The start of the summer holidays in South Africa brings with it sunshine, long days at the beach, and much needed relaxation after a long and tiring year.
Unfortunately, this relaxed attitude spills over into our diets too, and even a short period of poor food choices and eating patterns can wreak havoc on our gut health.
The gut microbiota, a collection of bacteria and other organisms in our gut, help digest food, regulate our immune system, protect against harmful bacteria that cause disease, and produce nutrients like folate and vitamin K.
Infographic: Gut Microbiota for Health
When our gut microbiota is out of sync, like when we make poor food choices on holiday, this is called dysbiosis.
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This disruption of gut microbes is further worsened when travelling abroad. Researchers from Israel found that changes in our biological clocks, related to jet lag, could negatively affect the microbes in the gut.
Volunteers who took part in the study had to travel between the United States and Israel, which had an eight to ten-hour time difference.
Stool samples before and after the trip were compared and unfavourable changes in the composition of the gut microbes were discovered.
Unfortunately, the gut microbes that thrived in the changing conditions were those associated with obesity and other health problems. Fortunately, these effects disappear after a few weeks.
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There is good evidence to suggest that regular yoghurt consumption may be linked to numerous health and nutritional benefits.
Professor Harry Sokol, a gastroenterologist specialising in diseases of the gut from Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris, spoke at the first Yoghurt Summit earlier this year, and stated that many factors shape the colonization of microbiota in the gut.
These include birth delivery method, breastfeeding, antibiotics, smoking, age, and genetics.
According to him, it is clear that a healthy diet is paramount in creating diversity in gut bacteria.