THE PREGNANT GUT

When I first starting talking about pregnancy, birth and the microbiome back in 2014, I'd usually have to explain what gut bacteria was, but in the last 5 years gut health has really come to the forefront of the health world and I would argue quite rightly too! 

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There is no doubt now that the health of every human is inextricably linked to the health of that human's tiny  populations of microbes - their microbiome. We also now that the microbes we get at the start of life are key in the foundation of an infant's lifelong microbial make up, so making sure babies get the best 'starter kit' we can give them is important. Having a healthier gut bacteria will also benefit the health and well-being of the mother so it's all good!

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For a healthier gut bacteria you need to start by feeding the gut the right food. In the last 50 years the diet of humans in the western world has changed radically from a largely locally produced, seasonal diet of home cooked food to a diet of mass produced, transported across the world, highly processed foodstuffs. 

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Now 50 years may seem like a lifetime but in human evolution it's a minute. Our gut bacteria had evolved with us, and worked as part of us like the rainforest of our body, functioning as an ecosystem and contributing to our overall heath. This rapid change in diet has been catastrophic for our gut bacteria. As our diets have changed in the last few decades so has the bacteria in our guts; with scientists identifying a 30% decrease in the diversity of our guts in the last few decades and this reduction coincides with a 40% increase in noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cancers. The two events are not thought to be unrelated.

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So how do we help improve our gut health?