GUT HEALTH - Your stomach is a gateway to better health
Updated: Jul 22, 2021
So…. it’s 2021!? Crazy.
It feels like we just lost a whole year. I hope with all things considered, you managed to have nice Christmas, had some time to relax and reflect and managed to see friends and family whether through Zoom/ Facetime or on a socially distanced walk outdoors.
It has been a surreal time and life as we know it has been turned upside down, but throughout it all I hope you’ve managed to maintain some sense of normality. If, like me and a lot of other people I know, you were well and truly fed up of lockdowns, social distancing, hand sanitizer, school closures, not being able to travel (I’m from Australia and haven’t been home in four years) and all the other restrictions we find placed upon ourselves, then I feel your pain and frustration.
This has no doubt been a period of intense stress, the likes of which most people have probably never experienced before.
Myself and the rest of the Analog team are big on routine. Small, consistent practices that over time add up to big results. We’re not into crash diets, or faddy exercise programs or eating plans.
A lot of New Years Resolutions fall into these categories and while some people get some results, the data is pretty compelling. Most people break their New Years resolution within a few months and fall right back into old habits, how many have you broken now we are past 4 months in tot he year?
We want to help you build positive, long term, sustainable habits that you can stick to year round, not just for one month.
The gut may just be the most under-rated organ in the human body.
Sometimes referred to as the gateway to health, the gut or digestive system is involved in virtually everything that happens in our body and plays a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing.
It is estimated that up to 80% of our immune system is housed in the gut and it produces over 20 unique hormones and neuro-transmittors (chemical messengers), which are vital for survival. This has lead to some experts giving it the nickname “the second brain”.
Gut Facts
We have about 10 trillion human cells in our body, yet we have about 100 trillion microbial (bacterial) cells. Outnumbered 10 to 1, we are in fact, more bacteria than person.
The average human digestive tract has about 400 different types of probiotic (good) bacteria. These good bacteria fight off bad bacteria and keep them in balance.
Our gut flora can influence our energy levels, mood, behaviour, metabolism, skin, immune system, inflammation, weight gain and can play a role in the development of many auto-immune diseases, allergies, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and many other conditions too numerous to address.
Seratonin, the happy or feel-good hormone, is almost exclusively produced in the gut. Seratonin contributes to improved mood, social behaviour, appetite, digestion, sleep, memory, sexual function and can help fight against anxiety and depression.
Gut microbes (bacteria) communicate information to the brain. These messages govern important functions like digestive function and the emptying of the gut, how our body will respond to certain foods, it signals the release of hormones to let us know we’re full and it can trigger an immune or inflammatory response.
The gut is so clever that it can break down our food, separate it out into its microscopic individual parts, allow the good stuff through to be used as and where its needed and get rid of the bad stuff.
So this is just a few of the interesting and wonderful things our gut can help us with.
Spend time looking after it and it will help look after you.
Interested in Fermented foods?
Ben has his own line of 'Taste Award' Fermented foods which you can check out here at Bottlebrush Ferments