Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that we humans are, effectively, all just hollow tubes? Yep, if you ever needed an image to help keep you grounded, it don’t get much better than that does it. But it’s only when you think about it that way that it starts to make much more sense that 70-80% of your immune cells are located in your gut.
Technically, your gut is an external surface, so you have a long tube running right through you, from mouth to rectum. As a result, your immune system needs to make sure that any pathogens you encounter are unable to find their way into your body through your gut lining. That’s why microbiota health is so important.
MICROWHATA?
Microbiota. The collective name for the approx 100 trillion microbes hitchhiking on and around your body. Look a little closer and you’ll find they consist of bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa – while the full bunch of genes found there is called your microbiome.
Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably (helpful, we know…) but the main thing to know is that your microbiota are the microbes, and the microbiome is the genetic representation of your microbiota.
All these microbes in our gut provide a symbiotic relationship not only to themselves but also to us. Look after them, and they’ll look after each other and you – making your gut happy and keeping your health tip top.
If you’re starting to feel a bit weird about your body being stuffed full of micro-things, don’t. They’re already EVERYWHERE and you don’t even know it. On your skin, under your armpits, behind your neck, on your back, in your mouth, down your pants… but most beneficially for your health, they’re in your gut.
OH. TELL ME THEY'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME, AT LEAST?
Well, with our modern lifestyles and dietary choices being laden with processed foods high in sugars and fats, a lot of what we eat gets digested and absorbed in the upper part of the gut. That’s kind of problematic. After all, a bacteria’s gotta eat, but not much reaches them in the lower gut. Instead, they start eating away at the protective layer of mucus in the gut – and without this layer, microbes start to interact with the gut wall. As a result, your immune system reacts by trying to kill the intruders leading to an inflammatory response.
WELL, THAT SOUNDS CRAP. HOW CAN I STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING?
Enter prebiotic foods – aka, things that are very high in non-digestible fibres. Because they can’t be digested or absorbed, they’re able to travel to all those microbes hanging around your colon, which can then in turn use them as food. This food leads to the production of by-products that benefit the body and other microbes.
We monitored the microbiome of 13 MOJU lovers over 30 days, each one of them hitting our Gut Health shot on the daily – no other dietary changes or funny business. Just 60ml or the good stuff to set up their day. (You can check out the previous results we’ve discussed right here.)
A further review of the data showed overall improvements in the majority of participants in Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium (see above) and Roseburia levels.
SO, WHY'S THIS SO IMPORTANT?
We’ve already given the rundown on Faecalbacterium, but what about Bifidobacterium and Roseburia?
These are regarded as gram-positive bacteria and play similar roles. As discussed earlier, lack of food for the bacteria will lead to the mucus layer on your stomach lining disappearing and the cells in your stomach becoming weaker. Once you experience this weakness, you’ll end up with a leaky gut… which is every bit as rubbish as it sounds. All sorts of compounds end up infiltrating your blood and this isn’t good.
Increasing levels of Bifidobacterium and Roseburia lead to increased levels of Butyrate which is a short chain fatty acid. Butyrate acts as a messenger to the cells on the stomach ensuring they close the gaps – helping to plug the leaks.
Recent studies have also shown that improving levels of Bifidobacterium and Roseburia are associated with weight loss. With 2019 statistics on obesity in England showing that 28% of the adult population was obese and 36.2% were overweight, this could be great news for the population.
IN SUMMARY
We learn everyday about the benefits of a healthy microbiota and the best way to improve health and longevity is stay consistent in your approach. If you implement good habits into your daily routine by eating a diverse selection of foods, you’ll provide the best chance for your microbes to flourish. Happy microbes means a happy gut – so make sure you get stocked up on your favourite MOJU Gut Health Shots from our webstore now.
