Not too long ago, we had someone tell us that they thought vibi+® was magic water. It made them feel good by helping balance their gut, giving them more energy which in turn put them in a better mood. And while we certainly know that magical feeling, and hope everyone experiences it, there’s actually plenty of science behind it all.
Let’s start with your microbiota.
noun mi·cro·bi·o·ta | ˌmī-krō-bī-ˈō-tə – sometimes referred to by gut microbiota or microflora of the gut.
The microbiota consists of 100 trillion microorganisms located in your digestive tract, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. This includes one thousand different types of good and bad bacteria. Just like your DNA, the microbiota is very personal, and has many functions in our body when it comes to digestion and immune system as well as absorbing energy and nutrients from foods.
Quick point of note, while the gut microbiota and the human microbiome are thick as thieves, they’re not the same. The human microbiome is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses) living in our body, the gut microbiota is the collection of microorganisms living in our gut.
Immune Response
We know that we have both good and bad bacteria in our gut microbiota, but we also know that we don’t want the bad bacteria to overpopulate the good bacteria, a healthy balance is something estimated around 85% good bacteria and 15% bad bacteria.
Overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the gut microbiota can lead to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity and type 2 diabetes. Adding a prebiotic to your diet can help reduce these risk factors by feeding the good bacteria, leaving little room for bad bacteria to grow.
By hosting 70-80% of our immune cells, the gut microbiota is a vital defense mechanism since it is the first response to when the body encounters bad bacteria.
Nutrition
We understand that we absorb our energy from foods, but we must not forget that our nutrients and vitamins also come from these foods.
The gut microbiota is responsible for not only absorbing the energy from foods, but for also absorbing the nutrients and vitamins. The bacteria present in the microbiota is also responsible for helping the body digest dietary fiber.
A balanced gut microbiota also breaks down potential toxic food compounds and block pathogenic compounds from entering our body.
So, treat your microbiota well, and it will treat you well in return. Focus on good nutrition with plenty of fiber in your diet, get good exercise and sleep as well as stay hydrated. And of course, keep a bottle of vibi+® close at hand. After all, it is magic water .
Marchesi JR, Ravel J. The vocabulary of microbiome research: a proposal. Microbiome. 2015 Jul 30;3:31. doi: 10.1186/s40168-015-0094-5. PMID: 26229597; PMCID: PMC4520061.
Thursby E, Juge N. Introduction to the human gut microbiota. Biochem J. 2017 May 16;474(11):1823-1836. doi: 10.1042/BCJ20160510. PMID: 28512250; PMCID: PMC5433529.
