I mean, what are the basic rules to follow to keep your gut happy and healthy?
03:48Yeah.
03:49So one of the main things I do want to cover is firstly, tell me what is the one thing
03:52that we are all chasing?
03:55We just want to be happy.
03:56Right?
03:57Right.
03:5880% of your serotonin hormone, which is a happy hormone, is secreted in the gut.
04:02So you can be driving the best car.
04:04You could be having the best job, have the nicest boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever.
04:09But if your habits, your health habits are not supporting your gut, then you won't secrete
04:13serotonin.
04:14I'm not going to feel the joy and contentment in every single moment.
04:17So which means there is a direct connection between gut health and you being happy?
04:21A hundred percent.
04:22Right?
04:23Wow.
04:24Because your serotonin hormone is secreted there.
04:25Amazing.
04:26And then there's also a connection between the gut and the brain.
04:29Tell me, how did you feel when you really started this whole thing?
04:32Like I had butterflies in my stomach.
04:34I was anxious as well.
04:35So because I was anxious up here, I had butterflies in my stomach here.
04:39Wow.
04:40That's a direct connection because there's a vagus nerve that goes from our gut right
04:43into our brain.
04:44And these two communicate with each other.
04:46Amazing.
04:47So the gut is like a second brain.
04:48And how many people these days suffer with anxiety?
04:51A lot of times they don't even know their gut is actually inflamed.
04:54There's inflammation.
04:55So it's crying out for help and your brain is picking it up as a, you need to survive.
05:00And it starts to give you anxiety or depression or whatever.
05:03Little did we know that a gut can be so important in one's life.
05:07A hundred percent.
05:08And lastly, how much are we hearing about immunity since the last four or five months?
05:13A lot.
05:14Everybody's doing things to make your immune system strong.
05:16Absolutely.
05:17And again, 80% of your immune system lies in your gut.
05:20And your gut lining is one of the most important things you will do.
05:24Like if you want to be healthy, that's the first thing you want to take care of.
05:27Wow.
05:28Rashi, now that you've told us how important our gut is for our system and for us to be
05:32happy, how do we go about taking care of our gut?
05:36You really want the answer?
05:37Yes, I do.
05:38Everybody wants to.
05:39So it is hard, but honestly, I make a lot of my clients go on either two week or a four
05:45week mandatory gut cleanse.
05:49And some of them need it even longer.
05:51So what I would request people who are watching us today is to at least do these five principles
05:56that I talk about for the next 30 days.
05:58The first one, you've got to go gluten free.
06:01I know.
06:02Please don't talk about being gluten free because we've grown up eating parathas, rice.
06:07How can we give up on gluten and why do you think gluten is bad for us?
06:11To be honest, if I have to take the grain, this whole wheat grain, which our grandmoms
06:18ate versus what you and me eat today, modern wheat should not be called wheat anymore.
06:24If I put it under the microscope, they look like two different grains.
06:28Because in about 1870, the way we farm changed a lot.
06:32From doing a lot of stone grinding, we went to steel grinding.
06:37Now what happened is the fiber went away, the gluten went up, the nutrients were gone.
06:42So imagine the pests and bugs stop eating this stuff.
06:45So suddenly the manufacturers had more because there's no wastage.
06:48So they were getting more money because more output.
06:50Then in 1950s, the green revolution happened.
06:53Not sure if you're aware of that.
06:54But what the basic reason was, is that they wanted to eradicate world hunger.
06:59So they wanted more produce.
07:00They didn't care about how nutritionally dense something is, they just wanted more food.
07:05Now because of the green revolution, today, the modern day wheat that we have is a semi-dwarf
07:11version.
07:12It has absolutely like 30% more gluten, absolutely no fiber, no nutrients at all.
07:18And then when we consume this gluten, you have a piece of bread, the gluten from there
07:22goes into your stomach, turns into something called gluteal morphine.
07:26Now this is something which goes up because of the gut and brain connection, right?
07:30It goes up and your opioid receptors light up.
07:33Okay, explain it to me in slightly easier terms.
07:36So you know what is opioid receptor?
07:37That's exactly what lights up when we have too much sugar.
07:40So you get addicted, you mean?
07:41Yeah, which is why we can't stop at one bite of cake.
07:43We can't stop at one slice of bread.
07:45And the bread basket.
07:46Exactly.
07:47You know, I tell them to just take it away because otherwise, you can't stop.
07:52Because it is addictive.
07:53Oh my gosh.
07:54So gluten can be that bad for you.
07:56100%.
07:57And it's just not because gluten is bad, but because the way our modern processing methods
08:02are pathetic.
