Go with your gut”. A phrase I have heard from my best friends over dying my hair, my mother over my dating life, and my advisor in choosing a dissertation topic. But it seems my gut might be impacting more than just my decisions. The condition of my gut might be responsible for my overall health. From brain health to supporting the immune system, the gut has a huge impact on the body in several ways. With gut health proving a key component of the foundation of overall well-being, supporting and caring for our gut might be one of the simplest ways to improve our health. Read on for a breakdown of gut health, or, as Activia call it, TLC (tummy-loving-care):
What is the gut microbiome?
Our gut is filled with trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi commonly called microbes. Far from being unwelcome tenants, humans have evolved to live with these microbes over the course of millions of years, providing the perfect environment for their survival and growth. The gut contains around 1,000 different species of bacteria alone, each having a different effect on the body, with the majority proving extremely important for different aspects of human health. Without these microbes, humans could not survive.
We are exposed to microbes in the birth canal of our mothers, yet recent research suggests that contact with these microbes might even be made inside the womb. These microbes live inside a section of the large intensities, known as the cecum, and effectively function collectively as an extra organ. The gut microbiome refers to this collection of microbes inside the specific ecosystem of the human gut (micro meaning ‘small’ and biome being an anglicisation of the Greek for ‘life’).
How does the gut microbiome affect my health?
The gut microbiome plays a role in various bodily functions, such as aiding the digestion of fibre, supporting the immune system, helping to improve brain health, weight gain or loss, and having a direct impact on gut health itself. The condition of the gut microbiome can play a significant role in responses to intestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) due to the production of gases by microbes in the gut.
Recent research also points towards gut health as a potential determinant for overall health, suggesting that improving our gut health could help prevent some diseases or alleviate the symptoms of others. For example, probiotics have been associated with improving gut health by helping seal gaps between intestinal cells and preventing leaky gut syndrome. Species of bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli can also prevent disease-causing bacteria from sticking to the intestinal wall. These beneficial bacteria can reduce symptoms of IBS.
The gut microbiome also may help in the control of blood sugar levels. A recent study of children with a genetically high risk of developing type 1 diabetes found that the diversity of an infant’s gut microbiome dropped suddenly before the onset of the disease. Another study concluded that differences in people’s blood sugar when eating the exact same food might be due to individual variations between people’s gut microbiomes.
Do I need to be a scientist to understand gut health?
The short answer: No. Understanding the gut microbiome is a relatively new concept in the wellness industry, only being widely advocated in the last decade and adequately discussed and advertised in the past three or four years. The impact of the gut is multifarious and sometimes hard to grasp if, like me, the multisyllabic microbe names turn the whole topic into a foreign affair. One name wellness editors are constantly referring to to break the matter down is Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London. Spector first made the connection between the composition of the microbes in people’s guts and their health in 2014 and has been the face of a movement to educate the population on their guts.
With a team of scientists, Spector Created ZOE, initially set up as a Covid Symptom study that asked users to log their daily symptoms via an app to better understand the virus. ZOE (meaning “life” in Greek), is an app that gives personalised advice on what users should eat based on the results of gut health, blood fat tests, and blood sugar monitoring. All the data can be collected at home via easy-to-use kits and sent to a lab for the results. With everyone’s gut microbiome being as unique as their fingerprint, ZOE aims to educate and inform the individual user about their specific nutritional needs. However, as with most personalised plans, this doesn’t come cheap with prices starting at £59.99 for a single month and dropping to £24.99 per month for a whole year.
For those unwilling to fork out the cash on this at-home testing kit, ZOE also offers the ZOE Science & Nutrition Podcast, a podcast available for free on the podcast app to explain the latest gut research in an accessible way. Spector frequently appears as a guest, alongside nutritional experts, to discuss a variety of topics from coffee to ultra-processed foods. Additionally, Spector’s latest book, Spoon Fed, discusses the connection between microbes and mental health. The key take away from Spector and ZOE’s approach to gut health seems to be education with a belief that informing people about gut health can help people make small, daily choices that can potentially improve their overall well-being.
What can i do today to improve my gut health?
Growing up in the UK, I have had the importance of my five-a-day drilled into me, like how to brush my teeth. Five fruits and vegetables a day seemed daunting as a child. Still, growing older, I have found reliable, repetitive methods to ensure I get my daily servings of apples int he morning, a banana as a snack and peas with dinner (thrilling stuff I know). My diet would rarely veer away from this tried and tested formula. However, in sticking to the same fruits and vegetables each day, regardless of whether they hit my five-a-day, it turns out I am failing to provide my gut microbes with the diversity of foods they need to adapt and flourish.
Instead, Spector suggests aiming for 30 types of plants a week. This seems like a lot, but isn’t as impossible as you think. Alongside the obvious contenders of vegetables and fruits, these plants can include herbs, spices, coffee and fungi. Spector adds that we should look for plants rich in polyphenols, “generally ones with strong tastes and colours, slight bitterness, thick skins– basically the opposite of an iceberg lettuce.” Additional sources of polyphenols include green tea, extra firing olive oil, and every dark chocolate (some excellent news for my fellow chocoholics).
Another simple mantra to take into your gut health journey is to try to incorporate the “four Ks” into your diet: kefir, kombucha, kimchi, and kraut (sauer), alongside staple products such as cheese and natural yoghurt. These foods are all fermented, meaning they have been transformed by the growth and activity of living microbes prior to consumption. Fermented foods might be considered a life hack forin improving your gut health. The living microbes in these foods support the bacteria already present in your gut, acting Like a fertiliser for your gut microbiome. Spector believes that “everyone would be healthier if they had some fermented foods every day of their lives,” although warns that the taste might take some getting used to, so it is best to start little and often!
With an emphasis on adding a variety of plant based foods to your diet and individuality, taking care of your gut can be an excellent opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. From using a more diverse range of herbs and spices in your go-to dishes to experimenting with making your own kimchi, prioritising gut health might be a simple and enjoyable way to optimise our overall health.