The human gut is home to trillions of microorganisms. This intestinal ecosystem is known as the microbiome. The microorganisms that live in your gut are called gut flora, and they fit into two categories: good gut flora and bad gut flora.

The beneficial (good) gut flora complete a ton of different tasks in the body, such as aiding digestion, absorbing nutrients, producing vitamins, enzymes and neurotransmitters, managing appetite, controlling metabolism, reducing inflammation, influencing immunity and communicating with your brain.

The harmful (bad) gut flora can create disease and inflammation if they go unchecked. A healthy microbiome has the right balance and composition of good and bad microbes (about 85% good to 15% bad).

This delicate balance can get disturbed by many factors: inflammatory foods (like sugar), antibiotics, birth control pills, artificial sweeteners, gut infections, stress – just to name a few. And when there is a chronic imbalance in the gut, various health problems, such as digestive distress, food sensitivities, candida infections, immune dysfunction, skin issues, joint pain and mood conditions (such as anxiety and depression) may occur Click here for more...