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Your tummy: why it’s key to your wellbeing

1st May, 2023

The key to a healthy wellbeing

Your tummy (aka the long tube making up your digestive system) is one of the most important drivers of your wellbeing from within.

How?

For the most part, it’s thanks to trillions of pretty powerful tiny living things in your tummy, called microbes. All together, they make up what we call your microbiome.

These microbes aren’t all made equal. They’re a mix of mostly bacteria, as well as fungi and even viruses (yes that’s right, viruses aren’t all bad!). In fact, over 1,000 different types have been found in your tummy, with more being discovered as we speak.

We’re not a fan of generic “good” and “bad” labels here (our tummies are way more complex than that) – but it’s worth knowing that some of our gut bugs have been linked with a bunch of benefits, while others might come with risks to our health.

They talk to lots of different parts of our body and, as a result, they play a big role in a whole host of important systems to keep them running smoothly and working well.

Here are 4 ways your tummy tops the list of importance for your overall wellbeing:

Your immunity. Those mighty microbes cleverly control your immune system, helping your body to fight off infections, reduce your risk of illnesses and keep you healthy.
Your weight. Our tummy can influence weight, mainly down to the link between our microbes and our metabolism. Forget calorie counting or fad diets, looking after your tummy for better weight management is one route backed by science.
Your brain and mood. Thanks to the gut-brain axis, your tummy is constantly chatting to your brain. The result? Your microbiome can make your mood go up or down, depending on whether your tummy is feeling terrific or troubled.
Your tummy’s own health. Unsurprisingly, your tummy, and all the microbes living there, are super important for your digestion. From making sure our food travels through smoothly from top to bottom, to absorbing maximum nutrients from what we eat – all while striving to save us from troublesome gut symptoms along the way (when your tummy is happy and healthy, that is!).

What do these microbes need from us to keep working their magic?

Variety is the spice of life inside your tummy. When it comes to your mix of microbes, the more the merrier!

What exactly this microbe mix “should” look like is different for everyone. That’s because we all have our own totally unique microbiome, influenced by things we’re born with (like our genes) as well as things we have control over (such as our diet, as well as our hygiene, medications and even where we live).

On the flip side, when our microbiome is out of balance, our overall wellbeing can be affected. Enter tummy troubles, as well as feeling tired, suffering with skin struggles and ultimately risking health issues over time.

Taking back control and improving that all-important bacteria balance doesn’t have to be tricky. We’re here to help.

Ready to digest the details?

Read on…

We’ve touched on how your tummy talks to everything from your immune system to your brain. But how exactly does this all work?

The immune system

Ever heard the old quote “All disease begins in the gut”? (Thanks, Hippocrates). He might have said this over 2,000 years ago, but he was on to something.

Our microbiome can cleverly help to power our immune system, thanks to the fact that a whopping 70% of your immune cells live along your tummy!

Those mighty microbes have been shown to interact with and train these immune cells, getting them ready to respond in the event that foreign invaders (aka infections or pathogens) enter and try to attack.

That may explain why having good gut health is linked to lower risk of allergies and autoimmune issues, as well as reducing inflammation and even helping you fight off common colds and the flu.

Especially since the global pandemic, taking care of your tummy to strengthen your immunity is more important than ever. In fact, the latest studies have shown that the make-up of our microbiome could even influence how seriously we feel COVID-19 symptoms.

Metabolites

Your microbes produce substances, known as metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These SCFAs can help to regulate inflammation and activate our immune cells.

So it makes sense that to support our immunity, we need to start by showing our tummy some support.

Weight management

We’ve mentioned there’s a link between our microbes and our metabolism and here’s one powerful way this plays out.

When our microbes digest the fibre we eat, they produce SCFAs and other chemicals, which help to manage our appetites by influencing the production of hunger hormones. These hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin, are also produced in our tummies, and they tell us if we’re hungry or full. Those microbes are kept pretty busy!

This is where it gets really interesting. The science shows people who eat more fibre (our gut bugs’ favourite food) tend to have a healthier weight. On the other hand, an unbalanced microbiome (also known as ‘dysbiosis’) has been linked to weight gain.

What does that mean for you?

If you ask us, we’d say that’s a good sign to steer clear of the sad step (aka those bathroom scales!) and quit counting calories. Instead, fill up on fibre to feed your mighty microbes.

Brain function

The influence your tummy has on your brain is all down to the gut-brain axis – the constant close-knit communication between the two.

In a nutshell, your tummy and your brain are best buddies and when your tummy talks to your brain (and vice versa), they empathise with each other – sharing both their good days and bad days.

That means when your tummy is happy, your brain shares the benefits. Hello boosted mood! But if your tummy is troubled (such as with bloating, constipation or other issues), it can send signals up to your brain, via the vagus nerve and neurotransmitters, therefore your mood can drop.

Digestive health

Last but not least, it goes without saying that our tummy is essential for healthy digestion.

With our tummy in the driver’s seat of digestion from top (the mouth) to bottom (literally), it’s crucial in breaking down and getting the most out of the food we eat, making sure we absorb all-important nutrients to fuel our bodies.

Want to know more about how your tummy works? We’ve got you covered.

These are just a handful of the ways our tummies are key to our overall health and happiness – there are a whole lot more!

Swot up on the science with these studies:

The Interplay between the Gut Microbiome and the Immune System. Wiertsema, et al. Nutrients, 2021.
Fibre Intake Predicts Weight Loss – The POUNDS Study. Miketinas, et al. Journal of Nutrition, 2019.
The Gut-Brain Axis. Mayer, Nance and Chen. Annual Review of Medicine, 2022.

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Your tummy: why it’s key to your wellbeing

The key to a healthy wellbeing

Here are 4 ways your tummy tops the list of importance for your overall wellbeing:

What do these microbes need from us to keep working their magic?

The immune system

Metabolites

Weight management

Brain function

Digestive health

Swot up on the science with these studies:

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Want to be a part of the movement?

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The key to a healthy wellbeing

Here are 4 ways your tummy tops the list of importance for your overall wellbeing:

What do these microbes need from us to keep working their magic?

The immune system

Metabolites

Weight management

Brain function

Digestive health

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Let’s stay connected