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You’re poisoning your gut and you don’t even know it.
Every coffee. Every processed snack. Every late night and long stretch of stress. One by one, these daily habits chip away at the most powerful system in your body, your gut microbiome (Warren et al., 2024).
And when that breaks down, so do you.
Bloating. Brain fog. Hormone chaos. Low energy. Mood swings. Skin flare-ups. Inflammation. These aren’t random. They’re signals, warning you that your gut is under attack.
Inside your digestive system lives a vast, dynamic ecosystem of over 100 trillion microorganisms : bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea, forming what scientists call the gut microbiome (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025; Kraimi et al., 2024). But this ecosystem isn’t passive. It’s not just along for the ride. It’s an active, living organ constantly communicating with your immune system , brain , hormones , and metabolism.
Your gut microbiome is:
A factory for essential nutrients and neurotransmitters (Warren et al., 2024)
A critical regulator of inflammation and immune defense (Warren et al., 2024).
A gatekeeper between the outside world and your internal environment
A major influence on mood, metabolism, energy, and resilience (Kraimi et al., 2024).
Yet most people don’t even know it’s there until it starts breaking down.
And in today’s modern world? Gut damage is almost guaranteed unless you take deliberate action.
Gut health isn’t optional. It’s the foundation of health itself.
What Exactly Is the Gut Microbiome and Why Does It Matter So Much?
The gut microbiome isn’t just a collection of bacteria. Your gut microbiome is a living, breathing ecosystem, one that’s just as vital as your heart or brain. But this ecosystem isn’t just floating in your gut. It’s deeply embedded in how your entire body functions.
Microbiome health is largely about balance and diversity . You need a wide range of beneficial microbes to keep the harmful ones in check. This diversity builds resilience, allowing your gut to adapt, protect, and recover from stress, antibiotics, and a poor diet (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025).
This microbial population begins developing at birth, shaped by how you were born (vaginal vs. cesarean), whether you were breastfed, the foods you ate as a child, and the environments you were exposed to. As we age, that microbiome continues to shift based on stress, medication, diet, and lifestyle (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025). When diversity drops and imbalance takes over, a condition known as dysbiosis, the gut loses its ability to protect you. That’s when dysfunction starts to ripple through every body system
Here’s what it does every single day:
Nutrient Absorption and Synthesis
Helps digest complex fibres
Creates essential vitamins like B12 and K2 (Belobrajdic et al., , 2018)
Extracts nutrients you can’t access on your own
Neurotransmitter Production
Produces or influences over 90% of serotonin
Supports GABA and dopamine for mood, focus, and calm (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025; Warren et al., 2024).
Immune System Calibration
70% of your immune cells live in your gut
Teaches your immune system to respond intelligently not overreact (Chen et al., 2024; Warren et al., 2024).
Hormone Metabolism
Regulates estrogen (estrobolome)
Balances cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025; Warren et al., 2024).
Inflammation Control
Creates compounds like butyrate to reduce systemic inflammation (Chen et al., 2024).
Barrier Function
Acts as a firewall to block pathogens and toxins
When damaged, it leads to “leaky gut” and increased disease risk (Warren et al., 2024).
Your gut isn’t just about digestion.
It’s the engine of immune defence, hormonal balance, mental health, metabolism, and long-term vitality.
How Gut Health Affects Your Brain, Skin, Hormones and More
If your gut is off, your entire body feels it. The gut microbiome is intricately linked to nearly every system in your body, often in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.
Mood and Mental Health
The gut-brain axis connects your microbiome and your nervous system via the vagus nerve , a communication superhighway (Warren et al., 2024). In fact, the gut produces about 90% of serotonin , a key neurotransmitter for mood and emotional regulation. Imbalances in the microbiome can trigger inflammation and disrupt these signals, increasing the risk of anxiety, depression, and brain fog (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025; Kraimi et al., 2024).
Immunity
Roughly 70% of your immune system lives in your gut. The microbiome trains your immune cells to tell the difference between friend and foe. When this training breaks down, your body may start attacking itself, leading to allergies, chronic inflammation, or even autoimmune conditions (Chen et al., 2024; Warren et al., 2024).
Hormones
Gut microbes help detoxify estrogen, regulate blood sugar (impacting insulin), and support thyroid hormone conversion . If your microbiome is struggling, you may experience hormone imbalances even if your blood tests look "normal." (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025).
Skin
Your skin has its own microbiome and it's directly linked to your gut via the gut-skin axis . Conditions like acne, eczema, and rosacea often trace back to internal inflammation and gut permeability (Warren et al., 2024).
Sleep
Your microbiome also helps regulate melatonin production , crucial for sleep cycles. Disruptions here often show up as poor sleep, low recovery, and daytime fatigue (Borrego-Ruiz & Borrego, 2025).
Why You’re Still Deficient, Even With a Good Diet
You can eat all the kale and superfoods you want but if your gut is inflamed, your body may not be absorbing much of it.
When your gut lining is damaged or your microbiome is imbalanced, nutrient absorption drops significantly. You may become deficient in critical nutrients like iron, B12, magnesium, zinc , and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) even if you're eating well.
