Gut Feeling

Sick? Tired? Cranky? Taking care of your gut could transform your health.

- Ashley Cameron

When it comes to maintaining good health, there’s nothing more important than a healthy gut. In fact, experts now believe the gut is so important to our overall wellbeing they’re referring to it as our “second brain”.

With the latest research showing that our gut influences everything from our weight to our mood, health experts agree that looking after our second brain is the most important action we can take to keep our health on track.

The key to unlocking good gut health, however, is in understanding our microbiome – the more than 100 trillion bacteria that live inside our gut. “Together they add up to roughly the same number of cells as the rest of your body combined,” says Dr Michael Mosley, author of new book The Clever Guts Diet.

“While they influence you, you can also change them. What you eat and the way you live will have a huge impact on the sort of creatures that thrive in your internal rainforest.”

Put simply, when these tiny organisms (both good and bad) are in balance, we thrive, but when they’re out of whack, so is our health. Here, our experts break down the many ways your gut affects your health and how you can keep it in tip-top condition.

YOUR IMMUNITY