How Your Gut Health Affects Your Whole Body

Helpful Germs

There are a lot of germs in your body. You have more of them than cells. The majority are healthful. The ones in your stomach not only aid in food digestion, but they also function throughout your body and may benefit both your physical and emotional well-being.

Gut microbiota

This includes every type of microbe that inhabits our digestive tracts, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. They aid in the digestion of food, converting it into nutrients that your body can utilize.

Putting up a Good Fight

The "good" bacteria in the gut microbiome are not limited to aiding in digesting. They support the control of your "bad" microorganisms. They proliferate so rapidly that the unhealthy variety cannot find room to expand. Equilibrium is the state in which the microorganisms in your stomach are in a healthy balance.

Unbalanced

According to studies, having an excessive amount of one particular type of harmful bacteria in your gut microbiome increases your risk of developing:

Crohn's disease

Colitis ulcerative

Syndrome of the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Researchers are investigating novel treatments for them that focus on the gut microbiome's bacteria.

Your Heart and Gut Bacteria

There may be a connection between heart disease and cholesterol and certain types of gut flora. The bacteria in meals like eggs and red meat produce a substance that your liver converts to TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide). TMAO might contribute to blood vessel cholesterol accumulation. DMB, a naturally occurring chemical found in grapeseed and olive oils, is the subject of research. They speculate that it may prevent your bacteria from producing TMAO.

Your Kidneys and Gut Bacteria

Chronic renal disease can also be brought on by excessive TMAO. Individuals with the illness don't eliminate TMAO as effectively as they ought to. Heart disease may result from that excess. It is hypothesized by researchers that a high level of TMAO may increase the risk of developing chronic kidney disease in the first place.

Your Brain and Gut Bacteria

Your entire body receives messages from your brain. According to researchers, your gut might respond. Research indicates that your emotions and the way your brain interprets information from your senses—such as sights, sounds, tastes, and textures—may be impacted by the balance of bacteria in your gut microbiome.

Researchers believe that abnormalities in this equilibrium could contribute to chronic pain, anxiety, sadness, and autism spectrum disorders.

Weight Gain and Gut Bacteria

Your gut microbiota may be out of balance, which could lead to conflicting messages in your brain about hunger and fullness. Because the pituitary gland produces hormones that aid in appetite regulation, researchers believe there may be a connection. The balance of germs in your stomach might also be impacted by that gland. Research on treating obesity is examining this connection.

Is It Possible to Modify Gut Bacteria?

Your gut microbiome is inherited from birth and is influenced by the environment you grow up in. What you consume has an impact on gut health as well. Because of this, it may vary based on where you reside and you may have some control over the balance.

Prebiotics

Consuming live microbes, known as probiotics, may have health advantages. These "good" bacteria are similar to the ones already in your stomach and can be found in certain meals. They can contribute to the intestinal tract's flora and maintain equilibrium. They aren't all alike, though. Each kind functions differently and may affect your body in different ways.

How Do Probiotics Assist?

They may strengthen your immune system. Additionally, they might improve digestive health, particularly if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. Certain probiotics may also aid in the relief of lactose intolerance and allergy symptoms. However, as each of our gut microbiomes is distinct, each person's gut microbiome may function differently. Further study, according to some experts, is necessary.

Sources of Probiotics

Dairy products such as aged cheeses and yogurt contain them. For live cultures of bacteria such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, check the ingredients list. Additionally, they can be found in pickled veggies like onions and gherkins as well as fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut.

Probiotics

Consider them as a probiotic food source. They might promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in your gut and improve your body's absorption of calcium.

They can be discovered in fruits and vegetables such as:

Bananas

Onions

Garlic

Leeks

Asparagus

heirloom tomatoes

Veggies

They are also present in whole wheat-based meals.

Synbiotics

Prebiotics are beneficial for probiotics and can increase the growth of beneficial bacteria. It becomes a synbiotic when the two are combined. Their purpose is to extend the shelf life of probiotics. You can stir-fry asparagus with tempeh or combine bananas and yogurt to form synbiotic combinations.

Additional Methods to Modify Gut Bacteria

Other approaches to altering your gut microbiome and treating conditions related to its equilibrium might exist. For instance, fecal transplants, which do just what they sound like, alter your gut flora to treat conditions like ulcerative colitis and C. diff. A coil applied to the scalp is used by a device known as deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to alter gut flora and excite the brain. It has potential as an obesity treatment.