All You Need to Know about Your Gut Microbiome!

Being aware of your health can certainly be good; an essential part of this awareness is to understand your gut. A healthy immune system plays a key role in keeping us healthy, and a healthy gut microbiome tunes our immune system. 

Imagine watching the people struggling to get their orders and bumping into each other at a free food stall. Now picture these people under a microscope. This is what the microbiome looks like in a human body: numerous varieties and species of bacteria, viruses that infect these bacteria, and many species of microscopic fungi, live together, compete against as well as help one another within the human gut. These organisms together form an ecosystem, the microbiome, much as a tropical rainforest is an ecosystem.  The normal gut microbiome helps nurture the immune system of the host human and thus is important for health. But when the gut microbiome is unbalanced, health is compromised.

Each person's microbiota network is unique. Microorganisms colonise the infant, even during the process of birth through the birth canal, after delivery, and later through the mother's milk. Later, dietary changes and environmental exposures alter a person's microbiome, either for better or worse, in terms of health and disease risk. The person’s own genetic variations also play important roles in determining an individual’s own microbiome composition.

• Microbiomes produce certain vitamins and amino acids, including vitamin K and B vitamins, as well as breaking down potentially harmful dietary components.

• A healthy person's microbiome also offers a defence against pathogenic organisms that enter the body from sources like drinking or eating tainted water or food.

• Microbiome fights for nutrients and inhibits the expansion of dangerous bacteria that adhere to the gut's mucus membranes, a key site of immune activity and antimicrobial protein production. 

• Clostridium difficile infections and antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by antibiotic use are often due to an unbalanced gut microbiome.

• Decreased microbiome diversity and modifications to the microbiota's functional characteristics in complex ways can cause metabolic disorders and autoimmune diseases.

How do we make sure that we have enough of the proper kinds of microbiota? 

Studies reported that, in some circumstances, probiotic supplementation might be beneficial for restoring and maintaining a healthy microbiome.

These are a few simple things you can do to keep your gut microbiome balanced:

• Consume more fibre.

• Consume fermented and probiotic food, such as yogurt (curd).

• Eat less of the meals that upset your stomach.

• Make a list of "good" foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and include them among your everyday food items.

• Avoid or give up smoking.

 

Give a thought to what is happening in your body and how it is supporting your immune system. Look for any signs of a negative impact on your gut microbiome.