By Ann Parker
Never before has the spotlight on our health shone so brightly. It is clear that going forward, we are going to have to take greater responsibility for our own health.
Humans are made up of over 100 trillion cells, but less than 10% of them contain human DNA. The rest is made up of microorganisms, bacteria and fungi: this is known as our microbiome.
The major part of the microbiome resides in the gut. Our microbiome affects our organs and our metabolism, immune system, ability to exercise, memory and even emotions.
Our microbiome is responsible for 70% of our immune system. An upset microbiome leaves us open to a damaged immune system, bringing serious risks to our health. The list of illnesses that are associated with an unhealthy gut is endless – here are just some of them:
- Diabetes
- Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
- IBS
- Thyroid disease
- MS
- Gluten sensitivity and other allergies
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Anxiety and depression
- Heart disease
- Hormone imbalance
- Parkinsons
- Arthritis
- Obesity
I work closely with a GP; he recently said of the 35 patients he had seen that day, 33 of them could have greatly improved their issues by improving their gut health.
So what makes our microbiome unhappy?
- Overuse of antibiotics – a 10-day course of antibiotics can knock out a third of your microbiome
- Hormones in meat and birth control
- Chlorinated water
- Alcohol
- Pesticide
- Caesarean sections
- Artificial sweeteners
- Stress
- Chemotherapy
- Antacids
- Lack of fibre in our diet
- Infection
- Overdoing exercise
There are positive steps we can take to help our gut health. We need to concern ourselves with both probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are ‘good bacteria’, and prebiotics are what they need to feed on and grow – non-digestible fibre.
The Synergy Health Company offers a 21-day gut reset Purify Programme. Channel 4 are shortly due to air a documentary showing the wide-ranging benefits of this programme, and the life-changing result the person following it achieved.
Detoxing and resetting the microbiome is the new ground zero for people who want to improve their own health.
The state of the microbiome is probably the single most important factor in determining a person’s overall and long-term health.
There is not a field in medicine that is not impacted by the microbiome. Microbiome health is not a fad – it is a breakthrough in the understanding of the human body and could well be the medical revolution of the 21st century; the next frontier in healthcare.
