Why we all need a healthy gut Advances in medicine have led us to the realization that gut health is essential for overall well-being. Your gut – the collection of organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract – is home to some 40 trillion living bacteria from up to 1,000 different species, known collectively as the “gut microbiome.” Together, they weigh as much as 3 to 5 pounds, which is roughly the weight of the average human brain. The gut...