Here are what I believe to be solid, research-backed food guidelines that are likely to be more helpful than harmful.

It’s hard to know what to eat, isn’t it? What to eat. What not to eat. When to eat. What order to eat. I mean, gimme a break. I’ve gathered a few hints and suggestions from recent research to try to help pull it all together for myself this week. Join me.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina conducted a literature review of the data from 106 other studies, while citing 150 research projects in their publication.  From this massive amount of data, they developed what they call the Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota (DI-GM) It’s not complicated, and simply boils down to this: What you eat absolutely affects both your physical and mental health. Certain foods are very  beneficial to our gut biome. Others are harmful.

Because you can actively influence each of these five categories (unlike our inherited DNA, which we have zero control over), these will be five areas for you to personally take responsibility for to the best of your abilities and within your means. Even improving in just one category can have a profoundly positive impact on your life.

What we “should” eat to fuel our journey is such a complicated question.