Go With Your Gut

Probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, microbiomes – these aren’t just trending buzzwords anymore. We talk to industry experts to understand what makes gut health so integral to our overall well-being and the kind of foods that can make all the difference.

- Priyanka Elhence

We now know that gut health plays a very important role when it comes to overall optimum health and well-being. But what is it about having a healthy gut that makes the difference? Did you know that the human microbiome (the bacteria essential for breaking down nutrients) plays an important role in regulating our immune and inflammatory response, fighting infections and in preventing illness, even if there are no visible digestive symptoms? Diet and gut health are interlinked, so how do you ensure that you keep your gut in top shape?

Bhavani Suryavanshee and Manisha Thakkar, founders of Nature Nudge which makes fresh fermented probiotic drinks and foods, explain: “Your body is an ecosystem in which good bacteria are a vital element. The bacteria in our gut support several bodily functions as they are responsible for boosting immunity, good sleep, weight gain or loss, hormonal balance, hunger satiation, brain health and so on. Take out the good bacteria or reduce its diversity and all kinds of things will start to go wrong, so it makes sense to keep the body’s level of good bacteria robust and diverse.”

Emma Paris, co-founder and director of Balanced Living, a wellness centre offering holistic health support, couldn’t agree more. “A healthy gut is essential for our health and especially our immune system,” says Paris. “Years of stress, poor diet, antibiotics and medication can wreak havoc on gut health, which in turn can affect our mood, lower immunity, and cause a myriad of other issues. But gut health is usually so underrated because it is a relatively new area and how much a poor diet can influence someone’s health is not generally well understood by traditional medical practitioners.”