Gut health is everywhere on social media right now, and honestly, I get why. The science is still quite new, but it lines up with some really exciting emerging research. I could go off in so many directions with this one, so I'm going to keep it simple: why does gut health matter?
Your gut and brain talk to each other
There's a direct link between your gut and your brain, known as the gut-brain axis. It's a two-way communication loop. Your brain sends signals to your gut, and your gut sends signals back. How you think and feel can affect your gut, and how your gut is doing can affect how you think and feel.
The serotonin story
Here's a real-life example. Around 90% of your body's serotonin, the "happy hormone", is made in the gut. But here's the interesting part: gut serotonin mostly works locally, helping control digestion and how your gut moves, and it can't cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain. Your brain makes its own serotonin, using an amino acid called tryptophan that comes from the protein you eat. (Another reason to eat protein in every meal!)
So how does your gut influence your mood? Through the gut-brain axis: the vagus nerve, your immune system and compounds produced by gut bacteria all carry signals between your gut and your brain. Researchers have found links between gut health and mental health, including anxiety and depression. This research is still emerging, and much of it shows an association rather than a proven cause, but it points to something I always come back to: nourishing your body with good food and regular exercise supports your gut, and supports your mental health too. That's one really important reason to look after your gut.
Gut health: it goes beyond the brain
They're also finding links between the gut and other parts of the body:
- Gut-Skin: suggests that optimising gut health supports skin conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis.
- IBS: irritable bowel syndrome is now understood as a disorder of gut-brain interaction. The gut and brain communicate differently, so the body can signal normal gut sensations as pain, which is why people with IBS get abdominal pain and bloating.
- Gut-Reproductive (estrobolome): gut bacteria that metabolise oestrogen help regulate your hormones, and early research suggests a link with PMS and PMDD symptoms.
- Gut-Liver: supports metabolism and liver health, including fatty liver disease.
- Gut-Lung: gut bacteria help regulate airway inflammation and immune defence. It would be so cool to see more studies looking at gut health for the management of COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis, to see if theres a benefit there.
- Gut-Heart: gut-produced compounds may influence blood pressure and heart disease risk.
- Gut-Kidney: gut-derived toxins are linked to kidney function.
- Gut-Bone: influences bone density through nutrient absorption and immune signals.
Ooof, that's a lot of connections with potential benefits to health!
The gut is a system of its own
We often think of the brain as the core of everything, because that's where our thoughts and processing happen. But you could argue the gut is at the core of a lot of things. It has its own nervous system, the enteric nervous system, sometimes called a second brain. It's home to trillions of microbes, the microbiome, which aren't part of us but live inside us. It's almost a system of its own that has a direct impact on everything else, which is wild when you think about it.
So how do we 'look after our gut'?
The bottom line is always the same, and it's the basics:
- Nourish your body and eat three regular meals a day
- Include plenty of fibre and a variety of plants
- Exercise regularly
- Drink enough water
- Limit salt, sugar and saturated fat
No expensive powders or supplements galore. Basics first, always.
The takeaway
Your gut and brain are constantly communicating, so looking after one helps the other. Focus on the basics, and if you have ongoing gut symptoms, chat to your GP, Dietitian or a Registered Nutritionist.