When it comes to your health, your microbes matter.

Imagine A World Where Illness Is Optional

One mans food is another mans poison

Incredibly, even though humans share more than 99% of our DNA, there exists enormous diversity when it comes to our unique personal gut microbiome. Your gut, the second brand, is the cornerstone of your health. Since we all digest and metabolise food uniquely, it is true that no two people will experience the same thing from eating the same food. What’s healthy for you, may cause systemic inflammation and disease for someone else.

By analysing your DNA, your personal gut microbiome landscape, and analysing the activity of your individual gut microbes it is possible to identify correctly how to eat for maximum vitality, energy and health unique to your individual needs.

What Is The Gut Microbiome?

Modern medicine has discovered that the human organism is a host to countless fungi, viruses, and bacteria. Our bodies are like a planet, upon which many species live and thrive. These species of microbes and microscopic living entities do not just live in the gut as once believed, but form an interconnected, communicating living environment co-dependent ecosystem throughout the entire body and all of its tissues. This means that to remain in optimal health, you need to maintain a perfect harmony with your microbiome. By far, the most advanced and diverse environment in this interconnected system is the microbiome in your GI tract (gastrointestinal tract) – your GUT!

Modern Life – The Assault On The Nature

Most of us would agree, that as much as humanity is making great technological progress, our lifestyle on the planet Earth is wreaking havoc and chaos to the natural order of the world. Climate change, environmental pollution, poisoning our oceans, radiation and so on is having a negative detrimental effect on nature and the species we co-inhabit the world with. The same can be said for the human body and our own invisible world – our microbiome.

Post agricultural lifestyles, processed foods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are all taking a toll on our bodies. So many people are experiencing systemic ill health purely due to modern life. Eating the wrong foods, adulterated foods, processed foods, pharmaceutical medicines and poisoning ourselves with chemicals daily is wreaking havoc on our delicate ecosystems – disrupting our microbiome and resulting in dysbiosis. It really is no wonder why so many people suffer from a host of digestive complaints, where 1 in 5 visits to the GP in the UK are related to digestive symptoms (a staggering high figure).

An unbalance in your gut equates to an imbalance in your health, with the gut being the foundation to your systemic wellbeing. Disease (literally dis-ease) is massively influenced by the stability and balance of your gut. It is essential for your quality of life and longevity to find your inner gut balance and maintain it.

What Are the Signs I Should Test My Microbiome?

Did you know that there are a number of signs to look out for that indicate an imbalance in your gut microbiome. Interestingly, not all are symptoms you might expect. While you may associate digestive issues with your gut health, there are a host of other associated conditions. These can range from autoimmune disorders to poor mental health. Let’s take a look at some of the key signs to consider:

Trouble Sleeping

Here is a very common symptom that many people fail to realise is associated to poor gut health. An imbalance in your gut can cause a disruption to your serotonin levels, resulting in poor quality sleep, or even in severe cases – insomnia.

Anxiety & Depression

Simply put, an imbalance in your gut flora can lead to a negative influence on the production of dopamine & serotonin. These are two important hormones (chemical messengers to the brain) that are responsible for regulating your mood and mental health. Imbalances in these critical two hormones can cause depression, anxiety,  and a host of other mental health problems.

Stomach Problems

Of course, these are an obvious sign of a digestive issue. Whether you are suffering from constipation, diarrhea, bloating or pain, these symptoms urge you to test your microbiome which can quickly pinpoint the problem.

Autoimmune Issues

Imbalances in the gut can lead to chronic systemic inflammation. Inflammation is what causes a plethora of problems for the immune system. Very serious auto immune health conditions have their root cause seated in the gut!

RNA and DNA – Testing The Microbiome Environment

RNA and DNA molecules are produced by every single living organism. DNA is a double helix, while RNA is a single helix. Both have sets of nucleotides that contain genetic information. They are the genetic blueprints that your entire body is created from – it’s the code that makes you – you!

Through modern laboratory testing, by sequencing all of the RNA in a sample, it is possible to identify and quantify all of the living microorganisms in the gut. These include bacteria, viruses, bacteriophages, archaea, fungi, yeast, parasites, and more, all at the species and strain level. Now, it is actually possible to obtain an insight into a high level view of a persons gut microbiome.

Insights can be gained by identifying all of the different microorganisms and understanding their vital functions to the system as a whole. Vitally, to maintain health & wellness our bodies microbes produce biochemical outputs from the materials available to them. Vitamin K and B, short chain fatty acids such as Butyrate are just a few common and well known examples of biochemical outputs. Conversely, microbes can also produce harmful biochemicals such as LPS. The microbes in our bodies are capable of making both good (helpful) and bad (harmful) biochemicals. Depending on what we feed our body & our microbes, and the complex interactions between our microorganisms influences the biochemical outputs produced.

By analysing the genes that microbes express, we can identify which metabolites they produce – in other words, we can determine their role in your body’s ecosystem. Given this knowledge, it is now actually possible for a person to make informed diet and lifestyle recommendations, and fine-tune the function of their gut microbiome to minimise production of harmful metabolites and maximise the production of beneficial ones.

Listen To Your Gut

We are committed to empowering people to understand and take greater control of their health. Through our gut microbiome testing kits and our microbiome database – we give people access to tools & insights to better understand the microbiome.

Take a look inside the mysterious and magnificent world of your gut biome and learn how your gut diversity compares to the general population, as well as the level of protection you have against diseases like diabetes type 2, heart disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and obesity. Discover how well your gut microbes are processing fibre and synthesising essential vitamins.

Every scientific finding is distilled into an easy to understand list of practical, everyday food recommendations, so you can literally eat yourself healthy. Simply work your way through your recommended food list, consuming each food at least once a week, to help repair your microbiome and boost your gut health.

Your results will be explained to you during a free consultation with one of OMBucha nutritional therapists.

Learn more and start listening to your gut …