This may sound bizarre, but there are millions upon millions of microscopic bacteria living inside your gut at all times. There is no need to panic however, most of them are there to help!

Let’s start by defining your gut, what do we mean by that? Your gut is not just your stomach, in fact its a combinations of many organs and systems working together to help you digest food. So your gut is made of your stomach yes, but also your small and large intestinal tracts, as they play a major role in gathering the nutrients from the food you eat at it passes through. Your mouth and esophagus are also considered part of your gut because they too aid in digestion.

So your gut is where these bacteria live, and we can refer to that as your microbiome, but what are they doing in there? The short answer is they are trying to stay alive and found that inside you is a good place to do that, BUT as a result, a beautiful symbiotic relationship was formed through millions of years of evolution. The bacteria that instead of harming us actually helped us, found it was much easier to survive when you help the organism you are living in to survive as well, like taking care of your house.

The good guys found a home in our gut and as a byproduct of them doing the normal things they do to stay alive, like eating, we get some really great benefits. The chemicals they produce help us to break down and gather more nutrients from our food than we could before. These chemicals also help us to produce key chemicals for our mood like dopamine and seratonin. Overwhelming evidence is mounting to suggest that a person’s overall health is without a doubt linked to the health of their microbiome. The above video outlines a few specific bacteria to include in your microbiome.

The term ProBiotic refers to the bacteria themselves.The term PreBiotic refers to the foods you can eat that these bacteria like. This can help them repopulate as well as produce different and better nutrients.