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6 Fascinating facts about the gut and gut microbiome

Writer's picture: Eve GaspariniEve Gasparini

Updated: Aug 17, 2024




1. There are trillions of microorganisms in your gut


The microbiota consists of trillions of microorganisms that live on and inside our body including bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses and other microorganisms, primarily located in the gut.


The term microbiome more generally includes these organisms but also their genetic material and the environment.


While we often think of bacteria as something to be afraid of, the vast majority of these microbes are beneficial and even essential to our health. They help us digest food, produce essential vitamins, protect against harmful pathogens, regulate our immune system and mood.


Our relationship with our gut microbiome is called symbiotic, which means we both benefit from each other's presence. The bacteria thrive from the fiber rich foods we ingest, and in return produce metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids that are crucial to our health. (More on this in a future post)


On the other hand, when these microorganisms are unbalanced we talk about 'dysbiosis'. Dysbiosis has been linked to several diseases and conditions from Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to diabetes type II. (Degruttola et al., 2016)


2. Your microbiome is unique, like your fingerprint


Not surprisingly it appears that our microbiome is unique to each of us, like our fingerprint and remains relatively stable throughout our life. Even identical twins do not appear to have the same microbiome. (Gilbert et al., 2018).


It is important to add that these microorganisms, live in many parts of the human body, not just the gut, but also the mouth, the skin, and the urinary tract for instance.


3. Early factors influence the composition of the microbiome


The baby's microbiome matures throughout the first years of life. Research is showing that several factors may help shape the baby's microbiome in his early years. Let's discuss two of them:


When babies are born vaginally they receive bacteria from their mothers. On the other, it has been shown that C-section babies have a less diverse microbiome than babies born vaginally, which is thought to possibly influence their susceptibility to certain conditions later in life such as asthma (Rinninella et al., 2019).


Breast milk is also thought to contribute to microbial diversity in babies. Indeed, breast milk not only contains essential nutrients for the growing baby but also probiotics and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) which act as prebiotics (aka food for the microbiome). (Moossavi et al., 2018)


Later on, the composition and health of our microbiome is influenced by many factors, like our diet and stress levels, for instance. Factors such as excessive alcohol use or antibiotic use are known to be particularly damaging to the microbiome.


4. Gut & brain connection


The gut has its own nervous system called the 'the enteric nervous system', a part of the autonomic system often referred as " the second brain", which is composed of millions of neurons.


The gut-brain axis is a complex network that links your central nervous system (including the brain) with your enteric nervous system via several pathways, and involves different systems: the nervous system, the gut and gut microbiota, the endocrine system and the immune system.  


About 90% of neurons forming the vagus nerve carry information from the gut to the brain.


Moreover, it has now been established that  important neurotransmitters are made mostly or partially in gut and that a wide range of bacteria are capable of synthesizing them. More on this and the connection microbiome/mental health in a future blog post.


5. Gut & immune function


The microbiome is crucial for the regulation of our immune system, and so is the health of our gut lining.


In fact, 70% to 80% of our immune system is located in the gut, known as gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT).


Gut bacteria (them) and immune system cells (us) have a symbiotic relationship and communicate/ regulate each other to maintain "homeostasis' (a stable environment) in the body, and modulate immune functions.


Moreover, the gut also acts as a physical barrier that prevents harmful substances from entering the bloodstream.


On the other hand, an imbalanced microbiome and increased gut permeability may interfere with healthy immune functions, by either weakening the immune system or on the other hand contributing to chronic inflammation, or immune hyperactivity (Fakharian et al., 2023).


6. The lumen of the gut is technically outside of the body


The gastrointestinal tract is the tube that goes from your mouth to anus. The inside of the tube is known as the lumen which technically connect these two outside extremities and run through the body rather than in it. Make sense? This design allows the gut to play a fantastic role as 'gatekeeper' to control what can come in ( like nutrients) and what should stay out (pathogens, toxins, etc).



If you would like more informations, and individualized recommendations on how to nurture your gut microbiome 1:1 bookings with me are available :)



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