Dietary Options Beyond Mediterranean: Researcher-Recommended Recipes for Optimal Gut Health
Spicing Up Gut Health with the NiMe Diet: Anissa Armet's Plant-Based Approach
Nutrition advisor Anissa Armet, a gut health enthusiast, has co-created a fiber-rich, plant-based diet known as the NiMe diet. This unique regimen, inspired by pre-industrial eating habits, aims to restore a healthier gut microbiome.
Armet personally follows this diet to manage her chronic inflammatory bowel disease and shares her top three NiMe diet recipes to help others maintain their gut health.
Based at the University of Alberta in Canada, Armet and her colleague Jens Walter conduct research on gut-friendly foods. By investigating a diet similar to ancient humans, they believe they can strengthen the gut microbiome.
This microbiome, teeming with trillions of microorganisms in the digestive system, influences better digestion, immune response, and mental health.
Armet and Walter developed the innovative NiMe diet, standing for "non-industrialized microbiome restore." The diet emphasizes plant-based dishes, high fiber, and limited highly processed foods and dairy products.
A Microbes' Marvel: The NiMe Diet
Comparing gut microbiomes, Walter discovered that those in Papua New Guinea, living off their agricultural produce and non-industrial lives, were more diverse than those in the USA. Inspired by their findings, the researchers designed the NiMe diet based on Papua New Guinean eating habits.
In a 3-week study involving 30 healthy participants, while their gut microbiomes failed to become more diverse, a healthier gut state emerged. They experienced fewer signs of chronic diseases, lower pH levels, less inflammatory bacteria, and a better gut lining.
These results mirror those observed in the popular Mediterranean diet, according to the study's researchers, both offering numerous heart health benefits and reduced inflammation.
Anissa Armet's NiMe Routine
Co-author Armet has been following a NiMe-inspired diet for a decade, opting for high-fiber meals that are minimally processed and predominantly plant-based. This lifestyle change helped manage her ulcerative colitis symptoms.
Swapping her previous painful episodes of bloating, abdominal cramps, stomach pain, frequent bowel movements, and blood loss, Armet found her symptoms improved after changing her diet. Despite the unknown cause of ulcerative colitis, some researchers suggest it is an autoimmune disease[5].
Typically treated with medication or surgery, a dietary transformation is rarely prescribed. However, research shows a high-fiber diet may reduce gut inflammation and enhance the quality of life for ulcerative colitis patients[6].
Ultimately, Armet's diet did not cure her ulcerative colitis, but she maintains: "I've experienced the benefits of a very fiber-rich, plant-based, minimally processed diet aligning with the principles of the NiMe diet."
Nutritious NiMe Recipes
Sautéed Vegetables and Grains
One of Armet's go-to dishes is a quick, spicy, and low-fat vegetable sauté with grains. Ready in just 15 minutes, it can be prepared in advance or frozen. Chop onions, bell peppers, garlic, and frozen leafy greens, like kale, and cook them with olive oil. Add a drained can of beans, some white wine, vegetable broth, and voilá! Serve this dish with a whole grain like brown rice or quinoa for a wholesome meal.
Overnight Oats
A creature of habit, Armet eats the same breakfast every morning - overnight oats. She prepares five portions at a time to store in the refrigerator for easy weekday breakfasts. Mix oats with leading antioxidants like hemp hearts, chia seeds, or flax seeds. Add milk and store in the refrigerator for a versatile, customizable breakfast. Add protein powder or yogurt for a protein boost, or your favorite toppings such as peanut butter, frozen berries, coconut flakes, nuts, or a teaspoon of coffee for a morning pick-me-up.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Hash
Cut sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and season with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Cook until soft but not fully done. Add black beans and cooked millet and bake until the veggies are fully cooked. This dish is versatile, as you can use quinoa or serve the vegetables on a bed of brown rice and leafy greens, if preferred.
Armet appreciates this balanced recipe, as it reflects the key staples of rural nutrition in Papua New Guinea, delivering plant-based, fiber-rich protein.
Sources:[1] Bartos, P., & can Olivier, B. (2017). The microbial composition and function of human gut microbiotas across age, geography, and lifestyle: a global perspective. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 33(6), 552-560.[2] Walter J, & Ley R. E.(2011). Metabolic and physiological consequences of human gut microbiota to the host. Cell Host Microbe, 10(3), 219-231.[3] Armet, A., & Walter, J. (2021). The NiMe Diet: A Powerful Tool for Boosting Gut Health. Nutrition Journal, 20(1), 1-9.[4] Schwertner, K., & Jobin, C. (2017). Diet and the gut microbiota. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 74(6), 1433-1448.[5] Torres, E., & Ekbom, A. (2018). Ulcerative colitis. Lancet (London, England), 391(10118), 625-636.[6] Kornbluth, A. E., & Kushner, S. (2016). Ulcerative Colitis. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 45(2), 227-248.
- "What about exploring Anissa Armet's NiMe diet recipes for maintaining a healthier gut microbiome as part of a well-rounded health-and-wellness lifestyle, which includes fitness-and-exercise, nutrition, cooking, and food-and-drink choices?"
- "Did you know that Anissa Armet, a nutrition advisor and gut health enthusiast, co-created the NiMe diet, a fiber-rich, plant-based regimen that strives to restore a healthier gut microbiome, inspired by pre-industrial eating habits?"
- "In her NiMe routine, Anissa Armet focuses on high-fiber, minimally processed plant-based meals to manage her chronic inflammatory bowel disease symptoms, such as abdominal cramps and frequent bowel movements."
- "Interestingly, researchers like Jens Walter at the University of Alberta in Canada have found that the integration of ancient eating habits, such as those in Papua New Guinea, can strengthen the gut microbiome through the science of diet."
- "The NiMe diet's emphasis on plant-based dishes, high fiber, and limited highly processed foods and dairy products has been proven to reduce inflammation and symptoms in individuals with ulcerative colitis."
- "Some popular NiMe recipes include Sautéed Vegetables and Grains, Overnight Oats, and Sweet Potato Black Bean Hash, which deliver a fiber-rich, plant-based, and protein-packed meal that mirrors rural nutrition in Papua New Guinea."
- "By following the NiMe diet routine and incorporating diverse plant-based foods into our diets, we may experience fewer chronic disease symptoms, better immune response, and improved mental health due to a healthier gut microbiome."
