Research Hit: How the Gut Influences Brain Development in Babies

Are you suggesting that the gut influences the brain - how on earth can that happen?

Yes, but when I say the gut I mean specifically the microbiome of the gut - that is the collection of bacteria in our guts. Which are plentiful.

What, our gut bacteria can help with brain development?

Yes, this has been well-documented in recent years. We all have hundreds and thousand of different strains of bacteria in our guts. And the balance of these seem to have a surprisingly large impact on our health. And that includes brain health and in this case brain development.

How on earth can that happen?

Well, there are multiple ways and we are not sure exactly how all of these work. But an example is that a class called bacteroidetes produce metabolites called sphingolipids, which are instrumental in the formation and structuring of neurons in the brain.

So, a healthy balance of bacteroidetes is a massive bonus of the developing brain (actually any brain).

Oh wow, and what did these researchers find?