Supplements & functional ingredients A gut feeling


From fighting inflammation to boosting mental health, gut health has long been a staple part of our medical folklore. If nothing else, that’s reflected in the numbers, with probiotics wildly popular from Italy to China. But beyond the hype, how do the claims around these supplements actually hold up? And whatever their efficacy, could punters do better by taking a more holistic approach to their health? Andrea Valentino talks to Dr Alexandra Shustina, founder of Whole Gut Health, to learn more.


umans have long understood the importance of gut health. Even in Ancient Greece, Hippocrates declared that “death sits in the bowels”, while Chinese physicians have long made similar claims. By the eve of the First World War, Élie Metchnikoff was arguing that inflammation could be linked to the gut. A Franco- Russian zoologist, Metchnikoff suggested that health could be bolstered, and old age delayed, by investing the intestinal microbiome with so-called


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friendly bacteria – like the type found in yoghurt. From there, Metchnikoff’s theories became a sensation across Europe. It’s no coincidence that Danone, now one of the world’s biggest dairy companies, was founded just 12 years after Metchnikoff first advanced his theories. From those humble beginnings, the friendly bacteria, known as probiotics when packaged into supplements, have gone on to claim a hallowed place in medical folklore. If nothing else, that’s clear


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