KEEPING IT LOCAL FOR YOUR GUT

Spending more time at home, gardening and cooking, supporting local businesses, and rediscovering local walks and beauty spots has been refreshing. However, are you aware that keeping things local is also beneficial for your gut?

Hippocrates famously said “all disease begins in the gut”. The importance of our intestinal health has received more and more attention over the last couple of years. You possibly have been taking your morning probiotic, for example. With digestion and immunity being important functions of the gut, there’s no wonder that what we eat has a huge impact on our entire being.

You may have heard of microbiome? The gut wall is covered with micro-biome. What is it? Bacteria. Good bacteria. It’s estimated that

there’s at least 30,000 different species in our gut. This diversity is essential to our health. Check your probiotics. How many species does it state? Is it anywhere near 30,000? If we’re adding a few of the same species every morning, we’re creating a monoculture and not encouraging a diverse environment, so it’s worth not being over reliant on these products for the health of our gut.

Latest research suggests that by leaving the micro-biome be, it will replenish by itself, without the need of these probiotic products. This is possible if we’re not, albeit unknowingly, destroying the thing whose whole purpose is to protect us. Overuse of antibiotics is on top of the list of things causing damage to our gut. The use of pesticides and antibiotics in our food, GMO foods, processed foods, over-indulging on alcohol and coffee, and poor diet all have a negative effect on our gut by destroying our micro-biome. So, is it worth taking probiotic? It’s believed that taking a probiotic short term is fine, after, for example, taking a dose of antibiotic.

Our micro-biome has the crucial role in utilising the nutrients from our food. Eating healthily is crucial, but it gets more interesting. What else affects our micro-biome? Our local environment. Recent studies have shown that hunter-gatherers’ micro-biome is directly influenced by everything they literally touch! Food today is highly sterilised and processed. What can we do? Go out, experience everything in our local nature.

Perhaps you’re guilty of eating a monotonous diet throughout the year? Potatoes, broccoli and carrots are firm favourites. Nobody in history has eaten like this. Eating seasonally

and locally reinforces the natural behaviour in our micro-biome which then has an impact on our metabolism of food. You’re one of the lucky ones if you have a veg patch in your garden or have an allotment. The micro-biome signals to the rest of the body what’s happening in your environment. That’s why we benefit from eating local food. In relation to this, ensuring we’re eating from a non-stressed plant/animal makes us more resilient against disease. This, as well as being pesticide free, is another reason for eating organically.

Keeping things local is the new normal, so it’s good to know that we’re coincidentally helping our gut health too!

Angharad Evans

Being diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder led me to discover the Hilary Newman Clinic, where I embraced the power of natural remedies. Within months, I no longer needed medication to manage my illness. I was inspired by this treatment and retrained as an Allergy and Nutritional Therapist. I now have a clinic in the heart of Penarth where I offer bespoke treatment to patients for a variety of illnesses.