Cutting-edge scientific research is helping us to understand how our gut microbiome influences almost every aspect of our health.
Your body is home to trillions of microbes - mostly bacteria - which live almost everywhere, from the lining of your gut, to the surface of your skin.
The largest and most diverse community of microbes live within your gut, and are collectively known as the gut microbiota.
Just like your fingerprint, your gut microbiome is unique to you, and no one else. While the types of microbes that live in your gut - and their abundance - generally remains stable over time, external factors such as your diet, and any medications you take, can alter its composition.
The gut microbiome is a delicate balance between beneficial microbes, which work to improve many aspects of our health and wellbeing, and those which can cause us harm if their growth isn’t kept in check. These beneficial microbes help us in a number of ways: they help to digest the food we eat, regulate our immune system, and protect us against disease-causing microbes.
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We now know that the microbes which live in the gut can communicate with distant parts of the body, including the bones, lungs, and even the brain. Gut microbes are thought to produce specific metabolites and neurotransmitters (such as dopamine and serotonin) which travel to the brain, affecting your thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviour. This two-way communication pathway between the gut and the brain (known as the gut-brain axis) is a fascinating area of research, with scientists seeking to understand how our gut microbiota can influence our risk of developing various mental health conditions.
Because of these communication channels, our gut microbiome plays an integral role in our overall health and wellbeing. Its disruption - known as dysbiosis - is associated with an increasing number of chronic metabolic conditions.
Probiotics are defined as ‘live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host’. While probiotics are mostly bacteria, such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, certain yeasts are recognised as probiotics, too. They are delivered to the gut, where they interact with our own gut microbiota and get to work producing health-promoting metabolites. The most well known benefits of probiotics relate to their ability to support the health of our digestive tract and immune system. In addition to these general benefits, certain strains of probiotic bacteria can target specific aspects of our health and wellbeing through various pathways.
Our Activated Probiotics™ products were created to include specific probiotic strains with unique abilities to improve the symptoms of specific complex conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, and support various aspects of health, including digestion and iron absorption, bone health, immune system function, mood balance, and sleep quality. The result is a range of 9 precision probiotics that offer specific health benefits.