I want to introduce to you one of the most important factors that influence your diet and health, that is your gut microbiome. This has become a fascinating new area of scientific investigation over recent years which is transforming our entire understanding of the relationship between the health of our bodies, minds and the food we consume.
Your GI tract is host to an estimated 100 trillion microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and others, although some research has identified up to 400 trillion microorganisms. This community of microorganisms is collectively known as the gut microbiome, and we need to get to know them because they play an essential role in all aspects of our health.
They are not only essential in how we digest food, but they also control the calories we absorb, our appetite, our ability to gain and lose weight, and provide vital enzymes and vitamins, as well as keeping our immune system healthy and regulating inflammation.
What’s important in terms of maintaining a healthy gut microbiome is having a high number as well as a diverse range since they act as a community, and each provides different functions and benefits.
Compared to our ancestors who enjoyed rich, varied diets and didn’t use antibiotics, we now only have a fraction of the diversity of microbial species living in our guts, and we are now starting to understand the long-lasting impact this is having on all of us.
The gut is the second largest network of nerves outside of our heads and has been called our second brain.
There are kilometres of neurons and nerve connections in our intestines, and a complex system of signals relays information to and from the brain and gut. The gut-brain axis refers to this constant two-way communication that occurs between our gut and the brain, and there are several lines of communication that fall under the umbrella term ‘gut-brain axis’.
Information goes from the gut to the brain via the lymphatic system, via chemical messengers and hormones that travel to the brain via the blood, and also via a direct line of communication through the vagus nerve, where the information carried is bidirectional, meaning that it carries information from the brain to the gut and visa versa.
Your gut and brain are in a constant conversation about whether you’re safe or in danger. When you are stressed, the brain can alter the function of the bowel via emotions, which in turn can alter other hormones and lead to a vicious cycle that disrupts your gut microbiome and may even lead to depression.
Conversely, when you have a stomach upset, signals are sent to your brain to initiate nausea, prevent eating, reduce activity and dampen mood, which can lead to short-term depression.
I have, for as long as I can remember, been an IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) sufferer, and at times, until more recently, it has been absolutely debilitating. The cause is unknown, but stress is a factor, and from personal experience, I know that stress is most definitely a trigger for my symptoms of pain, bloating and diarrhoea. Whilst IBS remains hard to define because there are no specific tests, there have been twenty-plus gut microbiome studies looking at groups of IBS patients, which have consistently shown reduced levels of microbial diversity in IBS sufferers.
Our gut microbes are also crucial in transmitting anxiety, as demonstrated by rodent studies whereby they created germ-free mice that are immune to extreme stress and act cool under pressure, but when microbes are reintroduced into their guts, they revert to old behaviours. Further studies showed that anxiety and stress have been consistently reversed by giving rodents probiotics (live microbes), and this has since been tested in humans, also confirming a positive effect on anxiety symptoms by regulating the gut microbiome with the use of probiotic supplements. Other trials have shown a reduction in blood cortisol levels, your stress hormone, which is increased by stress, after a month of probiotics and toned-down emotional responses.
I hope you now have a better understanding of the crucial role the health of your gut has on the health of your body and mind and your need to listen and nurture your gut to enjoy optimal health and well-being.
Everything you consume is information and it cause a host of reactions within the body largely governed by how it interacts with your gut microbiome – when you consume the good stuff, this can positively impact your health and happiness, but when you get it wrong, through a set of complex mechanisms, you can have a detrimental impact on the health of your body and mind.