08:03So gluten is not good for us.
08:04Thanks for enlightening us on that.
08:06What else?
08:07That's the first principle.
08:08Second is you're going to kill me now.
08:09You're going to actually kill me now.
08:10Tell me.
08:11You have to go dairy free.
08:13I can't go dairy free.
08:14I love my paneer, paneer makhani, paneer pasand, paneer ka paratha.
08:19And cheese.
08:20Yeah, exactly.
08:21Listen, I could understand why gluten is not good for us, but please explain why is dairy
08:25bad for us?
08:26You know, cows were never meant to give milk for human consumption.
08:31Now listen to this.
08:32When we get milk from cows, they are milked when they are pregnant.
08:37So now because we want to make more money, we keep the cows forcibly, like forcefully
08:43pregnant for a long time.
08:45When you do that, the cow's body is not prepared for that.
08:49So their reproductive organs get overused and then they fall sick.
08:53When they fall sick, we pump antibiotics, we pump hormones and growth hormones to make
08:58them feel okay.
09:00But their organ systems are stressed out.
09:02It's brutal.
09:03Forget about the cruelty.
09:04I mean, not forget about it, but like keep that on one side.
09:07But imagine the milk that's coming out of this cow.
09:10It has growth hormones.
09:11It has antibiotics.
09:12It's milked when it's pregnant, so it's got a whole lot of estrogen.
09:14Now there's something called as molecular mimicry in our body.
09:18So when I'm going to have this and if there's milk in it and there's estrogen in it, of
09:22course, it goes into my body.
09:23The estrogen of the cow and of the human body is similar.
09:27Okay.
09:28It's not the same, but it's similar.
09:29My body feels, oh, I've got estrogen and it stops producing estrogen.
09:33Imagine your little girls are having this, which is why today PCOS is so common.
09:38One out of eight women have endometriosis.
09:40People have acne.
09:41Like it's insane.
09:42Wow.
09:43So dairy needs to go.
09:45So Rasha, you mentioned that, you know, gluten-free, dairy-free, these are diets which are good
09:49for your gut.
09:50But I've read somewhere that fats are good for one's body.
09:53How can fat be good for one's body?
09:56Fats make you fat.
09:58Fat is the most misunderstood macronutrient, but I'm so happy and thankful for keto because
10:02now suddenly people believe in fat.
10:04We hate that word fat.
10:05Yeah.
10:06Yeah.
10:07See, we're from fat, right?
10:08Yeah.
10:09But then there are good fats and bad fats and that's a different conversation.
10:10Okay.
10:11The point is because we're talking about gut here, understand when your gut is inflamed,
10:14right?
10:15It's like your gut's on fire.
10:17And a great fire extinguisher is fat, which is why I tell everybody to start their day
10:23with fat first.
10:24So you get up in the morning, have a tablespoon of ghee, butter, coconut oil, make sure it's
10:28organic because obviously you want that kind of stuff into your system and even your little
10:32kids can have it.
10:33Pause.
10:34Pause.
10:35Pause.
10:36What does it do to our system?
10:37The fats.
10:38The first thing is it literally, you know, if your gut is inflamed, it puts it, it's
10:40like a fire extinguisher.
10:41Wow.
10:42Secondly, when you wake up to this, it has no glucose in it.
10:45It has absolutely no carbohydrates in it.
10:48So you're going to have, you know, stable insulin levels.
10:51When you have stable insulin levels, 50% of your problems are gone.
10:55You're not, you don't have brain fog, you're not hungry, edgy, or tired, you're not craving
10:59for the next carbohydrate to put into your system.
11:01That is amazing.
11:02I didn't know fats could be so magical for our body.
11:05So gluten free, fat, not fat free, dairy free.
11:09What are the other points that one can add?
11:10So there are two more things.
11:13And I think when it comes to gut health, you can't not speak about fiber.
11:16Fiber is so important because if fiber goes into your system, you're good gut bacteria.
11:20We spoke about the gut microbiome, right?
11:22Right.
11:23We want the population of a gut microbiome to be nice and diverse, and you want a whole
11:26lot of good bacteria.
11:27Right.
11:28One way to do that is to feed them fiber.
11:32And a lot of people when they start this whole, you know, gut cleanse journey, their gut is
11:37not very receptive to fiber, because a lot of people have fruits and vegetables and salads
11:42and they feel bloated.
11:43Yes.
11:44There are so many people who eat salad and they're like, I just can't eat salad because
11:46I'm bloated.
11:47It means you don't need it for a while.
11:49So you can do a 30 day gut cleanse and then start adding the fiber.
11:53But sorry.
