Humans have coevolved with this gut microbiota for such a long time that the microbiome interacts with every system in your body. It produces useful compounds that nourish intestinal cells, support metabolic health, protect against certain types of cancer, influence brain activity, and support the immune system. Each of us has a microbiome composition as unique as our fingerprints.

In the 12 fascinating lectures of Gut Health Explained, Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro shares the latest scientific knowledge about the trillions of organisms that live in your gut. In this course, you'll learn how to navigate the evolving landscape of gut microbiome science while gaining a deep understanding of the intricate interplay between you and your microbiome.

Do You Have a Healthy Gut?

Scientists agree that one of the most important questions in microbiome science is also one of the most elusive to answer: What constitutes a healthy gut? Recognizing that everyone is interested in "gut health," even though no one can define exactly what that is-and accepting that plenty of healthy people have vastly different microbiomes-Dr. Fundaro has developed a functional approach. In this course, you'll learn about the "Three Ds of Gut Health." A healthy gut will function well in the following categories

Disease. The term "health" usually implies the absence of disease. However, given that about 40 percent of people suffer from a gastrointestinal disease, a healthy gut must include not only one without disease, but also one in which a disease is successfully managed.
Digestion. This includes both your subjective experience of digestion-nausea, bloating, etc.-and the objective ability of your gut to break down and absorb nutrients.
Diversity. This refers to both the number and proportion of microbes (the taxonomic diversity) as well as the variety of genes (the functional diversity) that lets us know what those microbes are capable of doing.

As Gut Health Explained illustrates, huge strides have been made in recent years in this relatively new science. And even without the answers about concrete causative relationships we hope to have in the near future, the field has already provided exciting new avenues to support your overall health.