Know your Gut Health
Your gastro-intestinal tract, which starts with your mouth, continues over a distance of around 9 metres, of coiled highly functional tubes up to your anus. On the one end you eat and taste your food and on the other end let out clever quiet farts (and sometime embarrassing loud ones) and eliminate whatever food and toxins your body decided you need to get rid of in solid form. Between these two ends, so much is happening that we discover new aspects of it all the time.
Your gastro-intestinal tract includes your mouth, oesophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small intestines, large intestines, appendix (high concentration of immune system tissue very similar to your tonsils), and then at the end the rectum and anus. It is a fascinating, highly functional, intelligently designed part of our bodies.
Your gastro-intestinal tract is the foundation of your immune system. Not only does your intestines house the biggest part of your microbiome and virome, it is also strongly and directly linked to your immune system and respiratory health.
You have a gut-lung-axis where your respiratory immune system reacts according to your gut immune system. The microbiota – the organisms that protect or can harm you – in the gut and lungs are strongly linked. Increases of certain microbes in the gut, can make the lungs more vulnerable or more resistant to disease. The naso-pharyngeal microbiota, which forms a part of the gastro-intestinal tract and the respiratory tract, are highly significant in resistance to respiratory infections.
Mapping gastro-intestinal microbiota together with detailed information about gut function, gut-lung axis immune function and inflammation in the gut empowers you to make custom choices for your own gut- and immune system health.
A test is available to do just this. In this test, a stool sample is analyzed and you get a detailed report on viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites in the gut. Both the good and potentially harmful microbes are analyzed. On top of that indicators of digestive function or the production of digestive enzymes are provided. Gut specific inflammatory markers are measured and an immune system marker involved in the gut-lung-axis immune system.
This map of the immune system and gastro-intestinal microbiota can guide you in individual food, lifestyle and therapeutic choices to improve your gut health. Grabbing the opportunity to improve your gut health opens the door to strengthen your immune system and boost your resistance to disease.
If you are interested in doing this test, you can contact me here to find out more.
