Forget football, the latest obsession gripping the nation is our 'gut health', with once obscure health food staples like kefir, kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut making the leap from musty delis into mainstream supermarkets.
Emerging evidence outlining the importance of the gut microbiome — the collection of bacteria that lines the intestines and helps digest food — to our overall health has caused a surge of interest in the topic.
A healthy gut, research has shown, can influence anything from the immune system to metabolism — and even mental health.
So it's no surprise why interest in the subject is at an all-time high. After all, gut symptoms account for one in eight GP visits - and gut-related problems are rising.
Cases of inflammatory bowel disease (which includes autoimmune conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) shot up by 34 per cent in ten years, reported BMC Gastroenterology.
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