By Kay Leaman, Health Architect
The Microbiome system has been studied over the last decade and is becoming a hot topic. But what is it?
Our microbiome is the bacteria that live on and in our body. There are also different types of microbiome systems including our skin, hair, oral (mouth), etc. The largest of these systems is our gut (large and small intestines, stomach, etc.).
Did you know that:
• There are over 100 trillion bacteria in the gut, 10 times more than cells in our body?
• 75% of our immune system is found in the digestive tract?
• There are more neurotransmitters in the gut than in the brain and half of the body’s nerve cells are located in the gut?
• Gut bacteria are responsible for making vitamins K, Biotin, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and B12 (B vitamins)?
• Our gut is called the second brain?
The gut impacts all aspects of our health and the system we can most heavily influence by the lifestyle we lead. This system begins to evolve at birth by the choices we make. The shampoo, body wash, soap, food, etc., we use can either destroy these systems or promote them.
Because there is only so much space in the gut there is always competition between the good and bad bacteria for this space as well as the nutrients they need to survive. Lastly, this microbiome system plays a role with cell signaling and can recognize pathogens or other harmful things before our body does. It sends signaling molecules to our body to trigger the immune system to ramp up for what is coming.
In Part 2 we will cover things we can do to promote a healthy gut, which also promotes a healthy immune system. Our bodies can do amazing things and, as we understand what we can do to support these systems and take action, our health can improve.
Kay Leaman is a Health Architect with HealthyDay HealthyLife. You can reach her at succeed@healthydayhealthylife.com.
