100 Trillion Friends You Didn’t Know You Had
Trust your #gut, as the saying goes.
It’s advice that goes far beyond just using your instincts to make decisions. In fact, all the buzz about the gut these days — and its connection to #health and #well-being — is for good reason.
Over the last 30 years, we’ve come to know more about the human gut’s #microbiome – #bacteria and other #micro-organisms that live inside the stomach. We’ve also come to learn that life as we know it wouldn’t be possible without this microbiome.
But aren’t bacteria a bad thing? Not necessarily, when it comes to the intestinal tract, which houses approximately 100 trillion bacteria. There’s an estimated 300 to 1,000 different species of them in the gut — but what matters is the total number and the diversity of species of those bacteria.
The amount of genetic material in microbiome far exceeds each person’s genetic material. This can be daunting and even discouraging to humans, who rely on our big brains for so much of what we do — for that reason, the gut microbiome is also known as “the second brain.”
Gut bacteria play an important role in digestion and absorption — emerging data shows how bacteria correlate with many aspects of life. Anyone who has suffered from #constipation, chronic #gastrointestinal issues (like #inflammatory bowel disease or inflammatory bowel syndrome), gluten sensitivity or intolerance can relate.
The bacteria-brain connection is much more subtle than this, and even contributes to our well-being or altered mood. Who isn’t guilty of abusing their bodies in some way — possibly disturbing that delicate balance of gut bacteria? The key is to know how to keep that microbiome in check, in line with the fundamental concept of #FunctionalMedicine: “In the absence of compelling reason not to do so, start with the gut.”
So when it comes to “trusting your gut,” it also comes down to the incredible importance of the microbiome. For that reason, we’ll spend a great deal of time providing education, step by step, on how to heal our microbiome and, in turn, our bodies.