A Doctor On The 5 Things You Don’t Know About Your Gut Health, But Should

A lot has been said about the importance of our gut – and its microbiome – for our wider health. But, if you’re not au fait with how integral its role is within the body’s intricate web of organs and systems, here’s a crash course: what was once seen as the place where food gets digested has now been far more thoroughly explored, and found to be a hub for so much more. From immunity to skin to hormones to energy to mental health, it all starts in the gut, where trillions of bacteria and microorganisms act as the body’s personal pharmacy, working to keep the rest of us balanced.

“For years we have compartmentalised the body and how we look at it, but there’s been a real shift, and the science now highlights how interconnected the body is, and how what we eat is another tool to improve mood and cognition,” says Dr Emily Leeming, whose new book Genius Gut is out today. “Instead of talking about health in terms of warding off diseases, it’s time we recognise that health is also about how we feel day to day. It’s our energy levels, focus, movement and mood which are the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that make up our entire life.”

Nurturing our gut – and understanding how it works – are essential to our wellbeing, now and in the future. Here are some of the things you may not know, but should, according to Dr Leeming:

Your gut is your second brain

“The gut basically has its own nervous system, which is made up of 500 million nerve cells – or neurons as we call them,” explains Dr Leeming. “These nerve cells can be found all over the body, but they’re very densely populated in the brain, which has 100 billion. They are finely tuned to control the entirety of the digestive system, sending chemical signals that tell your muscles when to relax and contract in order to move food down, and instructing digestive juices when to be released, plus they also sense some of the nutrients which are in the gut and communicate that back to the brain.”

This dense web of nerve cells in the gut – which is a key part of the enteric nervous system that extends from the oesophagus down to the anus – explains why the gut is also known as the “second brain”. Not only is our gut able to function more independently than any other organ in the body, but there is also a direct anatomical link that connects it to the brain: “The vagus nerve is a direct highway between the two,” explains Dr Leeming.

Anything we put into the body that reaches the gut (from food to medicine) can have a direct impact on the brain, and vice versa – if we’re thinking negatively or are feeling anxious, that can affect the gut. So much so that one interesting study – in which scientists transplanted part of the microbiome of people suffering from clinical depression into healthy rats – found that they too showed symptoms of depression thereafter. “It shows there’s a more causal effect happening from the microbiome, rather than it just being a symptom or consequence of what’s already going on,” says Dr Leeming.

We’re not eating enough fibre…

While the majority of us are seeking ways to increase our protein intake, scientists agree that it’s fibre we should be focusing on. A huge 95 per cent of us don’t eat enough fibre, which Dr Leeming says is the “closest thing we have to a superfood”. Good fibre intake reduces our risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancers, heart disease and obesity, namely because it feeds our gut bacteria “so that they’re able to make short-chain fatty acids, which fight inflammation, care for the gut lining and protect the brain from harmful molecules”, she adds.

Make it your mission to incorporate fibre-rich foods into your everyday diet, and aim for 30g a day. “It’s worth understanding what foods are higher in fibre than others,” says Dr Leeming. “For example, lettuce only has 1.8g of fibre per 100g, chickpeas have 9g of fibre per 100g and chia seeds have 30g of fibre per 100g.”

But good gut health extends beyond our diet

Did you know that there are more microbes in a teaspoon of soil than there are humans on this planet? It’s an excellent fact. One key study found that those who dipped their hands in buckets of soil three times a day, rinsed (rather than washed) their hands afterwards, and then ate, had improved gut diversity in a matter of weeks. Our environment – and how we interact with Mother Nature – has a huge impact on our health.