Nutrition and Health
Our Gut Microbiome Is Connected To Our Mental Health
It has been said that the gut is like a second brain, but what ideas contribute to that idea? Today, science understands that our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in the health of our bodies, which was previously not acknowledged for thousands of years.
What is the Gut Microbiome ?
What does it consist of ?
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There are more than 100 trillion microorganisms living in the human gastrointestinal tract (GI tract). We can describe the host and microorganisms inhabiting it as a superorganism that performs immune and metabolic functions, based on the characteristic characteristics of gut microbiota, including their diversity, stability, and resilience, as well as their symbiotic interaction with the host.
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Does every one have the same gut microbiota?
A healthy gut microbiota composition is rich and diverse and is shaped early in life by gut bacteria. Gut bacteria play a key role in digestion along the gastrointestinal tract. Each healthy human has a unique gut microbiota. Nevertheless, everyone's optimal healthy gut microbiota composition is different.
How the microbiome benefits the body?
Healthy microbiota also protects the body from pathogenic organisms introduced through contaminated water or food.
The Gut–Brain Axis
The Brain usually communicates to other organs through nerve fibers extending from the brain.
The Latest in Microbiome science has identified that gut microbiomes have a short cut in communicating to the brain via metabolites.
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There is also evidence to suggest that the gut can affect the brain so intensely as to change its function, structure, and brain development.
Check out this article from Dietitian Joe Leech for more info on the gut-brain axis!
Improving Gut health for Brain health
