Gut health. Is it more important than we realised?
Discussion
This seems to be a thing right now. A lot of research has been carried out of late, which seems to indicate that gut health ( maintaining natural biological balance in the gut ) is more important than previously realised, in maintaining healthy weight / BMI etc. I was sceptical to begin with, but having looked into it, there might be something to the argument. What say you?
Anecdotally I think taking regular probiotics and limiting or avoiding antibiotics where possible are important
I notice it when I stop taking them and feel a lot more sharper in mind, have more energy and they seem to support a strong immune system too.
I notice it when I stop taking them and feel a lot more sharper in mind, have more energy and they seem to support a strong immune system too.
Edited by Nemophilist on Sunday 17th November 14:53
Cheese on Toast with Worcestershire Sauce said:
I wouldn’t say there’s much to debate—gut health is essential for both overall health and mental well-being. This has been acknowledged by many cultures throughout history.
I agree. There seems to be an increasing amount of data, to both support the argument, and actually give clarity of late. Nemophilist said:
Anecdotally I think taking regular probiotics and limited antibiotics are important
I notice it when I stop taking them and feel a lot more sharper in mind, have more energy and they seem to support a strong immune system too.
Probiotics don't even make it the gut in most cases, isn't that correct?I notice it when I stop taking them and feel a lot more sharper in mind, have more energy and they seem to support a strong immune system too.
Bluevanman said:
Probiotics don't even make it the gut in most cases, isn't that correct?
I think it depends entirely on the resilience of the cultures involved. A lot will be killed. Before they are useful, but some will get into the important areas, and do the job. You have to be careful not to get sucked down a black hole of marketing guff, but I believe there are strong arguments for including some things in diet, that have a beneficial effect.Dbag101 said:
Bluevanman said:
Probiotics don't even make it the gut in most cases, isn't that correct?
I think it depends entirely on the resilience of the cultures involved. A lot will be killed. Before they are useful, but some will get into the important areas, and do the job. You have to be careful not to get sucked down a black hole of marketing guff, but I believe there are strong arguments for including some things in diet, that have a beneficial effect.It sounds like they do seem to make it. I'm interested in the poster above taking some antibiotics to help?
I think knowledge of the role and importance of the vagus nerve and the existence of a gut-brain connection is quite recent and getting more study.
The phrase "gut health" seems more recent, bordering fashionable, less scientific, and it isn't clear what exactly it means. I suspect that it amounts to "the gut biome resulting from eating a healthy diet". I doubt you can create one with probiotics, though I imagine you can destroy one with antibiotics and glyphosate.
The phrase "gut health" seems more recent, bordering fashionable, less scientific, and it isn't clear what exactly it means. I suspect that it amounts to "the gut biome resulting from eating a healthy diet". I doubt you can create one with probiotics, though I imagine you can destroy one with antibiotics and glyphosate.
MC Bodge said:
Eat good quality "proper" food, including meat, fish, eggs and plenty of variety of plants.
Don't snack, especially on sweets and rubbish.
Your gut will be fine. Most animals, including humans, manage to have digestive systems that work if they treat them well.
Yes, but the modern world seems to be pushing more crap into the loop, via marketing and so on and so forth, which is pushing the need to introduce bio supplements to balance things back towards natures way.Don't snack, especially on sweets and rubbish.
Your gut will be fine. Most animals, including humans, manage to have digestive systems that work if they treat them well.
Dbag101 said:
MC Bodge said:
Eat good quality "proper" food, including meat, fish, eggs and plenty of variety of plants.
Don't snack, especially on sweets and rubbish.
Your gut will be fine. Most animals, including humans, manage to have digestive systems that work if they treat them well.
Yes, but the modern world seems to be pushing more crap into the loop, via marketing and so on and so forth, which is pushing the need to introduce bio supplements to balance things back towards natures way.Don't snack, especially on sweets and rubbish.
Your gut will be fine. Most animals, including humans, manage to have digestive systems that work if they treat them well.
Don't have a bad diet.
A human being is made of about 30 trillion human cells
We carry around with us about 40 trillion bacteria (on our skin and in our gut (the inside of your stomach is outside of your body, if you think about it… you big tube), hopefully not in too many other places!)
Seems pretty reasonable, to me, to expect that the chemicals they excrete will massively affect our own physiology.
We carry around with us about 40 trillion bacteria (on our skin and in our gut (the inside of your stomach is outside of your body, if you think about it… you big tube), hopefully not in too many other places!)
Seems pretty reasonable, to me, to expect that the chemicals they excrete will massively affect our own physiology.
It's called the human microbiome. No-one really knows how well it works, or doesn't work. It's a relatively new area of health research. A good example is H.pylori and the association with stomach ulcers. There is also the link between the enteric nervous system and the CNS - the 'gut-brain axis'. A review of both here - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-022-00974-4
Tindersticks said:
I remember seeing a chart showing the rise of UPF foods and depression/prescription of anti-depressants in the US and the two lines almost match.
There is a theory that depression has inflammation as an underlying cause, the inflammation profile can change with diet - via the microbiome. Anti-depressants, at the least the current crop, don't work in many people because they are targeting the wrong biological pathway - at least that is the hypothesis. Tindersticks said:
I remember seeing a chart showing the rise of UPF foods and depression/prescription of anti-depressants in the US and the two lines almost match.
Could both those trends be related to changing lifestyles in the US and both a symptom of that rather than depression directly linked to upf?Either way minimising upf is something we should all try to avoid.
mcelliott said:
Poor gut health has been linked to numerous chronic diseases, but also depression, poor gut health begins in the mouth, and I read somewhere that there is emerging evidence of a second brain in the gut
Agreed. Andrew Huberman has a good podcast or two on it. The variations between different parts of the world is interesting. For example, the ability to digest fibre.MaxFromage said:
mcelliott said:
Poor gut health has been linked to numerous chronic diseases, but also depression, poor gut health begins in the mouth, and I read somewhere that there is emerging evidence of a second brain in the gut
Agreed. Andrew Huberman has a good podcast or two on it. The variations between different parts of the world is interesting. For example, the ability to digest fibre.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff