Our microbes:
Help us digest our food.
Protect our gut lining cells from pathogens and toxins.
Help teach and mature our immune system to function properly.
Make B vitamins, Vitamin K and amino acids (proteins).
Break down, by fermentation, non-digestible dietary fibre that we eat.
Regulate our metabolism (how much energy we get from food) and help to regulate our weight and how much body fat we store.
Make waste products called short chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) that provide food for our gut lining cells. These are important communication molecules.
Influence sleep, mood and brain function.
Regulate the repair and growth of our body’s cells.
Are key to our health and disease.
Coming up tomorrow in Part 3, we’ll take a look at your microbiome and how it forms a crucial, and major, part of your immune system. Few people realise how important our gut is when it comes to immune system.