Most of my conversations this week have focused on the gut health. In all of my classes, with all of my clients, gut health is a focus. Even with random strangers, I engage in a bit of what I like to call ‘gut chat’ when I can. Possibly this is no coincidence that I talk about the gut in both my professional and personal life, I am probably considered to be some sort of gut health evangelist by most (I won’t lie, I am not sad about this).
But the more I work in this space and the more everyday conversations turn to gut health I realise just how it needs to be the focus of our efforts to achieve health and wellness.
I find there are a few things that, in these conversations, really get people, even those who haven’t really ever considered their gut health, to stop and consider the state of their own gut. And you can almost see the light bulbs go off.
So I thought I would share with you five of my favourite gut health facts that I find gets people thinking, irrespective of how much they know about the topic:
1) Our gut has its own nervous system, and is a like a second brain, which could function independently should the connection with our brain be severed. Cool, right?! It also plays a role in food choices and food cravings.
2) Our gut produces most of our body’s serotonin, the mood regulating hormone. It also produces several neurotransmitters that regulate brain function. Basically, if your gut is out of sorts, your mood and mental processing will most likely be too.
3) 100 trillion bacteria live in our gut, which is approximately 2kg in weight and the combined genomic material of all the bacteria means we are made up of more microbe than human genetic material (are we human or are we microbe?). And this is important because it means our gut is a big deal.
4) Our guts are unique and highly individualised, like a thumbprint. Which makes our individual health and wellness journey unique to each of us.
5) The mucousal lining in our gut contains about 70% of our bodies immune cells, meaning a healthy immune system isn’t possible without a healthy gut.
This is not even half of what we know about the gut and it’s impact on our health, both physical and mental. I could go on spouting more facts at you, but that might bore most of you to tears. But I hope this illustrates why we need to consider gut health integral to our overall health and wellbeing.
Gut chat, I am here for it! And if you want to chat with me about your gut, book in a 15 minute consultation call. We can talk about how best to make the necessary changes to support your gut through focused cooking and fermentation sessions. And if you think you think you have the your diet sorted but would like to learn how to make your own fermented foods, I can help with that too.
