Gut health.
You’ve probably heard the term before.
It’s not the most visually-pleasing word, but it’s certainly gained traction in the wellness world over the past few years.
Like activated almonds, ketogenic diets and HIIT classes, sometime over the past half decade, caring about your microbiome became cool.
Thankfully, it’s not all just puffed quinoa; striving for a healthy gut is a worthwhile pursuit.
We’re going to explain*, in layman’s terms, what gut health is and how you can improve yours, go-getting gut-loving friends.
(*Before the jump, it’s worth mentioning we’re not dietitians; nor are we scientists. While all the info in this piece is researched and backed by science when applicable, you shouldn’t take this as gospel or a substitute to professional dietary advice. Think of this more as an easy access, entry-level, gut-enthusiast’s dip into your glorious tum.)
What is your gut?
Your gut is your gastrointestinal system.
This can also be referred to as the gastrointestinal tract, digestive system or digestive tract, and it’s a group of organs that includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, colon, and rectum.
In short? It’s your mouth hole all the way down to your butthole.
What’s gut microbiota, or gut flora?
“Micro” means small and “biome” means a habitat of living things. And your gut microbiota is just that – it’s a habitat of trillions of teeny tiny bacterial species that take up residence in your digestive system.
They’re not just chilling in there doing nothing. They help fight pathogenic organisms (bad bugs), they stimulate the digestive process (make you do poos) and neutralise some of the toxic by-products (like crappy preservatives) of digestion.
The human gut harbours more than 100 trillion of these small microbial cells, which have an essential role in human metabolic regulation via their interactions with the host (you, the human).
How does your diet impact your gut flora?
Longest yeah boy ever.
Like The Veronicas were to you in Year 5, food is deeply influential on your gut.
This flora is established one or two years after we’re born. Although it’s established in early life, you can alter your gut microbiota through lifestyle and diet changes.
This study which compared European kids’ gut bacteria to rural African children’s proves just how a typical ‘Western-pattern diet’ (heavy on processed meat, butter, high-fat dairy products, eggs, refined grains and high-sugar drinks) can significantly alter gut flora.
The African children (who had a primarily plant-based diet) were found to have more types of bacteria overall, many of which are anti-inflammatory, meaning they help to combat harmful inflammation that increases risk of disease.
Most interestingly, some of the healthy bacteria living in the African children’s bellies were nowhere to be found in the Europeans; they simply had fewer types of bacteria.
Less bacteria = less able to deal with nasties and fight infection.
How does this Western-diet-influenced-gut affect your brain?
Your gut and your mind are a little bit like the illuminati. They’re connected.
And while you’ve probably heard about how your diet affects your mood by way of altering your gut bugs, but there hasn’t been a huge amount of research into the phenomenon.
One bloke who is passionate about the link, though, is Dr Michael Mosley.
Dr Mosley, a British TV journo and famed supporter of the wildly popular 5:2 diet, believes the influence of your gut on your mind is nothing to turn your nose up at.
In his book, The Clever Guts Diet, he explains how your biome affects your weight, your health and your mood.
In it, he cites an Aussie study from earlier this year that found eating a Mediterranean diet (one that includes olive oil, veggies, fish, avo and more) may help in the treatment of depression. The researchers reckon food can have a healthy impact on mood because of the link between gut bacteria and the brain.
Makes sense when you consider gut bacteria both produce and respond to neurochemicals like serotonin and dopamine that the brain uses to regulate mood and cognition. In fact, gut bacteria manufacture about 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin, according to the American Psychology Association.
Another more physiologically-geared study found that 1 in 100 people have weaknesses in the blood vessels of the brain which commonly lead to stroke, but rather than being a product of genetics, it was actually found to be caused by a chemical produced by bacteria in the gut.
Surely that is compelling evidence to up your avo intake, innit?
