26/04/2024
Out of the mouth of ‘babes’. And yes, I am saying exactly that 😍
So we were just chatting about anxiety and the gut, some call it the Brain-Gut axis. To which my teenager was also asking 'so what comes first, the anxiety of the gut issues?' Great question…
What do you think? 🤓
Do you think, we can have anxiety with a healthy gut? Do you think we can have poor gut health without anxiety? These are all valid questions, as the world of microbiome is expanding ...every day something new is discovered.
Who would have considered asking about gut health in order to address diabetes? Actually, most still don't check on gut health. This is called 'dinosaur medicine'. The way to health is through the gateway called the GUT 💥 for most chronic conditions.
Only one area this does not necessarily apply is the nervous system. As survival trumps all!
So we have this amazing world within us and on us, called the microbiome.
We have simply two main families of bacteria, the 'Smiths and the Patels', which in the microbiome world are known as the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes.
These two families produce Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs), yes these are fats.
How do they make these fats, well from the undigested fibre which is from our carbohydrates. Remember once it was thought fibre was just roughage, to help us p**p? How far have we come along?
The Firmicutes make the SCFA called butyrate and the Bacteroidetes make the other two SCFAs called acetate and propionate.
SCFAs reduce the pH in the gut and enhance nutrient absorption, whilst also playing a role in the composition of the microbe population.
These SCFAs are key in gut health, these are vital in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.
Family history of bowel disease, have you had a comprehensive gut test? My team offers this test and I teach it at the New School of Nutritional Medicine ..and we teach it alongside the digestion module so that it is more immersive learning.
SCFAs are pivotal in preventing such conditions. They have even been shown to reduce the impact of septic shock.
A diverse microbiome is critical for optimal health. Studies show, those that have a higher level of body fat and/or inflammation have a lower diversity of bacteria.
Food AND movement matters 🤸♀️ 🥦
Has anyone noticed that bowel cancer seems to be more diagnosed? Why does the NHS only test for blood in the stools? By then it is a tad late in prevention or healing stage.
A full comprehensive gut test should be a test offered once a year from 3 years onwards...IMHO. ✍️
