5 things you didn’t know about gut health

The future of prevention is written in our gut. His microbiome, that is the genetic patrimony of the microorganisms that inhabit it represents about 90% of the human genome. From the balance and composition of the bacterial flora, called microbiota, depend on many functions of the organism, including the immune response and the production of serotonin, the good mood hormone.

This is why science is focusing on this organ which functions as a second brain and whose bacterial fingerprint it is unique to each individual and changes over time.

The study of its composition will be increasingly important to maintain an optimal state of health with personalized treatment and prevention programs.

WE GIVE THE NUMBERS
The microbiota consists of hundreds of species of microorganisms: bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. Together there are more than one hundred trillion bacterial cells, ten times more than the cells of the adult organism. In proportion, there are more bacteria in the gut than there are stars in our galaxy. Considering that the human intestinal habitat contains at least 500 -1,000 different species of bacteria, in turn different by genus and species, equal to a biomass of about 2 Kg. The Milky Way contains “only” between 100 and 400 million stars: therefore there are more bacteria in our gut than there are stars in our galaxy.

BIOLOGICAL AGE DEPENDS ON THE INTESTINE
The gut microbiota is formed at the time of birth. During birth, the newborn inherits the maternal bacteria, a colonization that continues during breastfeeding, becomes richer and more complex with weaning, and stabilizes around the third year of life. The microbiota is unique and it changes from person to person and more it varies greatly in the different stages of life. The bacteria that colonize the intestine, in fact, change with age to meet different needs. This is why the composition of the microbiota is a precise index of thebiological age. In adults, the microbiota takes on a much more complex structure that supports metabolic activities, cooperates with our immune system by acting as a barrier against pathogens, produces vitamins and minerals otherwise lacking in the diet, and releases molecules that contribute to intestinal well-being.

THE BACTERIAL FINGERPRINT
The microbiota makes every human being unique and different on a biological level. Its composition is as unique as the fingerprint of the finger, hence the name of bacterial fingerprint. Its uniqueness is the result of many individual variables including ethnicity, geographic location and lifestyle.

«The gut microbiota is a dynamic entity subject to constant variations, which changes with us. There are many factors that determine these changes, including age (for example in the early stages of our life the microbiota is dominated by Bifidobacterium, whose concentration then falls in adulthood), diet, the environment in which we live and the use of drugs “, explains Professor Patrizia Brigidi, professor of Fermentation Biotechnology at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences of the University of Bologna. «Our stressful lifestyle, the thousands of daily commitments and not always correct nutrition – which often leads us to eat meals outside the home – exposes us to the risk of impoverishment of the natural richness of our intestinal microbiome. A truly dangerous loss because the variety and diversity of the network of organisms living in our intestine actively affects many of the physiological functions and affects our health in general. For this reason it is good that there remain many, and different in stock and genre “, adds Brigidi.

To keep the composition of the intestinal microbiota stable and varied, Yovis, line of dietary supplements of Alfasigma, has created several formulations that contain billions of enzymes of different strains, species and genera, designed to adapt to the variety of each individual’s unique microbiota.

MICROBIOTA AND CHILDREN
The most vulnerable microbiota is that of children, influenced by nutrition as well as antibiotic therapies. But it is also the most important, because it is as children that the foundations for a healthy intestine are laid when grown up. When the microbiota is altered, the immune defenses are lowered and cause disorders such as diarrhea and colitis, recurring problems even up to adolescence. Yovis has launched a specific product for children formulated with billions of live probiotic lactic ferments and B vitamins to strengthen the immune system and reduce the sense of fatigue.

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THE WELL-BEING OF YOUR INTESTINE
The weapon we have at our disposal to maintain a situation of eubiosis, that is the peaceful and balanced coexistence of the bacterial flora, are the probiotics. Good microorganisms that restore the integrity of the microbiota, improve the intestinal barrier by producing the mucin that lines the intestinal wall, produce substances that allow intestinal cells to function at their best, stimulate the immune system and exercise a ‘anti-inflammatory action on the intestinal walls. Probiotics are found in foods and to an optimal extent in supplements.

The Yovis line of food supplements contains probiotics multiceppo, multispecie e multigenere e a variety of references that can be chosen according to the lifestyle and that adapt to your intestinal fingerprint.

Yovis Caps is a supplement based on live lactic ferments in a concentration of 50 billion per dose that are able to survive the acidic environment of the stomach. Promotes the balance of altered intestinal bacterial flora.

Yovis Stick is the sachet version of Yovis Caps. Based on live lactic ferments of four different strains in a concentration of 50 billion.

Yovis Vials is a food supplement characterized by a mix of bifidobacteria, streptococci and lactobacilli, all live lactic ferments of four different strains, present in the highest concentration of 25 billion per vial.