About 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the gut rather than the brain, and the bacteria living there deserve part of the credit. The more fibre arrives, the harder the beneficial species ferment, the more short-chain fatty acids they release and the lower the inflammation, because SCFAs are what feed the cells of the gut wall. Broad-spectrum antibiotics wipe out helpful and harmful strains alike, so diversity falls off a cliff, which is precisely when opportunistic species move into the vacancy. Probiotics seed the community back quickly, while fibre feeds the native one and lasts longer.
About 90% of the body’s serotonin is made in the gut rather than the brain, and the bacteria living there deserve part of the credit. The more fibre arrives, the harder the beneficial species ferment, the more short-chain fatty acids they release and the lower the inflammation, because SCFAs are what feed the cells of the gut wall. Broad-spectrum antibiotics wipe out helpful and harmful strains alike, so diversity falls off a cliff, which is precisely when opportunistic species move into the vacancy. Probiotics seed the community back quickly, while fibre feeds the native one and lasts longer.
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