Are You Eating Right For Your Insides?

They may be tiny but microbes play a large role in keeping your gut healthy, which is why they’re the next big thing in healthy eating…

- Natalia Lubomirski

If your gut was on a dating website, you definitely wouldn’t swipe right – but you’d be missing out. OK, it’s not the most glamorous organ in your body, but it’s certainly the most intelligent. In fact, it’s often dubbed your second brain. Why so clever?

‘There are over 100 million neurons – as many as in a cat’s brain – that extend throughout your digestive system,’ says Dr Michael Mosley, the man behind the famous 5:2 diet, in his new book The Clever Guts Diet: How To Revolutionise Your Body From The Inside Out (Short Books, £8.99).

your digestive divas

Yet these aren’t even the real stars of the show – the true A-lister isn’t part of your body at all. ‘It’s the 1-2 kilos of microbes that live in your gut (the large intestine) and make up the microbiome,’ explains Michael. There are more than 50 trillion of them and at least 1,000 different species, including bacteria, fungi, viruses and primitive animals called protozoa – ‘a richer diversity of life than in a rainforest.’

Why microbes matter?

1 They help regulate body weight…

They decide how much energy your body takes from each meal, which foods you crave, as well as controlling hunger pangs and blood sugar spikes. So, the wrong balance of your microbiome can make you fat, reveals Michael.

2… and your immune system.

In the last 50 years, thanks to our sterile environments, there’s been a massive rise in allergic diseases, such as asthma and eczema. But by altering the mix of bacteria in your gut, you could reduce their impact.

3 They control mood, appetite and general health