17/09/2021
We have talked about the gut microbiome before, but it’s worth giving a proper mention to how these trillions of friendly bacteria that lurk in your large colon can influence weight management. This inner alien community works mainly in your best interest. The relationship you have with your microbiome (bacteria and yeast) that live in your gut and on your skin is mostly a happy and mutual one.
The microbiome is home to around 80% of your immune system and 95% of your “happy” neurotransmitter, serotonin. It controls your mood, weight and hormones, even your genetic expressions.
Facts About Your Microbiome
It’s vast: Your microbiome is made up of approximately 100,000,000,000,000 (that’s 100 trillion) living microbes. In fact, humans have 10 times more microbiome bacteria to human cells. And it weighs a whopping 5lbs!
It’s super complex: Made up of hundreds of different bacteria strains, some known, and some unknown. The more diverse your microbiome, the better your health tends to be. Diversity comes from exposure to dirt, diverse foods, especially fibre, our environment including the air we breathe, and even how we were born and fed as a baby increases diversity in our microbiome. Our microbiome should be considered as the rich, diverse soil/terrain in our gut garden.
It’s the foundation of your health: Research is now identifying how far-reaching our microbiome influences common lifestyle disease such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Imbalance or gut dysfunction can be directly influencing your body’s health status. 75-80% of your immune system is produced in your gut and many immune issues including autoimmune disease may be linked to gastrointestinal imbalance. IBS, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation are all outward manifestations of gut imbalance and should not be left ignored.
It affects your weight: The gut is now being considered as the missing link when it comes to chronic weight loss resistance. There have been several studies that now associate bacterial imbalances to weight gain, metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Low levels of melatonin (our sleep hormone) are also made in the gut as well as the brain. Low levels contribute towards sleep deprivation and this can then lead to increased risk in weight gain. Losing out on sleep disrupts insulin sensitivity as well as your fat-burning hormones such as adiponectin.
