Time to improve your gut health?

Our current understanding of the impact of the microbiome on our health is still emerging. Yet already we know there are direct links between many types of cancer, especially colon, breast and cervical; autoimmune diseases like thyroid disorders, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes; as well as digestive disorders like Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Additionally there are strong links to many mental health conditions including anxiety and depression.

When Good Bugs Go Bad

We’ve learnt that the microbes in our gut are crucial facilitators of our basic body functions including digesting food, producing vitamins and keeping the immune system buoyant.

When we throw the dynamic balance of the microbiome out through excessive use of drugs such as steroids, hormones, anti-inflammatories and acid-blockers and of course antibiotics, as well as poor diet and prolonged stress that we start to see systematic decline in the health of our microbiome and consequently our wellbeing.

Restoring the balance

As more evidence emerges it’s likely that many many more illnesses will be traced back to an imbalance in the microbiome. We know enough now for it to be clear that gut health is a wellness priority. Improving gut health allows us to tackle the cause of illness rather than just masking or managing symptoms. Perhaps, even more importantly, our emerging understanding of the microbiome offers more scope to discover ways we can prevent illness taking hold in the first place.