No Guts No Glory

The fascination with our microbial friends, our ultimate inner circle, is showing no signs of slowing. But, Vicki Bramley asks, what is a “healthy gut” now and how do we get one?

Hippocrates declared that “all disease begins in the gut” more than 2000 years ago. Now the science is catching up and we’re all enthralled. First we devoured Gut by Giulia Enders, extolling the virtues of grains – long reviled by Atkins and Paleo extremists. Then we joined Dr Michael Mosley on an enlightening journey in one end and out the other, in The Clever Guts Diet. Now, Melbourne Museum has a new exhibition called Gut Feelings. It’s curated by Dr Johanna Simkin, who looks at zeitgeisty moments in medicine.

“The research has exploded into every direction,” she says. “We knew there were microbes in and on the body but in the last five years, due to new technology, we can pick apart which microbes are where and what signalling they are doing in the body. What’s amazing is the really far-reaching impact these little guys have. They make up 1-2kg of us and they have such a huge impact on our entire bodies.”

One of the turning points, says Dr Simkin, was “brave mice” research. Scientists found that microbe-free mice reacted more strongly to stress. They also became brave when they’d been given a poo transplant (and therefore microbes) from brave mice. “It’s a completely new understanding of how the body works,” she says.

To recap, our microbiota is the estimated 100 trillion microorganisms living in our guts, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. Our microbiome is all the genes from the microbiota – it’s a virtual organ. According to Deakin University’s Food and Mood Centre, these bugs play key roles in digesting our food, absorbing nutrients and influencing our weight, immunity, mood and brain functions.