Gut microbiomeGut microbiota · Gut flora
The community of gut microbes that diet and fibre help shape.
The gut microbiome is the vast community of bacteria and other microbes living in your intestines. Collectively they help digest food, make certain vitamins and short-chain fatty acids, and help train the immune system.
It matters because the diversity and make-up of these microbes are linked in reviews to nutrition and health — and, importantly, they are partly shaped by what you eat, especially the amount and variety of plant fibre.
In practice, a varied, fibre-rich, largely plant-based diet is the best-supported way to feed a diverse microbiome; most 'gut health' supplement marketing runs ahead of the evidence for the specific product.
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Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale, MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
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