Gut health plays a huge part in our overall health and wellbeing.
According to Holland & Barrett’s Gut Health Report, 58% of Brits have experienced gut health problems, with 45% of those saying their issues last 3 months or more. That means that if you’re experiencing issues with your gut, you’re actually in the majority!
These symptoms can be uncomfortable and debilitating, not only affecting people physically but emotionally too.
But while most people think their gut health is just about their stomach, it actually encompasses your entire digestive system.
Poor gut health can be down to a number of reasons, including genetics, lifestyle and other mental and physical health conditions.
What Are The Most Common Gut Health Issues In The UK?
According to the same Gut Health report, the most common gut health problems are:
- Bloating and gas (51%)
- Acid reflux (30%)
- Constipation (33%)
- Diarrhoea (28%)
Luckily, a whole load of startups have launched to help people improve their gut health.
Let’s take a look at them…
My micro zoo
My micro zoo is an at home testing kit that gives you personalised insights into your own gut health. Their microbiome test gives clients a detailed report about their gut health, alongside personalised recommendations about their diet.
This report covers everything, including how diverse your microbiome is to the types of food you should avoid. That way, you can have all the information you need to make good lifestyle decisions for your gut.
Levels
Levels is an AI powered food logging system that delivers smarter insights into your gut health.
Able to be integrated with glucose monitors and lab tests, users are able to better understand how different foods impact them. By seeing their steps, cholesterol levels and other key biomarkers, they can understand and implement the lifestyle changes that will be best for their body.
Cylinder
Cylinder is a digestive health platform that helps people take their gut health into their own hands. Through personalised plans, delivered by professionals, users are able to better understand how different foods affect their bodies.
Each member is given a plan based on their own health history and preferences, making it easy to implement. If they need to, they can also have access to a team of doctors and dieticians to help them on their journey to a healthier gut.
More from Startups
Pendulum
Pendulum is a company that is helping people find the right probiotics for them. By asking users to take a quiz, they can more accurately recommend probiotics that improve their gut issues.
From strengthening gut lining to reducing sugar spikes and even help metabolising sugars and carbs, their doctor formulated tabled are designed to help people take their metabolic health into their own hands.
Kallyope
Kallyope is a company that is driving forward research into new medicines for metabolic diseases.
The company is looking for new ways to combat and cure these metabolic disorders, contributing to research around human health. With the team looking to explore new ways to combat type 2 diabetes and obesity, it’s helping improve gut health on a medical level.
Heights
Heights is a startup that is all about making sure you get the highest quality vitamins you need, when you need them.
Their product, Biotic+ includes 7 bacterial strains, as well as zinc for gut, brain and immune health. With so many probiotics dying before they reach the gut, Heights’ capsules ensure they get delivered where they’re needed. Backed by science and with proven results, it’s a great supplement for those looking to support their gut.
BIOMES
BIOMES is a German company that helps people understand their gut a little better. The company’s at-home test allows people to learn about their own intestinal bacterial and receive nutritional recommendations to improve it.
Backed by science, the kit allows users to understand and improve their own intestinal flora, helping contribute to a healthier digestive system.
Alba Health
Improving gut health isn’t just for adults, but kids too. Alba Health provides analysis of a family’s lifestyle and then guides them through nutritional recommendations to improve their gut health.
As children, what we eat can have huge impacts on our health and immunity, so starting off right is the key to life-long health. Pioneered by science and based in Sweden, this company is helping families make good gut decisions from day. 1
BoobyBiome
BoobyBiome is helping babies build healthy guts from the start. Breast milk provides important bacteria for the gut, but storing it wrong can remove these.
Their products are designed to:
- Improve breast milk storage to allow it to retain its useful ingredients.
- Give parents who aren’t breast feeding access to a probiotic that includes all of the good bacteria in breast milk, easily added to formula.
The company has been developed by scientists to improve baby biomes from the start.
Bright Seed Bio
Bright seed is a bioscience company that finds compounds in nature to improve human health. With an AI platform that helps identify bioactive compounds and their health benefits, it’s looking into new ways to provide natural medicines.
Their product, the Bio Gut Fiber contains bioactives that have been shown to improve gut health. By looking to nature for answers to medical questions, the company is helping us find new ways to improve gut health by looking at the world around us.
