I have written about the microbiome before. Those trillions of bacteria, viruses and yeasts that live in and on us that are absolutely crucial to our health. If we have beneficial microbes, we have health. If we have harmful microbes, we are sick. But I am not talking about getting food poisoning and being sick for a few days. I am talking about having an imbalance of good to bad microbes in your gut that causes subtle but serious damage to your health. There is growing evidence (daily) that these bugs are the number one influence on your health (or lack of it).
Just to give you an idea, here is an incomplete list of what the microbiome has influence over:
- emotions,
- behaviors,
- mood,
- cardiovascular function,
- metabolism,
- appetite,
- inflammation,
- immunity,
- insulin sensitivity
Here is a partial list of disorders that have been linked to dysbiosis (having too many bad bacteria and not enough good):
- Autism spectrum disorders,
- schizophrenia,
- depression,
- anxiety,
- ADHD,
- migraine headaches,
- arthritis,
- cardiovascular disease,
- cancer,
- asthma,
- obesity,
- fibromyalgia,
- chronic fatigue syndrome,
- autoimmune disorders,
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
I hope that you respect those little powerful bugs and appreciate the importance of acquiring and maintaining gut balance to promote health.