The Bio-Fermentary / 01A: The Fundamentals of Gut Health /

WHAT IS THE GUT?

While most often we think of our gut as our ‘belly’, the gut – or gastrointestinal system – is the group of organs that includes the mouth, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, gallbladder, large intestine, colon and rectum.

The gut is not to be confused with the gut microbiome – which is essentially, the mini ecosystem that lives inside each one of us and is home to trillions of microorganisms and over 1000 different species of bacteria.¹ In fact, it’s estimated that we have more bacterial DNA cells than human DNA cells.² It’s also where we make neurotransmitters³, metabolise hormones⁴ and nutrients⁵, neutralise pathogens⁶ and it’s where we can find 70 percent of our immune system⁷.

Although we think that the main role of our gut is to provide us with nutrition – helping us to digest food and absorb and utilise all the essential nutrients we need to thrive – our microbiome and its community of bugs has the ability to extend its influence far beyond the gut wall, influencing our health and wellbeing in many ways.⁸

THE BEAUTY OF BACTERIA

Our microbiota are incredibly influential and are vital to a number of important processes within the body including our metabolism, immune function, skin health, brain function and mood.^{9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16} While there are a number of factors that can impact the amount and balance of bacteria in our gut, what’s important to understand is that the human body plays ‘host’ to around 100 trillion microbes and we each have our own unique bacterial blueprint.¹⁷ They are found everywhere – on our skin, hair, in our mouth – and of course, in our gut.

For a long time, bacteria were thought of as being either “good” or “bad” – but we now know that this framework is too simplistic. While it’s difficult to comprehend the sheer volume and variety of bacteria in the gut, it’s helpful to think of our microbes more in terms of their relationship to us and their function, as there are many species and strains of bacteria that can be both helpful, or harmful, depending on the environment and circumstance.

In simple terms, there are beneficial bacteria we always want – as they help to absorb and assimilate nutrients, eliminate toxins and detoxify the body and support immunity. There are some species and strains of bacteria that we sometimes want – depending on whether they are exhibiting helpful or harmful behaviours. And, there are bacteria we don’t want – these are known as pathogens and are the species that are not normally found in the gut.^18,19

OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR GUT

Instead of seeing ourselves and our gut as separate entities, we need to reframe our thinking and understand that the relationship is a mutual one. We want to live in symbiosis with our microbiome, creating a welcoming, nurturing environment in which beneficial microbes can proliferate and thrive.

What’s more important than the number of “good” or “bad” bacteria in our gut, is the balance and relationship between them – and us as their host. And the great news is, we can improve our gut health and overall health by doing our best to become a good host – through our diet and lifestyle choices.

The Gut-Brain Axis

“Listen to your gut, be gutsy and
follow your gut instinct.”
– Carla Oates

“Listen to your gut, be gutsy and
follow your gut instinct.”
– Carla Oates

This is just one of the incredible pieces of advice that Carla, Founder and Director of
The Beauty Chef has shared with her community. But while this advice can be applied to many aspects of life and business, it also speaks to our gut’s other moniker as ‘our second brain’.

In fact, listening to our gut instinct is more cerebral than we probably first thought. Our gut is influenced by two key systems within the body. The first is our central nervous system (made up of our brain and spinal cord) and the second is our enteric nervous system (located in the gut). These two systems communicate directly via the vagus nerve – and it’s this information pathway that has become known as the gut-brain axis.²⁰ If you’re not sure if you’re tuned in to this incredible dialogue, just remember a time when you experienced butterflies in your belly – this is the gut-brain axis at work.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

At The Beauty Chef, we often talk about the gut as if it were a garden. For strong and healthy plants to grow, the soil needs to be balanced and rich in an array of nutrients. It is the same for our gut.

When our gut is in balance, or eubiosis, we feel great and our health and wellbeing is optimal. But when there is an imbalance in the gut, known as dysbiosis,²¹ we can feel incredibly unwell and experience symptoms as diverse as bloating and indigestion to headaches, mood swings, autoimmunity and skin conditions. The root cause of many of these symptoms is inflammation in the gut – which when left untreated, can lead to systemic inflammation, health and skin issues²².

“If you have skin inflammation, it’s almost certain you have gut inflammation as well.”
– Carla Oates, The Beauty Chef Gut Guide

“If you have skin inflammation, it’s almost certain you have gut inflammation as well.”
– Carla Oates, The Beauty Chef Gut Guide

The most important factor in determining our gut health is the concept of microbial diversity – that is, when it comes to our gut microbiome, a diversity of gut bugs is key to our overall health and wellbeing. To foster this diversity is one of our jobs as a host and the most effective way to do this is through our diet. A nutrient-balanced diet that includes a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, wholefoods, fibre and fermented foods creates the optimal conditions for different bacteria to flourish and ensures our gut wall remains healthy and robust.

What is Leaky Gut?

Leaky gut – also known as intestinal permeability – literally means that the gut wall or epithelium (intestinal lining) has been damaged or irritated, triggering an immune response in the body²³. The gut wall is covered in villi (tiny hairs) which assist in the absorption and assimilation of nutrients, and when the gut lining is strong and healthy, it also forms a protective barrier between us and our external environment. Conversely, when the delicate gut lining is damaged, these ordinarily tight junctions loosen and become more permeable than normal, allowing endotoxins – which would ordinarily be processed and eliminated by the body – to enter the bloodstream.²⁴ The body sees these foreign substances in the bloodstream as potential threats and thus, an inflammatory response is triggered.²⁵ While the causes of leaky gut are varied and complex, the inflammation that stems from leaky gut is widely recognised as an underlying cause of many health and skin issues.

