The accumulation of bacteria
(1) The change in the human diet that has had THE BIGGEST impact on our health is (1) the drop in the amount of fiber we eat, and (2) the diversity of the fiber we eat.
(2) When you starve your good bacteria (by not eating plant foods/fiber), they have to eat something, so they start eating YOU! They eat the mucous lining in your colon, and once you begin to degrade that barrier, you expose it to potential problems (like leaky gut syndrome).
(3) Compare your food choices to a necklace—the longer the necklace (carbohydrate chain), the better the food source is for your gut bugs. Choose complex carbohydrates. Most will make it all the way down to the colon to become food for your good bacteria.
(4) Your good bacteria chomp on the food, multiply, and make MORE good bacteria. They also generate short chain fatty acids (SCFA). One in particular, butyrate, helps line and protect the colon.
(5) When you pick comfort foods (or other foods you crave) at the grocery store, they taste good on your tongue, but you also need to pick foods that your bacteria crave (dietary fiber, and lots of it).
(6) Look in your grocery cart and make sure you are feeding your good bacteria a variety (and quantity) of dietary fiber.
(7) When bacteria ferment fiber, it changes the pH of the colon. It makes it more acidic. People on low carb diets have a more alkaline pH. This provides opportunities for pathogens to bloom up somewhere down the road.
(8) Your microbiome is an ecosystem in your colon. If you starve it, you hurt it.
(9) Your good bacteria LOVE resistant starch. Examples include:
o Whole grains
o White rice, pasta, and potatoes after they are cooked and cooled
o Isolated entities—like potato starch
o Beans and legumes
o Some fruits and veggies
(10) Try to consume 15-20 grams of resistant starch every day (Americans average 5).
Written by: Donna Green, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Erie County
Reviewed by: Liz Smith, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension
Sources:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK109559/
https://www.nutrition.org/education-and-professional-development/the-microbiome-webinar-series/
Live Healthy Live Well 
Inulin is NOT resistant starch. Chemically, it is comprised of fructose chains attached to a glucose backbone. This contrasts with resistant starch, which is 100% glucose. In terms of solubility, inulin is very soluble versus resistant starch which is insoluble. Finally, they ferment differently in the large intestine. Inulin ferments very quickly and has a dose tolerance of 10-15 grams/day. Resistant starch’s dose tolerance is 45 grams/day. They are both very desirable fermentable dietary fibers, but they probably have different health effects. Other than this minor mis-classification, I enjoyed your article.