What is the Gut microbiome?
The gut microbiome comprises of the trillions of bacterial species that inhabit our gut, mainly the large intestine. In the last decade, the gut microbiota has emerged as an important factor in the development of a host of metabolic syndrome (such as obesity) and other chronic diseases (such as diabetes, IBD, Cardiovascular disease etc) through its interactions with dietary, environmental and genetic factors. Several studies have highlighted the profound effect diet has on modulating the gut microbiome. These mainly include prebiotics that act as a food source to bacterial population such as fibre and polyphenols and probiotics that help ‘seed’ beneficial bacteria into the gut which include a host of naturally fermented foods such as yogurts, cultures cream and butter, kimchi, kombucha etc. In order to maintain a healthy diverse population of bacteria in your gut it is important to include a wide array of both pre and probiotic foods as part of your daily diet.
This is a brilliant video with a great explanation of the gut microbiome & its functions.