Words by Gina (BHSc Nutritional Medicine + Nursing)
When someone with a background in women’s health, nursing and infant nutrition gives your gut health product a 12/10, you listen.
Here’s Gina’s expert breakdown on why your gut flora matters more than you think — and why Clover Ferments is her go-to:
#1 - Gut flora play a key role in nutrition by synthesizing B vitamins and vitamin K.
That's right! These little guys actually help make some of the vitamins you need to fuel your cells and support your energy.
#2 - Gut flora produce enzymes that help us absorb minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron.
If you or your child is anemic, adding probiotics along with iron supplements can be extremely helpful.
#3 - Gut flora protect the integrity of your gut. Have you heard of leaky gut?
Probiotics adhere to the gut, forming an additional protective layer to keep out toxins and other pathogens. Gut flora is paramount in keeping our guts properly sealed so that larger particles of food, toxins, and pathogens don't get into the bloodstream where they would interact with our immune cells.
#4 - Gut flora break down food that our body can't digest and turn it into fuel for gut epithelial cells.
In fact, your gut flora thrive on a high fiber diet. The standard western diet contains only 10% of the fiber necessary to nourish our gut flora and we can actually starve them into extinction. That's why it's so important to eat lots of fiber every day! Eating fruits and vegetables feeds your gut flora so they help you stay healthy!
#5 - Gut flora is essential for a healthy immune function.
Gut flora help train the local immune system in the gut to attack pathogens but avoid attacking the body or beneficial bacteria. If this process is disrupted it may trigger inflammatory and autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease or Crohn's disease. In fact, depending on which source you reference, between 70-90 percent of the immune system is in the gut and comes from what's called Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue or GALT.
#6 - Mood Food!
Gut flora have an important role in healthy brain function and mood regulation.
Gut bacteria are critical for helping our bodies make important brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, like dopamine, serotonin and GABA.
The happy hormones!
Gina’s final verdict?
“12/10 review on Clover Ferments!”
