To get this out of the way early, you may be about to hear some things that aren’t comfortable to hear. At least, that’s the reaction I’ve had in the past when I talk about the gut. So, consider yourself fairly warned.
First, 1 in 10 cells on your body, right now, as you read this, is technically human. It’s about now I see some disbelieving looks. Yup, you read that right. Sorry.
Second. That 9 out of 10? Microbes, small bacterial bugs that literally cover your whole body inside and out. EV-RY-WHERE. Your human cells are just waaay bigger than these microbes, so it doesn’t seem like it. Who’s going to see the mice in the grass when there’s a freaking elephant standing in the same spot.
Now, we can break these down into areas, like gut biome, mouth biome, junk biome, butt biome. But collectively they add up to the holobiome. You have entire ecosystems of stuff all over you that are attempting, for the most part, to live in harmony with their mode of transportation (you).
Thirdly, the old saying of “you are what you eat” isn’t as true as we might think.
Its more like “you are what your gut biome will let you absorb” (thank you Dr. Steven Gundry for the quote and concept). Your gut bugs happily wait while your stomach acid breaks down pre-chewed food into small enough parts so that they can get in on it themselves, breaking down these smallest parts into absorbable nutrients that the intestines and gut can actually absorb through membranes that for the most part keep good stuff moving through and bad stuff out. But more on leaky gut in a sec.
Fourth, your actual gut lining is literally one molecule thick.
Think of the thinnest thing you can think of, and then imagine that you made a wet soggy paper bag out of that stuff. Yes, exactly that thin and fragile and hole prone… And this is only saved from constant puncturing and pulling apart by the fact that you have a thick (well, hopefully thick) layer of mucus that kind of border protects and immigration controls what’s let in and out. The best part of that mucus is that a healthy gut biome will make the gut snot FOR you. Cool, huh.
The problem with it being that thin, and potentially having not enough gut snot to look after the thinness, is it can cause something called leaky gut. Stuff that REALLY doesn’t belong on the outside of the gut can get through and create a fair amount of grief in the rest of you. Various kinds of totally unfun inflammation and arthritis, the beginnings of chronic diseases in just “casually relevant” organs like the heart and brain. You know, the stuff that’s so normal now that it’s practically invisible.
Like I said, sorry if this is gross and uncomfortable, but you’ll probably live. Especially if you look after your gut properly. Research looks like it means you’ll live a good long time too, and in the dynamic healthy way, not the “barely walking, even with a frame in a nursing home” kind of way. But that’s a whole series and seasons of Todd’s tedX talks to come.
Lastly, there’s a reason that the gut is sometimes called the second brain.
There are more communication channels from the gut to the brain than there are from the brain to everywhere else in your body. And that’s not even considering how many more links your gut has with the rest of the body. That gross bag of bugs and acid you have in your abdomen is a seriously hooked up gross bag of bugs and acid. It absorbs your nutrients but also manufactures the majority of your most important hormones, potentially most importantly neurochemicals like serotonin the happiness hormone. Which is how your organs talk to one another. Kind of a big deal.
For example, if you’re eating things that create gut inflammation (think about all those times you’ve eaten something and been aggressively bloated from it, which is the most obvious symptom of the civil war you just started in your guts by eating something your bugs REALLY disagreed with…) which causes the release of soothing enzymes to combat the endotoxins produced when your gut bugs crack the shits at the dodgy food they got served up.
The problem is, those soothing agents? They are using up your stores of tryptophan, a very cool amino acid, which is also a vital building block of serotonin. I said kind of a big deal before, hopefully that makes a bit more sense now. Depression suddenly has links to gut health and vice versa…
If your guts aren’t having much fun, its unlikely your brain is either. Unless your pharmacist steps in of course. But that’s a very different conversation. And will probably lead me off onto a tangent about the world of big pharma conspiracies and money. Some other time.
Speaking of pharmacy help though, the gut biome is our first and foremost immune system belt holding champion.
Think about it. Which parts of you actually make contact with the world around you? Skin and stuff obviously, and that has its own biome. But the outside world, if you count food and all that hot mess as the outside world, gets inside by hitting your gut.
Even if you get all sorts of wrongness on your hands, that only really matters when you have the chance for that to move from your outside to your inside. Usually when we’re cramming stuff into our food hole. Or, very occasionally, when we are…. *ahem* cramming things… elsewhere. Anyway…
The point I’m trying to make is that our holobiome and its parts are very invested in its human host’s survival. So it will fight tooth, nail and prison made shiv against any other unpleasant jerks trying to bring your real estate value down. But if you don’t have a strong enough neighbourhood watch? Well, ever wonder why you get sick as much as you do?...
Which brings us back to the pharmacy. Sorry for the tangent. When you are given an antibiotic, which bugs do you think it gets? The nasty ones who steal money and the morning paper from you? Or your cool, awesome, super chill ones who maybe bring you pizza sometimes?
Yes, that’s is correct, Valerie down the back. ALL OF THEM.
And if you don’t replace the good ones once you’ve committed your genocidal burned earth campaign in your gut? Crap ones move in. Don’t pay rent but demand you keep the heating on kind of bugs. How likely do you think they are to fight off the next lot of energy thieves? And this is the cycle…
Yes, there are absolutely times when antibiotics are vitally important. Like post-surgery, when they wrong bits of the inside become outside. Outside of that, looking after your gut health will do seriously huge things for you when it comes to your overall wellbeing. Even cooler, if you give it a chance, it even starts to adapt and evolve to fight the nasty stuff better. Just give it a chance.
Destress. Eat some sauerkraut, drink some kombucha, get some vitamin C and D in, stop eating the stuff that you know makes you bloated. Even a bit of sleep and exercise will do a fair bit. It doesn’t take much, just a little bit a day can sort you out.
Be kind, be smart, be your best you. No bar fights.
“Every day we live and every meal we eat we influence the great microbial organ inside us - for better or for worse.” Giulia Enders
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