Let's talk about Gut-Health!
Let’s Talk About Gut-Health!
In a society which requires us to be constantly ‘on the go’ between work, social and personal demands, particularly during these summer months, it can be easy to fall off track when it comes to our nutrition and health. Evidence has shown that poor nutrition and lifestyle factors can have a knock-on effect on our gut-health. But what exactly do we mean by ‘gut health’ and how can we best support it?
Defining ‘Gut Health’
Gut health has become a very popular term used within the nutrition and wellness space as well as within healthcare environments, demonstrating its potential and promising role in both health and disease. Interestingly, there is no general consensus for defining ‘gut health’. But essentially, our gut health is determined by our ‘gut microbiome’ which is the term given to the micro-organisms, including bacteria, yeasts and viruses living inside your gut (there are trillions of them!).
The Gut Microbiota
It is important to note that these microbes live within our gastro-intestinal tract with most of them residing in our large intestine known as the ‘gut microbiota’ or ‘gut flora’ but also in our mouths, lungs and skin. The microbiota within our gut play an essential role in our daily bodily functions including the digestion and fermentation of dietary fibre, protection against pathogens (bugs that can make us sick), stimulating our immune system and the production of vitamins (1).
What Can Affect Our Gut Health?
Despite the growing interest in gut health, there is still so much that we don’t fully understand or know about it. But let’s talk about what we currently do know.
Evolving research evidence has shown that our gut health is linked to our overall health including our digestion, metabolism, immune system, mental health and skin health (2). Also, research has shown associations between our gut health and a range of chronic health conditions including obesity, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s and auto-immune diseases (3).
So, what we can do to look after our gut-health?
Bacteria in the gut can be ‘off-balance’ also known as dysbiosis. This means that there is a reduced diversity of gut microbes as well as a loss of beneficial bacteria and a rise in pathogenic (harmful) bacteria. In addition to genetics (4), mode of delivery at birth (5) and age (6), there are a variety of dietary and lifestyle factors that are helpful to be aware of in order to have a positive influence on our gut microbiota namely it’s composition and diversity of gut microbes.
Below are the main food groups which count as a plant points so you can start diversifying your diet and improving your gut health today. Each variety of the food groups below counts as a plant point – except for herbs and spices which provide 0.25 plant points per herb spice due to the small quantities eaten, but every little helps!
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods are defined as ‘foods made through desired microbial growth and enzymatic conversions of food components’, meaning foods that have been ‘pre-digested’ by bacteria and yeast’. Examples include sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir or kombucha.
The interesting thing to note about these types of foods is that unlike probiotics, we don’t know what specific strains and doses of bacteria are within these foods with currently limited evidence on their health benefits. Some fermented products such as yoghurts may contain and state the specific strain of bacteria that has been identified in studies to have a specific health benefit. However, although there is no ‘hard science’ behind these foods, they are largely encouraged as part of a healthy balanced plant-based diet.
Other Factors
Medications
Certain medications can also impact our gut-health including antibiotics which commonly cause diarrhoea and can reduce the number of good bacteria within our gut flora. However, this does not take away from the importance that antibiotics have on our health. Luckily, there is now greater awareness regarding the use and prescription of antibiotics to only when there is a genuine medical need in order to avoid killing off of all of our good gut bacteria unnecessarily! Also, the use of probiotics during and a week following a course of antibiotics is recommended to help replenish the beneficial gut bacteria again.
In addition, certain painkillers as well as long-term use of laxatives can also negatively impact our gut flora. These are often readily available over the counter at your local pharmacy, but it is best to only take them as and when advised by your GP.
Exercise, Sleep and Mental Health
Milo members will be happy to know that research has shown that engaging in regular physical activity can improve the composition and functions of our gut microbiota including moderate intensity exercise (10)(11). Also, there is increasingly more awareness around the benefits of yoga for our gut health, particular for the management of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (12).
The role of sleep and the gut microbiome consists of a two-way relationship as our gut health can impact our sleep quality as well as a lack of sleep impacting our gut health (13), so that is another reason to get adequate sleep!
The popular and trending area of the ‘gut-brain’ axis also works in a two-way direction. It is composed of nerves, bacteria, hormones and neurotransmitters connecting your gut to your brain. More and more evidence is demonstrating how our gut health can influence our mental state as well as how our mental state can influence our gut function. An easy example is whenever we are stressed or nervous before a presentation, we may find changes in our bowel habits. This is due to the role of cortisol (stress hormone) which can affect your gut function!
What about probiotics?
Probiotics are a supplement that contain specific beneficial strains that can boost your gut bacteria if taken on a consistent basis. They come in capsule, tablet or liquid forms and are now widely available with many different brands, strains and formulations which can be confusing to know where to start! But do we actually need to take them in order to look after our gut and overall health?
There are particular cases where a probiotic would be clearly indicated including antibiotics to replenish your gut bacteria as well as in the case of antibiotic associated diarrhoea.
Also, another indication for taking a probiotic includes when travelling to reduce any gut issues, to help manage any digestive discomfort such as with constipation or IBS type symptoms.
At present, the general advice is to trial a probiotic for 4 or more weeks in people experiencing antibiotic associated diarrhoea, IBS and 4-8 weeks for functional constipation to notice an effect.
Up until recently, it was thought that only in these particular cases would a probiotic be helpful but in actual fact, with the demands of modern living, evolving evidence around the role of our gut microbiota for our long-term health as well as the benefits of specific strains for specific conditions linked to our gut microbiota - a probiotic can provide added health benefits when taken by the general population. However, as always when it comes to our nutritional health, we always advise to focus on getting our nutrients from foods first and therefore, the same message still stands – eat a balanced and varied diet, rich in fibre foods including fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, pulses and legumes to enhance the quantity and diversity of your gut bacteria.
SUMMARY
In summary, research suggests that both the composition and diversity of gut bacteria is what we should be focusing on in order to look after our gut-health. There are a range of factors that we do have control over in order to support our gut health and of course, looking after our diet and lifestyle including following a balanced, varied plant-based diet rich in fibre, adequate physical activity, sleep and stress management are all key.