Skinny Blooming Onion
If I were to review my search history from 2010-2019, I think 90% of it would be variations on “which foods should I avoid if I don’t want to be bloated.”
The syntax may have changed — “best foods for bloating” “worst foods for bloating” “which foods are making me bloated” —
but the energy was the same.
I was constantly trying to figure out how I could avoid my belly distending out to the moon.
And I could never get clear answers. One listicle would say to eat things like cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts because they are high in fiber & can help you eliminate; others would say to avoid them because the type of fiber can make you bloat.
This uncertainty & lack of control over my body led to some really dark times in my life.
An era filled with baggy shirts, sizing up in pants, fearing foods, and more googling than I care to admit.
Anytime I’d hear of someone being allergic, sensitive to, or avoiding a food, I would try it too.
By 2019, my list of don’t eat foods included: gluten, dairy, eggs, all grains even if gluten free, corn, all nuts, dates, soy, cruciferous veggies, garlic, onion, melons, legumes, and probably another 60 things I can’t even think of.
Basically, the only things I didn’t fear eating were berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, and avocado.
It was not a great time.
The Great Irony
Now, you may think “wow if she cut out so many foods she must have been thin like a twig and never bloated.”
Nope.
It was actually the most bloated I’ve ever been AND I was even putting on weight despite only being able to eat 4.5 things.
my body when I was cutting out 65,000 foods on the left; vs. what I look like when I eat all the garlic, onions, beans, and more!
Here’s why:
Cutting out all of these foods meant that I was depriving my body of a lot of important micronutrients and types of fiber.
Even though I was still eating fiber, and getting enough total fiber, I wasn’t getting enough variety of fiber.
You see, our gut microbiome has a lot of different species of bacteria. The more species of beneficial bacteria we have, the better.
Different species of beneficial bacteria feast on different types of fiber.
Because I was only eating 4.5 foods, I was only feeding a few species of beneficial bacteria. This led to my gut microbiome being less diverse. This led to me bloating more, and it even led to me gaining weight!
The great irony is the more bloated certain vegetables and fruits make you, the more you probably need to eat them. It’s by eating them that you feed the corresponding gut bacteria, strengthen their populations, and then in the future avoid having to feed them.
The Probiotic You Didn’t Know You Needed
Ok, now that I’ve explained why cutting out foods made me bloated, now let me explain why it made me gain weight.
And I mean literal weight. I do not mean when you are bloated and appear bigger because your tummy is distended. I mean literal extra fat.
For one thing, cutting foods out causes deprivation, which can cause you to overeat.
But there is another, far more interesting reason:
Akkermansia.
If you’re thinking “wtf is that gibberish you just said,” I don’t blame you.
Akkermansia muciniphila is a beneficial bacterium naturally found in your gut. It plays a key role in maintaining a healthy gut lining, regulating inflammation, and supporting metabolic health.
Its effect on metabolic health seems to be huge— it seems to majorly affect fat storage, insulin sensitivity, and metabolism.
Akkermansia helps maintain a healthy gut barrier, which reduces inflammation—a condition strongly linked to obesity and insulin resistance. Studies have shown that Akkermansia abundance positively correlates with improved insulin sensitivity, meaning cells are more responsive to insulin, lowering blood sugar spikes and reducing the likelihood of fat storage.
Some animal studies indicate that Akkermansia may reduce fat mass. When mice were fed Akkermansia muciniphilasupplements, they experienced lower fat storage and improved markers for energy expenditure. This may be due in part to Akkermansia’s ability to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like propionate, which can influence fat storage and help the body burn more calories rather than storing them as fat.
Akkermansia may indirectly affect appetite regulation by influencing the production of GLP-1 and PYY, hormones linked to satiety. These hormones signal fullness to the brain, which could help control overeating. This effect might make people feel fuller with smaller amounts of food, supporting weight management efforts.
that feeling when you have lots of akkermansia in circulation!
Modulating Akkermansia Levels
As you can probably surmise by now, my Akkermansia levels were pretty depleted at the time.
Here’s why: you can’t actually supplement Akkermansia. It’s very sensitive to oxygen, and would die before the supplement reaches your gut. Instead, the way you support your Akkermansia levels is primarily via your diet. It’s through eating polyphenol-rich foods & prebiotic fiber.
And as you may recall from earlier in this post (which probably feels like 14,345,756 years ago now), I was constantly cutting out foods. All of the foods I was cutting out were the exact foods I needed to support my akkermansia levels.