11:54Yeah, go ahead.
11:55Just one thing.
11:56Prebiotics is the best thing for someone who's struggling with a whole lot of, you know,
12:00issues with fiber.
12:02So onions, garlic, bananas, and potatoes, white potatoes.
12:08But the best thing is if you have a cooked and then cooled potato.
12:11The minute you cool a potato, the resistance starch, which is like fuel for gut bacteria,
12:16it triples.
12:17Wow.
12:18Potatoes are good for you.
12:19Amazing, Rajshri.
12:20I hope you guys are making your notes be dairy free, gluten free, not fat free.
12:24And of course, add fiber to your diet.
12:26But one thing that I've been dying to talk about is something which is trending on social
12:29media.
12:30Hashtag fasting.
12:31Oh, wow.
12:32So many people are trying different ways of fasting.
12:34Tell us, is fasting good for our gut?
12:36You know, that's so interesting because it's one of the things that I make a lot of my
12:38clients do, especially during this 30 day cleanse.
12:40You don't have to go all out and go, you know, crazy about it because a lot of people do
12:44it for so long.
12:45Correct.
12:46So what fasting does is when you fast for about 12 to 14 to 16 hours, the repair mechanism
12:52of a certain bacteria called Acromansia kicks in.
12:54Now, Acromansia is one of the best things, one of the best bacterias for your gut lining.
12:59We spoke about the gut lining, it's like this thin line, which actually protects us from
13:04this outside world.
13:05It's like a barrier.
13:06Yes.
13:07You know how thin this lining is?
13:08How thin?
13:09It's 50 microns.
13:10And you know how much 50 microns is?
13:12I take one, literally one hair and I chop it into half.
13:18That's how thin this gut lining is.
13:19And the gut lining works like a toll gate.
13:21What does the toll gate do?
13:22So it just sort of discards what's not needed.
13:25What's not needed.
13:26When the gut lining is intact, what's not needed stays out, toxins stay out, the nutrients
13:30that we need for our nourishment stays in.
13:33But imagine now this toll gate being all flimsy.
13:36Toxins enter your bloodstream.
13:38That's when chronic inflammation happens and we have all these issues.
13:41So when we fast, the repair mechanism of acromantia kicks in and it keeps your gut
13:46lining nice and intact.
13:48So fasting for 12, 14, 16 hours is a good thing.
13:51So yeah, talking about this, Rashi, how can we not talk about intermittent fasting?
13:55You know, 2020 has been a year of people trying intermittent fasting.
13:59It's trending everywhere on social media and otherwise.
14:01What exactly is intermittent fasting and people are actually doing it to lose weight?
14:07You know, this is the thing.
14:09Because when you take up any diet, forget about intermittent fasting, any diet for the
14:13sake of weight loss, your intentions are skewed and if you're going to take up intermittent
14:18fasting yet again to lose weight, I think there's a bit of a problem there.
14:22And there are three things you need to keep in mind.
14:25Number one, the intention can't be, I want to lose weight.
14:29You know, because it's not going to help.
14:30Do it for different reasons because you want a digestive break, because you want your gut
14:35microbiome to flourish, because you want these mitochondria, which is like the tiny cells
14:40in our body.
14:41The old ones die off and the new ones come in, which makes us feel young and happy and
14:46alive.
14:47Do it for those reasons.
14:48Losing weight is just one of the reasons that will probably come in with that, right?
14:52It may or may not.
14:53But that's not one of the reasons.
14:54But it's good for your body.
14:55It's healthy.
14:56It's good for your body because again, you're sticking to your circadian rhythm.
14:58What we spoke about in the first episode.
15:00You stop eating.
15:01Ideally, if you are going to intermittent fast, between 10 to 4, 10 to 6.
15:06These are good timings.
15:07Okay, break it down for our viewers, because I'm sure viewers are dying to know more about
15:10intermittent fasting.
15:11I've read a lot about it.
15:13Even me, I want to know more about it.
15:14So to begin with, what time should we eat, from what time to what time and what should
15:18we eat?
15:19Firstly, what are the timings for intermittent fasting?
15:22So here's the thing, because we spoke about circadian rhythm, right?
15:24We have an internal body clock that goes in sync with what's happening outside.
15:28When you wake up in the morning, we want to eat because your metabolic hormones are in
15:33play.
15:34And by 6pm, that means I finish at 4.
15:374.30.
15:38So from morning till 6pm, you can eat.
15:4010 o'clock.
15:4110 o'clock in the morning.
15:42Okay.
15:43And you stop at 6.
15:44But then again, if you are somebody who's chomping burgers, and you're in that kind
15:47of a lifestyle, please don't pick up intermittent fasting.
