#Guttok has over 500 million views on TikTok: Why gut health keeps trending and why its important – CNBC

You might be surprised to learn that gut health is the latest buzzy topic upon TikTok.

Under hashtags like #guttok, #guthealth and #guthealing, influencers and every day users alike are posting thousands of videos, sharing stories about their gut health struggles and remedies.

And they’ve raked in a little over a billion views.

Like with anything that skyrockets on TikTok, gut health’s popularity on the app can be attributed in part to the ease with which content creators can churn out quick and relatable videos about topics like how to reduce bloating or prevent symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Another factor is that as users are looking to become more informed about their health upon the application, they’re also looking for solutions—and the gut wellness community is offering them up. Health and wellness brands are usually listening plus learning as well.

For example, this year, a cleaner and easier way to get gut health information was launched by Thorne, the science-driven wellness company that supports healthy aging.

Testing your stomach health typically requires pooping in a bucket or on a piece of paper, then scooping a sample of your own stool into a container to ship it to a lab. “You get a lot associated with information from doing these gut health tests, but one issue is that the collection process just isn’t the greatest experience, ” says Nathan Price, chief scientific officer at Thorne.

Thorne’s test offers an alternative that will seems tailor-made for the TikTok generation—a microbiome wipe, which is used just like toilet paper after going to the bathroom. You place the particular wipe in a container, send it off plus you’re done.

“It’s exactly like what you do every single day, ” Price says. “We just thought that is the simplest way we can possibly think of that a person can collect a microbiome sample. inch

The simplicity of the test, plus the actionable steps provided with the results, has the potential to really resonate with makers and followers on TikTok.

But the sheer amount of information, advice and remedies on social media can be the lot in order to wade through. There is so much coming your method that you may not be able to distinguish the particular myths from the facts, or even understand the reason why gut health is so essential in the first place.

Thankfully, we spoke to a gastroenterologist about what exactly gut health is, how it affects other parts of your body and exactly how you can improve it. Here’s what he had to say:

Gut health is a term used to describe how the tum interacts along with the rest of the body and overall wellness, including just how you digest and absorb substances, according to a 2011 study within BMC Medicine .

The key to all things instinct health will be the microbiome, according to Christopher Damman, a gastroenterologist at the Digestive Health Center at the University associated with Washington Medical Center, plus chief medical and science Officer at Supergut. You could think about the microbiome as the ‘tamagotchi of our gut, ‘ Damman says.

“You have to keep the particular tamagotchi happy to keep your whole entire body happy, inches Damman states.

The microbiome is filled with microbes, and there’s a very important reason why they live in your gut, Damman says. He encourages you to think about microbes as a nutrient factory that makes the things your own body needs, using the food we eat. Many of those nutrients aren’t present in the food itself.

“They’re not just there as innocent bystanders, yet they’re actually conspiring towards our health and we’re conspiring towards their own health. We have a mutual relationship with all of them, ” he says.

Here are some things that your microorganisms do with regard to your body, based on Damman:

• Produce nutrients
• Regulate your immune system
• Protect you from pathogens

When your gut wellness is imbalanced, it can affect the rest of your entire body too, this individual says. And it’s not always the usual suspects like diarrhea, constipation or even abdominal discomfort.

“Skin can be tied back to gut health. Your mental health, plus neuroinflammation is usually the cause of that, can be tied back to gut wellness. The list goes upon and on, ” Damman says, “Sleep even, and mood. ”

Research shows that there are furthermore health benefits of having the diverse microbiome, which may be affected by your diet, he says. Unique microbiomes were associated with healthful aging and increased survival rates, according to a 2021 study published within Nature Metabolism.

Some experts would argue that tests like Thorne’s, while effective, are unnecessary. Your body will likely tell you when your gut health is unbalanced by way of a number of symptoms including digestive problems, acne, brain fog plus lower moods.

Fortunately presently there are easy, natural things you can do to support or enhance the balance of your own gut. Most important is definitely improving your diet, and for this, Damman encourages you to consider these types of four:

• Think about this quote: “Eat food. Mostly plant. Not too much, inch from Michael Pollan’s book, ‘In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto’
• Try a Mediterranean diet plan
• Eat entire foods plus use supplements for that nutrients you may be lacking
• Remember the particular ‘four phonetic F’s’: fiber, phenols, ferments and good fats

Fiber can be what he or she recommends above all else because it is the preferred food source of microbes of the gut.

And of the TikTok crazes, kombucha, yogurt and apple cider vinegar are the only ones slightly backed by evidence because they’re fermented foods, he adds.  

Having a diet rich in fermented food items correlated with a more diverse microbiome plus a decrease of inflammation, according to the small 2021 study carried out by researchers at the Stanford School of Medication.

But it’s important in order to be mindful regarding choosing fermented foods along with low sugar. “For kombucha specifically, there’s a lot of sugar in it. Sugar is certainly probably one of the things that’s contributing to poor stomach health, inches Damman states.

Damman also warns you to be careful of Keto diets because while these people may help you lose weight, they usually don’t include enough dietary fiber and can put stress on your liver and kidneys.

“Shift returning to a truly healthy diet which has more balance to it, ” Damman says. “The balance that will we’ve been missing is whole meals and fiber, and I think that’s where dietary supplements can really fill a nice niche on the backend. ”

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