That’s because the gut does more than digest, it plays an active role in breaking down nutrients and even producing some of them . For example, certain gut bacteria manufacture vitamin K2 , which supports bone and heart health, and biotin , which is essential for skin, hair, and energy production.
On top of that, chronic inflammation in the gut can damage the villi , the tiny projections in your intestines that absorb nutrients; further reducing your uptake.
So if you're eating clean but still feel tired, moody, or off balance, your gut may be blocking the benefits of your nutrition. Healing your gut can often restore proper nutrient flow and energy levels without changing your diet at all.
What’s Wrecking Your Gut Every Day (That You Don’t Even Realise)
Gut damage doesn’t come from one bad decision, it’s the cumulative effect of daily habits that erode your microbiome over time:
Low-fibre diets: Starve beneficial bacteria (Warren et al., 2024)
Processed foods and added sugars: Feed harmful microbes
Chronic stress and poor sleep: Disrupt gut-brain communication and barrier function
Excess caffeine and alcohol: Irritate the gut lining and flora
Medications (antibiotics, NSAIDs, PPIs, hormonal birth control): Strip away microbial diversity
Over-sanitisation: Reduces natural, healthy microbial exposure
Under-eating or overtraining: Suppress gut repair
Fluoride exposure: Emerging research suggests potential gut microbiome impact
How to Tell If Your Gut Is Already Damaged
You don’t need a test to suspect your microbiome is out of balance.
Here’s what to watch for:
Bloating or discomfort after even simple meals
Mid-afternoon cravings for sugar, coffee, or salt
New or increasing food sensitivities
Brain fog, forgetfulness, or difficulty focusing
Waking up tired despite getting “enough” sleep
Feeling anxious, flat, or emotionally off
Acne, rashes, or skin flare-ups
Getting sick easily or struggling to bounce back
Achy joints or muscles without cause
Unpredictable digestion
Menstrual cycle irregularities or hormonal imbalance
Feeling inflamed, puffy, or physically weighed down
If two or more of these resonate, your gut may need support.
How to Heal Your Gut and Keep It Strong
True gut healing isn’t about short-term detoxes. It’s about building daily habits that nourish, repair, and protect:
Eat for diversity: 30 or more different plant foods per week
Prioritise resistant starch: Cooked/cooled potatoes, legumes, green bananas (Chen et al., 2024).
Add prebiotic fibres: Onions, garlic, asparagus, oats
Include probiotics: Kefir, Fermented foods or targeted supplements (Warren et al., 2024)
Repair your gut lining: Use glutamine, omega-3’s, zinc, and vitamin D
Reduce gut stressors: Cut out ultra-processed foods, sugar, and excessive alcohol (Warren et al., 2024)
Reset your rhythms: Prioritise sleep, sunshine, breathwork, and movement
Where ASN Comes In: Guiding Your Gut Reset.
At ASN, we believe gut health starts with understanding—not guesswork.
That’s why we focus on education first . Our team is here to help you:
Learn how your gut affects everything from energy to mood, sleep, skin, and recovery
Understand the role of supplements like probiotics, greens, zinc and Omega-3s.
Discover simple steps that fit into your daily routine—not just short-term fixes
Whether you're new to gut health or ready to fine-tune your approach, our team can guide you to products that make sense for your goals.
Because gut health isn’t just a buzzword.
It’s your body’s foundation and we’re here to help you reset it, one informed choice at a time.
Start your Gut Health Reset.
Start with the essentials.
Start with ASN.
Summary
The gut microbiome influences mood, energy, hormones, immunity, and digestion.
Modern habits like stress, poor diet, and medications damage gut health.
Symptoms of imbalance include bloating, fatigue, brain fog, and skin issues.
The gut produces neurotransmitters and regulates inflammation and hormones.
Poor gut health can reduce nutrient absorption, even with a good diet.
Support gut health with diverse plant foods, resistant starch, and prebiotics.
Use probiotics and nutrients like glutamine, omega-3s, zinc, and vitamin D.
Prioritise sleep, manage stress, and move daily to maintain gut resilience.
Gut health is essential for overall wellbeing—not just digestion.
References
Belobrajdic, D., Brownlee, I., Hendrie, G., Rebuli, M., Bird, T. (2018). Gut health and weight loss: An overview of the scientific evidence of the benefits of dietary fibre during weight loss. CSIRO, Australia.
Borrego-Ruiz, A., & Borrego, J. J. (2024). Human gut microbiome, diet, and mental disorders. International Microbiology, 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-024-00518-6
Chen, Z., Liang, N., Zhang, H., Li, H., Guo, J., Zhang, Y., Chen, Y., Wang, Y., & Shi, N. (2024). Resistant starch and the gut microbiome: Exploring beneficial interactions and dietary impacts. Food Chemistry, 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochx.2024.101118
Kraimi, N., Ross, T., Pujo, J., & Palma, G. D. (2024). The gut microbiome in disorders of gut–brain interaction. Gut Microbes, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2024.2360233
Warren, A., Nyavor, Y., Beguelin, A., & Frame, L. A. (2024). Dangers of the chronic stress response in the context of the microbiota-gut-immune-brain axis and mental health: a narrative review. Frontiers in Immunology, 15(1365871). https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1365871
