Have I GUT Salty News For You

Eating is a fundamental activity that not only gives us the energy needed for survival but provides mental satisfaction. How much we eat and what we eat are critical choices for our health and is therefore important to know and understand how we make these decisions. My work looks at understanding how the cells in our body respond to the nutrients in our diet and our gut bacteria, to send signals to the brain which influence our eating behaviours. Understanding what happens at a microscopic level helps us to understand the behaviours that ultimately control food choices and food intake.

Did you know that half of the cells in our bodies are not human, but belong to the vast collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live on and inside us? For example, the gut is home to trillions of bacteria that live off the food we eat. We are increasingly realising that they can affect our bodies in many ways. Most bizarrely, there is now good evidence that they can even affect brain function! Come and learn how gut microbes can affect our risk of diseases such as stroke and dementia and investigate whether we can use their abilities to promote brain health throughout life.

Come and hear the surprising truth about the most ubiquitous ingredient in our food – salt. What it does to your body, whether all salt is ‘salt’, and why it’s one of the cheapest, yet most valuable commodities in a food and drink company’s armoury.