Akkermansia is mucin-degrading, meaning it feeds on mucins—proteins that make up the mucus layer in the gut—and the fiber from dietary sources. When high-fiber foods, including those with prebiotic fibers like inulin (a high-FODMAP fiber found in foods such as garlic and onions), are cut out, Akkermansia loses a major part of its nutrient source, which can lead to lower levels. A 2013 study showed that diets rich in fibers increase the abundance of mucin-degrading bacteria like Akkermansia.
High-FODMAP foods contain fermentable fibers that feed beneficial bacteria, including Akkermansia. When FODMAPs are restricted long-term, as seen in a 2016 study, microbial diversity in the gut can decrease, including reductions in beneficial bacteria associated with mucin production and gut health . A lowey of gut bacteria can weaken the resilience of the microbiome and reduce populations of key bacteria like Akkermansia.
A 2018 study examined the gut microbiome in low-fiber diets and found that fiber restrictions can lead to a significant decrease in beneficial bacteria, including Akkermansia, due to insufficient food sources. The same study indicated that restoring fiber intake could help recolonize these bacteria.
If you want to increase your Akkermansia levels—and let’s be real…who doesn’t!—the way to do it is to eat more polyphenol-rich foods, and foods with prebiotic fibers, particularly fructooligosaccharides & gosaccharides.
The best foods for increasing Akkermansia include:
pomegranate
cranberries
onions
garlic
asparagus
lentils
beans
And that brings us to…
blooming onions for a blooming microbiome!
This Dish
balsamic roasted onions with a spicy sesame sauce
The Benefits
good for your metabolic health, avoiding bloating, & improving your gut microbiome. specifically:
onions are rich in inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), prebiotic fibers that indirectly support Akkermansia. While Akkermansiaprimarily feeds on the gut's mucus layer, inulin and FOS promote the growth of other beneficial bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs, like butyrate, nourish the gut lining and stimulate mucin production, creating an ideal environment for Akkermansia to thrive.sStudies show that high-FODMAP foods, like onions, contribute to a diverse microbiome that supports Akkermansia and improves overall gut healthns regularly in your diet can support a balanced microbiome, ultimately benefiting Akkermansia growth and its positive effects on metabolism and gut barrier function
the capsaicin in gochugaru gently stimulates the digestive system, which promotes better circulation in the intestines & enhances gut motility
garlic contains inulin, a prebiotic fiber that supports healthy gut bacteria. a balanced gut microbiome is essential for regular bowel movements
onions contain high levels of quercetin, a powerful antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties. Quercetin can reduce oxidative stress in the gut and support immune health, which helps regulate the immune response in the intestines and potentially soothe inflammatory gut conditions
the sulfur compounds in onions, which give them their distinct flavor and smell, also support liver detoxification. A healthy liver reduces the burden of toxins on the gut and, indirectly, promotes an environment where beneficial bacteria can thrive
to make the beautiful blooming shape, you have to cut your onions like this!
The Recipe
Ingredients:
5 onions. I recommend using a variety of types-- red, white, yellow, vidalia
1/2 cup gochugaru tahini sauce
a little avocado oil spray
optional: 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Dressing Ingredients: (yields more than 1 serving):
1/2 cup tahini
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp gochugaru flakes (can sub regular red chili pepper flakes)
2 cloves garlic
1 lime, peeled
1/3 cup tamari
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 450F convection roast
Wash your onions
Peel the outer, inedible skin off your onions (note: if your onions are organic, I recommend saving the skins for broth or to make tea out of. they have a lot of benefits)
Put the onion root side down on a cutting board
Cut the top part off if you didn't while peeling
make 4 cuts through the onion, from the top down, but leave the bottom intact
optional: brush with balsamic vinegar
spray with avocado oil, and roast until charred. should take roughly 45-60 minutes
Blend all the dressing ingredients together until super super smooth
To assemble:
put sauce in the bottom of a platter
top with onions
Links
I bought my gochugaru at the farmer’s market, but you can find it at an asian grocer. if you can’t find any, you can sub regular chili flakes
I use and loooove this tahini
Hopefully I didn’t miss anything, but just in case, here is a roundup of links to my common recipe ingredients
For More on Gut Health & Bloating
If you want more recipes that will help you debloat & eliminate regularly, I highly recommend checking out my [free] Gut Health Cookbook, which has 5 yummy, gut-friendly, recipes. You can download it here.
