What’s so special about the gut? In a word, lots. Where we used to concentrate mostly on food digestion and nutrient absorption when talking about the gut, we are now learning so much more about what goes on in the gut (and how it impacts the rest of the body) that gut-centered conversations are now frequently about the role of the microbiome in immunity, obesity and metabolism, allergies and more. What’s the microbiome? It’s the collective term for the trillions of microbes we all carry around with us in and on our bodies—primarily in our digestive tracts (sometimes referred to as the gut microbiome).
