The Microbiome

The Gut Microbiome is a super complex balance of microorganisms (bacteria and archaea) which live in your digestive system. With more and more studies coming to light which show just how important the microbiome really is, this blog hopes to give some insight into how to care for the billions of bacterial that live in your gut and create a healthier and happier life.

Fast becoming a big focus within healthcare, not only for your immediate digestive health, the microbiome has links to brain and mental health, metabolism and the immune system. Modern day life, stress, diet, exercise (or the lack of), and your environment, all contribute towards the upkeep of this glorious eco system and with researchers now estimating that 70-80% of immune cells are located in your gut, it’s high time to prioritise it! How can we optimise this and look after it? How do we analyse it so that we can nurture it more effectively? What can we do to keep it balanced and happy? Let's dig in...

Testing

Think you have a problem with your gut? As a first step, it’s always recommended to seek advice from your healthcare provider. If you’re one of the unfortunate ones who struggles with multiple gut issues, it might be worth considering microbiome mapping. This testing looks into the likes of yeast and bacterial overgrowth, parasites and immune markers (which can indicate food intolerances and allergies), as well as the beneficial bacteria you have in your gut. This is a great place to start in order to find what's happening in your tummy and give you an indication of what you might need to change. These assessments are often costly but can be very beneficial in pinpointing the root cause of your issues.

Diet

It goes without saying that diet impacts your gut! Eating as naturally as you can and avoiding processed foods, excessive sugar and / or alcohol, and even foods which have been grown using harsh chemicals (pesticides etc.), all contribute to better digestive health and assist the overall gut microbiome. It can be tricky with so much of our modern diet being manufactured as cheapy and quickly as possible, and for fruit and vegetables to be available all year round instead of only when naturally in season. Organic food is great for the gut although it can be more expensive than what you can get in your local stores or supermarket chains. If you’re fortunate enough to have the likes of farmers markets locally to you, this could be a good place to check for organic or good quality fresh produce, often at a lower price! The gut microbiome loves prebiotics and probiotics! Supplements are readily available in most places but often the quality of these can vary, but fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir also do the trick!

Sleep

Sleep is crucial to overall health and wellbeing, especially for your gut microbiome! It's estimated that most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night (tough with a busy schedule!) and not only does it influence how your gut functions, but also impacts your overall health and wellbeing. So, if you’re having troubles in the tummy, it’s time to focus on getting enough Z’s. On top of this, eating within two hours of going to bed can affect the impact of your sleep as your body focuses on digesting food whilst you snooze instead of restoring your brain cells and repairing your tissue and muscles! Try to give your gut time to digest before calling it a day – three hours or more is what experts recommend to allow time to process a meal before going to bed.

Exercise

Get active! Your whole body benefits from a healthy exercise routine and as far as your gut is concerned, movement and activity assists in digestion, relieves tension and can even alter the gut flora and microbiome. Research shows that yoga is one of the best types of exercise for our tummy and digestion and it's also very beneficial for reducing stress, which helps our tummy and digestion even more (double win for our gut microbiome!).  

Stress

Where do we even begin? Too much stress is no good for any part of our body, let alone our gut. More studies continue to show that stress can put your body into a constant state of "fight or flight" mode, which puts huge pressure on the poor digestive system. This can mean a build-up of tension in your intestine, stopping the proper absorption of nutrients and creating indigestion, heart burn and gas build ups, even impacting your visits to the bathroom. Bottom line (pun intended), try to keep your stress levels at a minimum in order to keep your digestive system and gut microbiome healthy and happy. Breathing exercises and meditation are good methods of bringing the heart rate down and getting the body into a calmer state. If you're effected significantly from caffeine, perhaps trying to reduce your intake will assist in lowering stress and anxiety spikes through the day too. Stress can also naturally be reduced by getting regular exercise and enough sleep!

Supplements

Not everyone agrees with or believes in supplements, but some find them highly beneficial for restoring, building or maintaining the gut microbiome. There’s a host of supplements readily available, and the support they can provide will vary based on each persons symptoms. It’s worth speaking to a healthcare professional before commencing on a course of supplements to make sure you get what your body needs.

It's important to remember that everybody is different and you need to find the right solution for you. It can take some time and often a bit of financial investment, but if you have tummy troubles, investigating and repairing the gut microbiome can certainly be worth it!