The gut illustrated as a control room

Our Brains and Guts

Is your gut the one running the show?

We think of the brain as the body's control centre. But research shows many of the body's most important functions start with signals from the gut.

Our researchers study our microbiomes and how they influence the communications between our guts and our brains, affecting everything from our health to our mental states to our relationships. Because while our brains are in charge, the bugs in our bodies have a pretty big say, too.

How do you eat to feed trillions?

How do you eat to feed trillions?

Food and the health of our gut microbiomes

Each of us carries around a huge host of microbes that we're born with, that changes over time, and that programs our immune system over the course of our lives. Research shows that what we eat has the most influence over this microbiome, and the largest impact on its health.

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Do our brains and guts talk to each other?

Do our brains and guts talk to each other?

Exploring the signals between the major control centres of our bodies

We think most of our bodies' directives come from our brains, but research shows more and more that much of what happens in the body is driven by what's going on in the gut.

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Is mental health a gut feeling?

Is mental health a gut feeling?

How your microbiome may or may not affect your mental health

While it's too early to draw any definite conclusions, research shows significant connections between the gut and mental health, as well as promising new avenues for microbe-based treatment.

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Do our guts reflect the people around us?

Do our guts reflect the people around us?

How our relationships and our environments change our microbiomes

Our microbiomes — the trillions of micro-organisms that live in and on our bodies — are unique to each of us. But research is showing that our microbiomes are affected by our places, our pets and our people.

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Are we born with our diseases?

Are we born with our diseases?

How our microbiomes influence lifelong health

Research shows the way we're born and the microbes we're exposed to early in life set the course for our health over the entire span of our lives.

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Can a meal be medicine?

Can a meal be medicine?

How what we eat affects our gut health, which affects our wellness

In the fight against chronic diseases, researchers expand the search for cures and treatments to include diet and environmental factors, and examine the connection between the gut and the brain.

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All media for this topic

An abstraction of a microbe

Ebook — How to shape a healthy microbiome

Download ebook

A child lathers their hair

Video — Let them eat dirt: Hygiene and the microbiome

Watch video

Image of hands washing under a faucet

Video — Can cleanliness make you sick?

Watch video

An image of a child with a dirty face

Ebook — Mighty microbiome: helping your child build a strong immune system

Download ebook

Illustration of a human torso with highlighted gut

Podcast — Can our microbes make us healthier?

Listen to podcast

A stylized illustration of microbes

On-demand talk — Our lifestyles, our microbes: The hidden connection

Watch the talk

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