For example, the low-grade chronic inflammation triggered by imbalances in the gut is one of the most significant drivers of the ageing process, contributing to premature ageing of both the skin and body. What’s known as ‘inflammageing’ – or ageing caused by inflammation – can be a signal of dysbiosis or weakened intestinal barrier function²⁶. While ageing is inevitable, we can perhaps help to slow down the effects of premature ageing and reduce its negative effects by nurturing our microbiome and promoting a healthy gut.

¹ Guinane CM, Cotter PD. Role of the gut microbiota in health and chronic gastrointestinal disease: understanding a hidden metabolic organ. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2013;6(4):295–308. doi:10.1177/1756283X13482996

² Guinane CM, Cotter PD. Role of the gut microbiota in health and chronic gastrointestinal disease: understanding a hidden metabolic organ. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2013;6(4):295–308. doi:10.1177/1756283X13482996

³ “Microbes Help Produce Serotonin in Gut | Caltech.” The California Institute of Technology.

⁴ Hadar Neuman, Justine W. Debelius, Rob Knight, Omry Koren, Microbial endocrinology: the interplay between the microbiota and the endocrine system, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, Volume 39, Issue 4, July 2015, Pages 509–521, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuu010

⁵ Rowland I, Gibson G, Heinken A, et al. Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components. Eur J Nutr. 2018;57(1):1–24. doi:10.1007/s00394-017-1445-8

⁶ Pickard JM, Zeng MY, Caruso R, Núñez G. Gut microbiota: Role in pathogen colonization, immune responses, and inflammatory disease. Immunol Rev. 2017;279(1):70–89. doi:10.1111/imr.12567

⁷ Vighi, G, et al. “Allergy and the Gastrointestinal System.” Clinical and Experimental Immunology, Blackwell Science Inc, Sept. 2008

⁸ Devaraj S, Hemarajata P, Versalovic J. The human gut microbiome and body metabolism: implications for obesity and diabetes. Clin Chem. 2013;59(4):617–628. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2012.187617

⁹ Institute of Medicine (US) Food Forum. The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health: Workshop Summary. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2013. 4, Influence of the Microbiome on the Metabolism of Diet and Dietary Components. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154098/

¹⁰ Wang X et al. Gut microbiota as important modulator of metabolism in health and disease RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 42380 https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2018/ra/c8ra08094a

¹¹ Lazar V et al Aspects of Gut Microbiota and Immune System Interactions in Infectious Diseases, Immunopathology, and Cancer Front. Immunol., 15 August 2018 https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01830

¹² Belkaid Y, Hand TW. Role of the microbiota in immunity and inflammation. Cell. 2014;157(1):121–141. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.011

¹³ Salem I, Ramser A, Isham N, Ghannoum MA. The Gut Microbiome as a Major Regulator of the Gut-Skin Axis. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1459. Published 2018 Jul 10. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01459

¹⁴ Vaughn AR, Notay M, Clark AK, Sivamani RK Skin-gut axis The relationship between intestinal bacteria and skin health World J Dermatol. Nov 2, 2017; 6(4): 52-58

¹⁵ M Hasan Mohajeri, Giorgio La Fata, Robert E Steinert, Peter Weber, Relationship between the gut microbiome and brain function, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 76, Issue 7, July 2018, Pages 481–496, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuy009

¹⁶ Martin CR, Osadchiy V, Kalani A, Mayer EA. The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;6(2):133–148. Published 2018 Apr 12. doi:10.1016/j.jcmgh.2018.04.003

¹⁷ Harvard School of Public Health The Nutrition Source: The Microbiome https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/

¹⁸ Tlaskalová-Hogenová H, Stěpánková R, Kozáková H, et al. The role of gut microbiota (commensal bacteria) and the mucosal barrier in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and cancer: contribution of germ-free and gnotobiotic animal models of human diseases. Cell Mol Immunol. 2011;8(2):110–120. doi:10.1038/cmi.2010.67

¹⁹ Mathias Hornef, Pathogens, Commensal Symbionts, and Pathobionts: Discovery and Functional Effects on the Host, ILAR Journal, Volume 56, Issue 2, 2015, Pages 159–162, https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar/ilv007

²⁰ Carabotti M, Scirocco A, Maselli MA, Severi C. The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Ann Gastroenterol. 2015;28(2):203–209.

²¹ Iebba V, Totino V, Gagliardi A, Santangelo F, Cacciotti F, Trancassini M, Mancini C, Cicerone C, Corazziari E, Pantanella F, Schippa S. Eubiosis and dysbiosis: the two sides of the microbiota. New Microbiol. 2016 Jan;39(1):1-12. Review. PubMed PMID: 26922981

²² Mu Q, Kirby J, Reilly CM, Luo XM. Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol. 2017;8:598. Published 2017 May 23. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00598

²³ Mu Q, Kirby J, Reilly CM, Luo XM. Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol. 2017;8:598. Published 2017 May 23. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00598

²⁴ Mu Q, Kirby J, Reilly CM, Luo XM. Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol. 2017;8:598. Published 2017 May 23. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00598

²⁵ Mu Q, Kirby J, Reilly CM, Luo XM. Leaky Gut As a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases. Front Immunol. 2017;8:598. Published 2017 May 23. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00598

²⁶ Mabbott N. A breakdown in communication? Understanding the effects of aging on the human small intestine epithelium Clinical Science (2015) 129, 529–531 doi: 10.1042/CS20150364