15:49Three days you'll give up.
15:50Guys, fasting is not for people who like junk food.
15:53No, it can be.
15:54It can be.
15:55I know some teenagers who come to me and they just want to like, eat junk.
16:00And then we kind of time that so you don't have to do a 16 hour from the beginning, right?
16:04Right.
16:05You can do 12 hours.
16:06So intermittent fasting can vary.
16:07So start with 12, then go to 14, then graduate or progress to 16.
16:12So now that we know the timings, Rashi, tell us, what should we eat?
16:17I think this again, it depends on person to person, right?
16:20So if you're new to intermittent fasting, I would say wake up in the morning.
16:24If you are an early riser, then have your fat first.
16:27So you've got some fuel in, it'll still keep your insulin balanced.
16:30Then around 10 o'clock, eat a nice big meal.
16:32Eat your eggs, eat your avo, eat your, you know, gluten free bread or potatoes, any of
16:38those things.
16:39But eat carbs at that point, eat your fruits, all of that.
16:41Okay.
16:42Then you can graze, you know, throughout the day.
16:45And then make sure that before you stop, like before your fast starts, right?
16:49Right.
16:50So around 4 or 6pm, again, you're eating a nice heavy meal, which has carbohydrates,
16:54so you can sustain.
16:55So an Indian person can have his proper meal, like a thali.
16:59Of course, but have it around 4 or 6, so you can sustain.
17:02Great.
17:03That's amazing.
17:04So, okay, now that we know a little bit about intermittent fasting, thanks to you.
17:09What are the things to remember to keep in mind before one starts this fasting?
17:12Yes.
17:13So the first is your intentions.
17:14Make sure those are right.
17:15You have to do it for the right intentions.
17:17Do it for, you know, sometimes even people, look, our religion.
17:21So many religions promote it, right?
17:23Yes, absolutely.
17:24There is a spiritual significance as well to fasting.
17:26Because when you are not eating, suddenly those emotions that come up, you got to deal
17:30with it.
17:31Absolutely.
17:32You can't use food as a crutch.
17:33Yes.
17:34You have to deal with those emotions.
17:35So spiritually, it kind of uplifts you.
17:36So get your intentions right.
17:37Secondly, you know, there are some people who do the intermittent fast, but they skew
17:41their relationship with food.
17:42Yes.
17:43Because guilt comes into play.
17:44After 6pm, I have to go with my friends, but I can't eat.
17:46Exactly.
17:47And if I eat, I'm guilty.
17:48Yes.
17:49So if your relationship with food is going to get messed up, then please don't do the
17:52intermittent fast.
17:53Or do it 3 or 4 times a week.
17:54You don't have to do it every day.
17:56Of course, doing it every day has its own benefits, but you go at your pace, you know.
18:00The problem is you want to do what everybody else is doing.
18:02That's where we mess up.
18:03All right.
18:04And lastly, most people who do intermittent fast, over time, what I've noticed is their
18:09appetite goes down.
18:10Now, what happens when your appetite goes down?
18:12You can't eat that much.
18:13If you can't eat that much, the number of calories you're consuming is less.
18:17Less, absolutely.
18:18But also the number of nutrients you consume is less.
18:21So guys, like one doesn't think about these things.
18:23We don't think about it.
18:24And nutrition, what we are getting from food, it's like you're building your nutritional
18:28bank balance inside.
18:29Absolutely.
18:30I don't want you to be depleted.
18:31I want you to be rich and abundant, you know.
18:32It has to be balanced.
18:33How do you build on your immunity if you don't eat?
18:35All of these things.
18:36Immunity, your serotonin, you know, all of these things.
18:38Absolutely.
18:39So you have to make sure you eat enough if you're doing an intermittent fast.
18:43Absolutely.
18:44Rashmi, this has been so enlightening for our viewers and for me.
18:47Thank you so much.
18:49Thank you again for having me.
18:50So guys, before you start a diet or if you want to fast, make sure that you consult the
18:54right person.
18:55Rashi, how can our viewers get in touch with you?
18:56Well, they can follow me on Instagram.
18:58My handle is Rashi Chaudhary.
19:01And guys, if you have any questions for us here, you can also send me a direct message.
19:05Pallavi Talks is my Instagram as well as my Facebook handle.
19:08Hey guys, you're going to be back again with yet another episode of Food for Thought.
19:12My Dubai Presents Food for Thought in association with Waterfront Market and Al-Adil Trading
19:18Company.
19:19Join us next week on this very platform.
19:21See you.
19:22Be healthy, stay hydrated and take good care of yourself.