Ten years ago, it’s unlikely that you had heard of the gut microbiome unless you were a scientist.
Today, many people are aware of these microbes…and of the role they play in human health.
What Is the Gut Microbiome?
Your digestive system contains trillions of probiotic, or friendly, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. Collectively, they are known as the gut microbiome.
These microbes are essential to gastrointestinal health. Without a functioning microbiome, your GI tract couldn’t extract nutrients from the food you eat or defend itself against harmful microbes.
What’s more, researchers have discovered—and continue to discover—other crucial functions the gut microbiome performs within your body, influencing everything from mood to immune response and more.
Ways a Probiotic Can Support Your Gut Microbiome
Living a healthy lifestyle can help influence the well-being of your gut microbiome, especially if you include such fermented foods as yogurt and miso into your meals. These foods themselves contain probiotic organisms.
In addition, you might want to bolster your diet through probiotic supplementation. Here are three ways such supplements may be helpful.
Probiotics Support Digestive Health*
Both lining of your intestinal tract and your gut microbiome are subject to attack from many sources including hostile microorganisms, reaction-provoking elements in your diet and medications such as antibiotics. This can lead to the intestinal wall becoming “leaky”; as a result, unwanted substances may pass into the bloodstream.
On the other hand, evidence suggests that supplying the GI tract with probiotics can help rebalance the mix of organisms in your gut microbiome (it helps if the product you take includes probiotics tailored to boost microbiome diversity).*
Probiotics Support Healthy Immune Function*
You may be surprised to learn that more than 70% of your immune system is located in your gut.
In addition to directly affecting the health of your intestines, “it is increasingly recognized that the gut microbiome also affects systemic immunity,” according to a Dutch research team. That means supporting the health of your gut microbiome can have a significant effect on how well your immune system responds to all sorts of challenges.
If you’re looking to support your immune system with probiotics, look for a product that contains strains tailored to that purpose.*
Other Ways Probiotics May Support Health
Currently there are thousands of studies being conducted on potential links between the gut microbiome and health.
For example, scientists have discovered that microbes in the intestines can “talk” to the brain through the gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the colon. What’s more, studies have found that the gut microbes of people with depression include more harmful species.*
Gut microbes also appear to influence body weight. This linkage starts early; according to one study, the composition of a child’s microbiome at age two is associated with body mass at age 12.*
Other researchers are exploring how the gut microbiome may affect bone health, blood vessel function and upper respiratory well-being.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
The information in this blog is provided for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for consultation with a doctor or qualified healthcare professional. Consultation with a doctor or qualified healthcare practitioner is strongly advised, before starting any regimen of supplementation, a change in diet or any exercise routine. Individuals who engage in supplementation to promote health, address conditions or support any structure or function of the body assume all risks. Women who are pregnant, especially, should seek the advice of a medical doctor before taking any dietary supplement and before starting any change in diet or lifestyle. Descriptions of herbs, vitamins, nutrients or any ingredients are not recommendations to take our products or those of any other company. We are not doctors or primary-source science researchers. Instead, we defer to the findings of scientific experts who conduct studies, as well as those who compile and publish scientific literature on the potential health benefits of nutrients, herbs, spices, vitamins or minerals. We cannot guarantee that any individual will experience any of the health benefits associated with the nutrients described. Natural Organics will not be held liable for any injuries, damages, hindrances, or negative effects resulting from any reliance on the information presented, nor will Natural Organics be held accountable for any inaccuracy, miscalculation or error in the scientific literature upon which the information provided is based.
