You may have heard a lot about the microbiome and gut health in recent research and in the newspapers. Headlines such as ‘Gut bacteria boosts cancer therapy’, ‘The human microbiome: why our microbes could be key to our health’ and ‘Is your gut making you sick?’ may have caught your eye and you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. It is thought that the microbiome is the root of all chronic diseases and space exploration pioneer and billionaire entrepreneur Naveen Jain explains gut health in a way that we have never thought of before. Continue to find out more on Microbiome: Root of all Chronic Disease?
The video below gives an interesting insight into your genes and your gut, and the gut brain connection; also known as the gut-brain axis, there’s also a personal story about his dad’s cancer, his business and why he is so passionate about his work into how diet affects gut health. Naveen explains that chronic inflammation is caused when the microbiome is out of balance and therefore prone to cause disease. He also explains about gut health being linked to many diseases from obesity, diabetes and cancer to anxiety and depression.
The most interesting part of this video is how Naveen makes you think about your human body as a ‘shell that’s housing the microbiome’. This way of thinking helps you to understand how your gut communicates with the rest of your body and your brain through the Vagus nerve.
He then goes on to explain that whilst 99.9% of everyone’s DNA is identical, that however, less than 5% of our actual bodily environment is the same which explains why some people can tolerate certain foods that others cannot. This is an extremely interesting statement and helps to understand why diets often do not work, there simply isn’t a one-size-fits-all in nutrition! He states that “one mans food is another man’s poison” and explains that while some people can eat spinach, avocado and other foods considered ‘healthy’ or vegan etc, they could actually be causing more harm than good depending on your own individual microbiome. Therefore, personalised diets may improve microbiota composition.
If this is a subject you’d like to explore, there are books and videos abound about gut health and the gut brain axis which should give you a deeper understanding and insight into the topic. Check out Naveen Jain’s website ‘Viome’ too. Have you had your microbiome analysed? Let us know what you think about this area of research by commenting below, joining in the conversation on Facebook and following us on Twitter and Instagram. (Check out these other articles to help get your system FIT for life!)
