The simplest and most effective way to improve (lower) your Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (“F/B ratio”) for improved weight loss (or less weight “regain”) is to reduce your Firmicutes by eating less processed food, and increase your Bacteroidetes by eating more fiber.
Simple – but easier said than done!
Some of the other approaches you can take include:
- Adding a prebiotic fiber supplement to your daily regimen (I add one into my protein smoothie – easy peasy).
- Increasing your intake of Fermented Foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi/sauerkraut (I eat plain Greek yogurt with granola and berries almost every morning for breakfast and drink a kombucha almost every afternoon).
- Boosting your intake (or production) of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) – which will happen naturally when your microbiome ferments all that yummy fiber you’ll be adding to your diet – but you can also supplement directly with a source of Butyrate (the primary SCFA associated with blood sugar balance, appetite control, and fat metabolism).
- Maintain a diverse microbiome (partly accomplished by a higher fiber and plant intake – like the “30 Plant Challenge”) – which you can support with a diverse blend of probiotics including Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Akkermansia.
In my “F:B Ratio Stack” – I have combined 4 products that provide diverse sources of prebiotic fibers, probiotic bacteria, and SCFAs = https://us.fullscript.com/plans/stalbott-f-b-ratio-stack
