bug The Wonderful World of Gut Bacteria

Bacteria are not like plants or animals - they are living things in a group all by themselves!

They exist all over this planet - from the tops of mountains to the bottom of seas, BUT ALSO in our guts and on our skin.

Your gut digests your food but it is also the home for billions of bacteria

What do gut bacteria do?
Some help digest food produce special nutrients and keep your gut healthy.

Let's look at the gut and its bacteria
Bacteria on food enter here. Chewing and swallowing passes food and bacteria down to the stomach
Stomach acid kills most bacteria, but some survive. Food is broken down by the acid into a soup-like mixture and passes to the small intestine
Surviving bacteria begin to grow and multiply to several million per centimetre.
Food is broken down further and is absorbed by your body
Bacteria like it here, they multiply to billions per centimetre. Bacteria break down the toughest foods containing fibre and produce special nutrients that keep the gut healthy


BACK
NEXT