Taking care of your body isn’t just about exercise, sleep, and eating nutrient dense foods—it’s also about caring for your microbial ecologies. In our column On rotation, we ask the Good Bacteria team: What are you doing for your bacteria this week? and learn more about their personal take on science-based approaches to holistic well-being.
Well, it’s that time of year when school is starting again. I don't know about you guys, but for me, as the mom of a second grader (along with a two- and four-year-old in day care), this time is pretty hectic. My husband and I have to get the kids out of relax mode and back into the mindset of having a routine. While our oldest daughter attends a public school that provides free breakfast and access to lunch, we would like for her meals to be full of fiber and protein (and we want to know what she isn’t eating from her lunchbox). So this week, we’re thinking a lot about our healthy gut bacteria with meal prep for breakfast and packed lunch for the kiddos. Examples of lunch items that we love (and that she finishes!) include turkey, spinach, and cream cheese pinwheels; chia seed puddings; Greek yogurt; and berries (she especially loves blackberries).
I love that we are able to pack lunch for her, but what keeps me up at night is the fact that eating a protein- and fiber-packed meal is not an option for many children who rely on school breakfast and lunch (I myself was a free-lunch kid from kindergarten through my senior year of high school). I believe that all children should have the same access to healthy, gut-friendly lunches, whether they bring lunch from home or receive it at school. For this reason, a lot of my research as a computational biologist revolves around this. My research program investigates: (1) how our environment and social factors may impact our access to foods and resulting eating habits, and (2) how these eating habits (such as high consumption of ultra-processed foods, sugars, and fatty foods) can impact a child’s obesity and cognitive outcomes via changes in their gut microbiome. I strongly believe that issues relating to dietary choices are results of food availability and, as such, operate on the systemic level, not on the individual or family level. While having any lunch is better than no lunch, there are a few issues with school lunches in the US. To start, often the vegetables and fruit provided at school go uneaten, leaving kids without the prebiotics necessary to nourish a healthy gut microbiome. Also, until recently, there was a high amount of added sugar, specifically from the flavored milks (an unassuming culprit). Among some of the other known effects of sugar on a child’s body, excessive added sugars help to feed not-so-friendly microbes, allowing these microbes to outcompete the beneficial microbes in a child’s gut.
Thus, my goal in my work is to conduct research to generate evidence of the impacts of the current food environment and food policies geared toward children, with hopes of contributing to changes in policies. Until there are policy changes, it is important for parents and caretakers to do what they can to make sure that children get the gut-friendly foods (these include fiber-rich foods like nuts and fermented foods like yogurt) necessary for healthy development. This research is important for me not only as a scientist but as a mom who wants to ensure that her kids are taught early the importance of nutrition for a healthy life.