WHAT IS THE GUT MICROBIOME?
Our gut microbiome is the bacteria, fungi and viruses that reside in the gut.
It is responsible for detoxing, creating vitamins, digesting foods and regulating the immune system amongst others.
We have different microbes that reside in the lungs, skin, vagina etc and each collection of microbes are unique to each person. Just like each person has a unique and individual fingerprint, each person will also have a unique microbiome in each of those areas too.
In the human body, we have around 30 trillion human cells, our microbiome has an estimated 39 trillion cells that live in us, so the effect they have on us can be huge.
It has also been estimated that our microbiome weighs anything between 2-6 Pounds!
WHERE DOES THE GUT MICROBIOME COME FROM?
We inherit our initial microbiome from our mother and as we are birthed and go through the birth canal.
Also, the foods we eat, the amount of time we spend outdoors and our emotions, in the first 2 years of life, create our core microbiome. As we grow our environment, our emotions and stresses all effect the balance of microbes in our gut and body.
WHAT DOES THE GUT MICROBIOME DO?
Our gut microbiome is responsible for many things like detoxing, creating vitamins, digesting foods and regulating the immune system. They even help synthesise your happy hormone – serotonin. Did you know that up to 90% of serotonin is made in the GUT AND not the brain? We have bacteria in the gut that can be the cause of oestrogen dominance, anxiety, depression and more.
YOUR MICROBIOME AND TESTING
For diagnostic and general health purposes BioMed Natural Health Clinic can offer different gut tests to look at your microbiome. The test we recommend initially is a stool test. This gives us information about:
- How well you are digesting your foods
- Inflammation in the gut
- Your microbiome. This includes good bacteria, problematic bacteria, parasites, yeast etc
- Leaky gut
It can not only look at the microbes that should not be there but whether you have enough of the good guys too. By looking at the results there’s a lot that can be done to improve things. What happens in the gut doesn’t stay in the gut, it has a systematic effect throughout the body and so being able to support the gut as much as possible is important for gut health, hormonal health, mental health, healthy ageing, cardiovascular health and more.
There isn’t an area that is not effected by the gut and so supporting it as much as possible is so important. We also know that some microbes in the gut have been linked to specific autoimmune conditions. Autoimmunity is an imbalance in the immune system and with up to 80% of the immune system being in the gut you can see how important it is to support it.
HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR MICROBIOME
Up to 80% of our immune system resides in the gut and therefore supporting the microbiome has a huge impact on immune health. There are a variety of ways in which we can support the microbiome:
Diet
Include 30 different types of plant foods in your diet each week. Plant foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, teas, spices, legumes, beans and grains.
Include different types of the same foods. For example, brown rice and black rice are considered different foods as they feed different microbes in the gut. This goes for all foods, for example, including different coloured peppers (red, yellow, green), different coloured apples, different types of banana etc. Good gut health is about diversity and therefore including as many different types of plant foods will feed different microbes in the gut and allow them to grow.
Also
- Going outside in nature – you can breathe in your microbiome from the trees and plants
- Reduce stress as much as possible as it has a negative effect on your microbiome
- Get a pet! Studies have shown having a pet has a positive effect on your microbiome
- Sleep has been associated with a positive effect on your microbiome and lack sleep can have a negative effect
- Being consistent and eating at the same time daily has also shown positive effects
Here at the BioMed Natural Health Clinic, we offer a specialised testing service that can help support not only gut health but overall health via supporting the gut microbiome.
Please contact us for more information or to BOOK a consultation.
