How Do I Support My Gut?

 

We have trillions of bacteria living inside of us. Unfortunately modern lifestyles don’t really support our levels of gut bacteria.
Toxins in our environment, the stress of our daily lives, antibiotic use, poor diet and digestion can all impact their health and diversity.

One of the easiest ways to replenish good or “friendly” bacteria in our gut or change the balance of this bacteria, is with a live bacteria supplement. At BioCare we use exactly the right amount of bacteria in the right quantities, used across multiple clinical trials. All of our live bacteria range contain human strain bacteria that live naturally in the gut, are stomach and acid resistant and have a guaranteed potency until the end of the shelf life.

Eating a diet rich in probiotic and prebiotic foods can also be hugely valuable so we’ve collaborated with independent consultant nutritionist Amanda Ursell, to create a 7 day mood food menu to download.

Amanda comments: “My plan encourages a wide variety of vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and fruits, particularly including those believed to help us nurture and build a diversity of ‘good’ bacteria in our microbiome; along with both plant and animal sources of protein and healthy plant oils.”

#ItsInYourGut

10 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT YOUR GUT, YOUR MICROBIOME AND YOUR WELLBEING

1. You have more bacteria than human cells! There are more gut bacteria that make up our individual ‘microbiome’, than human cells.
   
   
2. Your gut bacteria are unique. We each have our own, totally unique microbiome, which adapts over time in response to our environment, diet, and experiences.
   
   
3. Bacteria can influence your mood. Studies on animals reveal the composition of your microbiome appears to influence brain chemistry and a wide range of behavioural phenomena, including emotional behaviour, pain perception and how stress systems respond.
   
   
4. And…your mood affects your bacteria. Research also reveals how the brain in turn can influence gut bacteria with even mild stress altering the microbial balance in the gut.
   
   
5. The gut has a mind of its own. Often referred to as the "second brain," our gut is the only organ to have its own independent nervous system, consisting of an intricate network of 100 million neurons embedded in the gut wall.
   
   
6. Feed your brain! Our brains never rest but constantly take care of our senses and thought, our heartbeat and breathing day and night, even while sleeping. What we eat and drink can affect the structure and function of our brain and, ultimately, it seems, potentially our levels of anxiety, stress and our day-to-day mood.
   
   
7. Your bacteria influence your health. The microbial communities in and on our bodies interact with our own cells and tissues, potentially affecting aging and disease susceptibility.
   
   
8. Imbalanced bacteria are linked to disease. Scientists have found for example that the types and diversity of microorganisms living in the guts of people with conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis differ from those without them.
   
   
9. Understand our health, by understanding our bacteria. The burgeoning field of microbiome research provides a new way of framing key scientific questions through which we can better understand factors that influence health.
   
   
10. Diet improves depression. The first controlled trial explicitly designed to test dietary improvements in people with depression, known as the SMILES trial, was recently published in BMC Medicine. It suggests dietary approaches to improving mental health warrant further study. The three-month trial was led by scientists at Deakin University in Australia and showed that of the 67 adults with relatively poor-quality diets and moderate to severe depression (under medical treatment), those who followed a healthy diet had significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms.