Optimising gut integrity

Part of the Gut Health 2022 Special

A welcomed opportunity to also pay my respects to the late Queen who is buried beneath the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Talking about hands did you that know your hands carry, approximately, 3,200 different types of bacteria on them, some harmful and some useful. Your hands are exposed daily to a lot of potentially ‘bad’ bacteria, these ‘bad’ germs then find their way into your gut and can cause diarrhoea, respiratory infections and other illnesses.

Gut-brain axis

In animals, intestinal health is a concern for everyone involved in animal production. As is well known, a well-developed, well-balanced microbiome is considered to be the best protection against diseases. This is a common message across all species, which I learnt during a dairy feed conference. What I found listening to the speakers was how important rumen bacteria are for the animal and how they can affect feeding behaviour. Interestingly in both seminars the Gut-Brain axis was discussed as well as how stress can have a detrimental, sometimes long-lasting, affect on all species.There are many strategies that can be implemented to boost or enhance gut health. In this special you will read about how to maintain optimal intestinal health for instance through the use of pro- post- and prebiotics, saponins and algae. Additionally, you will find articles about how parasites can affect the livestock sector and much more.

The gut: nurture it, feed it, ensure that there is a good balance of microflora and it will pay you back in abundance.

Hope you enjoy reading the last special of the year and see you in 2023.